The last of the UR notes

 

 

/ʃʊə/ and /ʊə/ Notes

1. insure
   The Macmillan English Dictionary has this transcription, but the audio sample is /ʃɔ;/.
2. reassure
   The Macmillan English Dictionary has this transcription, but the audio sample is /ʃɔ;/, matching the transcription and audio for "assure".
3. sure and surely
   See also under /ɔ:/. Both pronunciations are common, and Macmillan English Dictionary has audio samples of both.
4. sure-fire
   Macmillan English Dictionary provides only an audio sample of this (not / ɔ:/ , but there is no transcription (although there is a transcription for "sure-footed", giving only the /ɔ:/ pronunciation). Either is common and acceptable.
5. chiaroscuro
   The Macmillan English Dictionary has this transcription, but the audio sample has no trace of /ə/ after the /ʊ/.
6. Lurex
   Macmillan English Dictionary has two transcriptions marked as "British", one with a glide (/jʊə/). But the two transcriptions both link to the same audio (which has no glide).
7. Urdu
   Macmillan English Dictionary also has the pronunciation /ɜ:/.

ʤʊə/ and /ʧʊə/ Notes

1. injurious
   This escapes the usual exclusion of derivatives of words ending "-ure" because the /ʤə/ of "injure" becomes so radically different when stressed.
2. futurity
   The Macmillan English Dictionary transcription has the transcription /tj/ - but the audio sample is a clear /ʧ/. Both pronunciations are acceptable.
3. maturity
   Macmillan English Dictionary has this transcription, although "immaturity" is transcribed /tjʊə/. As usual, both pronunciations are acceptable.
   

/ʤʊ/ and /ʧʊ/ Notes

1. /djʊ/
   This cluster of phonemes can often, colloquially, be realized as /ʤʊ/, but Macmillan English Dictionary‘s audio samples for "obdurate" and its derivatives uses this sound (appropriately, as it is an esssentially formal word).

/ʌ/ Notes

1. alternating current
   Usually abbreviated to AC.
2. burra
   The Macmillan English Dictionary has this transcription, but the audio sample is /ʊ/ (reflecting the Indian application of the word).
3. direct current
   Usually abbreviated to DC.

/ᴐ:/ Notes

1. assurance
   The Macmillan English Dictionary has this transcription, but the audio sample is /ʊ/ (regarded by some as preferable, though /ɔ:/ is not uncommon).
2. assured
   In this case, the Macmillan English Dictionary audio sample matches the transcription, although - as in for assurance" -  /ʊ/ is acceptable (often followed by /ə/)
3. assuredly
   Students of ESOL should note that this word has four syllables (whereas "assured" has only two), and even in non-rhotic speech the /r/ is sounded. As in that case, /ʊ/ may sometimes be used (and is preferred by some speakers).
4. Qur'an
   The  Macmillan English Dictionary has this transcription, but the audio sample is /ə/. Speakers who use this pronunciation tend to use the "Koran" spelling. (Whereas people who use the "Qur‘an" spelling often use the vowel /ʊ/ or something more authentic).
5. sure and surely
   See also under /ʊə/. Both pronunciations are common.
6. sure-footed
   Macmillan English Dictionary gives only this pronunciation, whereas for "sure-fire" (although with no transcription) it gives an audio sample of the /ʊə/ pronunciation. Either is common and acceptable.

/u/ Notes

1. urea
   The Macmillan English Dictionary has this transcription but other similar words (such as "urethra") use /jʊ/.
2. urinal
   The Macmillan English Dictionary has this transcription but other similar words (such as "urinate") use /jʊə/.
3. urology
   The Macmillan English Dictionary has this transcription but other similar words (such as "urogenital") use /jʊə/.

More *UR* Notes

Continuing with disembodied (or, rather, disentexted) notes to words that use a *UR* spelling to represent the /ə/ (and related) sounds, and the first of the /ʊ/ (and related) sounds. (There is a crossover case where the letters *UR* can represent /ʊə/.)

/ə/ Notes

1. azure
   The Macmillan English Dictionary has this transcription (with an assimilated /ʒ/), but the audio sample has no assimilation (the /z/ is unchanged) and the vowel is /jʊə/. Both pronunciations are common and acceptable.
2. Jurassic
   The Macmillan English Dictionary has this transcription, but the audio sample has a hint of /ʊ/.
3. murmur
   This sound is in the second syllable. See also under /ɜ:/.
4. purport
   This is the verb (meaning "convey a meaning or "gist", or "make a show of doing that"). For the noun see /ɜ:/.
5. survey
   This is the verb, with primary stress on the second syllable. For the noun, see the /ɜ:/ section.

/ʧə/ Note

1. aperture, musculature, premature  and many others
   The Macmillan English Dictionary has this transcription, but the audio sample is /tjʊə/. Although the pronunciation /tʃə/ is both common and acceptable in the first two cases, it is less common in the case of “premature” (only –  and not necessarily, even in that case – when the adjective precedes the noun it qualifies).

 /jə/, /ʃə/ , and /ʒə/ Notes

1. penury
   The Macmillan English Dictionary has this transcription, but the audio sample is approaches /jʊ/
2. luxury
   Sometimes pronounced with a /gʒ/. See under /ʒə/.
3. azure
   The Macmillan English Dictionary has this transcription, but the audio sample is /zjʊə/, a common pronunciation.
4. luxury
   Sometimes voiceless. See under /ʃə/.

/jʊə/ Notes

1. alluring
   Macmillan English Dictionary gives two transcriptions and labels them "British", one without the /j/, but the audio sample is of the full /jʊə/ pronunciation. The form without /j/ matches what the Macmillan English Dictionary calls "American".
2. bureaucracy,  bureau de change, bureaucracy, bureaucrat, bureaucratic, burette, and centurion
   The Macmillan English Dictionary has this transcription, but the audio sample has no /ə/ - a common pronunciation.
3. couture
   The printed Macmillan English Dictionary has this transcription, but the online Macmillan English Dictionary lists this word as American, and gives it plain /ʊ/.
4. curate
   This is the noun., with stress on the first syllable. For the verb, see the /jʊ/ section.
5. futurity
   Alone among the derivatives of "future" (excluded as explained in the Introduction) this is included as it does not have /ə/ for the *UR*.
6. luxuriant
   The Macmillan English Dictionary has this transcription, but the audio sample is shows how the /gzjʊə/ can be shortened to /gʒʊ/. The voicing of the /g/ is uncertain, so that it is close to being /kʃʊ/, a common optional pronunciation.
7. penurious
   The Macmillan English Dictionary has this transcription, but the audio sample is /jʊ/.
8. urogenital
   The Macmillan English Dictionary has this transcription, but the audio sample is has a hint of /jɔ:/.

/jʊ/ and /ʊ/ Notes

1. curate
   This is the verb. For the noun, see the /jʊə/ section.
2. hurray
   The Macmillan English Dictionary has this transcription, but the audio sample is /ə/. Both are common and acceptable, as are a wide variety of spellings.
3. samurai
   Macmillan English Dictionary also has the pronunciation /ʊ/.
4. samurai
   Macmillan English Dictionary also has the pronunciation /jʊ/.

More later this month.

 

b

 

UR notes for /ɜ:/ (Dicebamus hesterno die...)

 These words trigger in me a memory I described a few years ago, here

[<something>] reminded me of a story I heard in a half-remembered lecture, about Juan del Encina.

<autobiographical_note date_range="1971-1972">
In May 1972 I was ... not quite a world authority on sixteenth-century Spanish literature, but Professor E. M. Wilson, my lecturer for that year, was.  

Juan del Encina

Juan del Encina, author of some of the seminal works in Spanish Golden Age literature, was arrested by the Holy Inquisition in the middle of a lecture. He was away for some considerable time (years, I think, but I was never much of a note-taker; I'm sure the details are somewhere on the Internet, if you‘re that way inclined). 

When he returned, his opening words were Dicebamus hesterno  die [="{As} we were saying the other day"]

                    ...

</autobiographical_note>

And Juan del Encina's words seem quite appropriate in this  context.  My last addition to this blog (not the main Harmless Drudgery blog, which is still fairly current, though less than  vigorous) was more than 3 years ago.

But I have now moved my books from their erstwhile home at Amazon to my Google Drive, where you can find these:

• When Vowels Get Together (with other vowels)– this is complete. See this review from Voices.

• When Vowels Get Together (with sonorants) There are two variants

o When Vowels Get Together (with sonorants) – the last Amazon release, which some
  people will already have downloaded: V1.3
o  When Vowels Get Together (with sonorants) – the very latest: V1.4

• Diphthongs & Digraphs – an aborted experiment, being the same book as the first on this
  list, but with the beginnings of an index to show different realizations of sounds (for example, /
  e/ => haemmorhage, again, leather, Greenwich, leisure, leopard, foetid.... etc) .
  Quite interesting, but not interesting enough for me to do the work (which was considerable,
  necessarily manual, and repetitive). It's included here for historical interest.
  

• Words & Music, V0.5 – this has stalled

In some respects they're not quite as readable (and you may need to instal an eBook reader to
download them to), but you avoid the trammels of the capitalist system (except for the increasingly
ubiquitous Google).

But resuming, rather belatedly, the practice of putting the Notes  out there (bereft of their context though still informative) here is the first tranche of *UR* covering the words that use the /ɜ:/ sound:

1. purpose
   This is the sole representative of several "<range> + -purpose" compounds
2. beefburger
   This is the sole representative of the many other "<food>+‘burger‘" compounds.
3. burqa
   Macmillan English Dictionary glosses this as "another spelling of ‘burka‘", and the audio sample reflects this. But often people who use the spelling with "q" try to uise a more linguistically sensitive pronunciation with /ur/.
4. churlish
   Macmillan English Dictionary does not include the noun "churl", but Collins does (though the noun is rarely used in current English).
5. conurbation, curmudgeon, and curmudgeonly
   The Macmillan English Dictionary has this transcription, but the audio sample is /ə/. Both are common and acceptable.
6. furbished
   Macmillan English Dictionary does not include the bare infinitive "furbish", but some dictionaries (for example Collins) do.
7. gurdwara
   The Macmillan English Dictionary has this transcription, but the audio sample is /ʊ/. Like all such foreign borrowings, the pronunciation is very variable.
8. hamburger
   This escapes the general exclusion of "<>+burger"as the meat in a hamburger is not ham; the word simply derives from the placename "Hamburg".
9. kurta
   The Macmillan English Dictionary has this transcription, but the audio sample is /ʊ/.  As with other foreign borrowings, many alternatives can be heard..
10. murmur and nurture
    This sound is in the first syllable. For "murmur" see also under /ə/. That section does not list "nurture",  for reasons given in the Introduction.
11. nocturne
    I have never heard a native speaker of English make any attempt at replicating the French /y/ (when speaking English); the sound is /ɜ:/. For example, "Chopin wrote many beautiful /‘nɒktɜ:nz/".
12. perturb
    Macmillan English Dictionary does not include the bare infinitive, but many do. The link is to Onelook (which finds 30).
13. purport
    This is the noun (meaning "meaning" or "gist"). For the verb see /ə/.
14. surplice
    The Macmillan English Dictionary transcription (of the 2nd syllable) is /plɪs/ but the audio sample has /ə/ – so that the word rhymes with "surplus". This strikes me as odd, but the word itself is not in common use, so the oddity is not serious.
15. survey
    This is the noun, with primary stress on the first syllable. For the verb, see the /ə/ section.
16. turnabout
    This is the sole representative of several " 'turn' + <preposition>" compounds.
17. turncoat and turnkey
    This escapes the usual exclusion of compounds because it is (now) largely metaphorical.
18. turn-off
    This is the sole representative of several " 'turn' + '-' + <preposition>" compounds.
19. turnstile
    This is the sole representative of compounds formed with "turn-".
20. Urdu
    Macmillan English Dictionary also has the pronunciation /ʊə/.

That's all for now. The spelling "ur" often represents the sound /ɜ:/ , and predominantly in a stressed syllable. The stress, and concomitant vowel sound, often distinguishes an  /ɜ:/  word (such as the noun purport) from an /ə/ word (such as the verb purport). Other notes to follow in due course.

b.

OR notes - balance

Notes for -or- representing /ə/

1. chorizo
   The Macmillan English Dictionary has this transcription, but the audio sample, /ɒr/ (which is both common and acceptable).
2. collaborator
   This is not excluded together with other words ending "-or" because of the /ə/ in the third syllable.
3. corpora, corporate, corporation, and corporatism
   This sound is in the second syllable. See/ also under /ᴐ:/.
4. correlative
   The Macmillan English Dictionary transcription and audio sample have this vowel sound, but a common alternative is /əʊ/ (followed by /r/).
5. corroborate, corroboration, and corroborative
   This sound occurs in both "or" syllables.
6. elaborate
   The -or- syllable represents /ə/ in both the adjective (last syllable /ət/) and the verb (last syllable /eɪt/).
7. extempore
   See con amore note (exceptional "-ore" words [link to /ᴐ:/ section]).
8. for
   When unstressed. See also under /ᴐ:/.
9. forbad[e]
   For both spellings of this irregular past, the Macmillan English Dictionary gives the transcription /æ/ but gives the (same) audio sample with /eɪ/ in the second syllable. This seems to be a mistake - though it is a common one.
10. forlorn
    The Macmillan English Dictionary transcription and audio sample have this vowel (with /ə/ in the first syllable) but many speakers use /ᴐ:/ in both syllables.
11. forsake, forsaken, and forsook
    The Macmillan English Dictionary has this transcription, but the audio sample uses /ᴐ:/ (a common and perfectly acceptable variant).
12. importune
    Note that in the derivative "importunate" (not listed by the Macmillan English Dictionary ) the -or- represents the sound /ᴐ:/.
13. incorporate
    This sound is in the third syllable. See also under /ᴐ:/.
14. Monsignor
    The Macmillan English Dictionary transcription and audio sample have this vowel sound, but a version with /ᴐ:/ is common (especially in a Spanish context - "Monsignor Quixote", for example).
15. neighbor
    This escapes the usual exclusion of words ending "-or" as the agent-making suffix does not work in the usual way. Whereas an actor acts and a director directs, a neighbor does not *neighb.
16. oration
    The Macmillan English Dictionary transcription and audio sample have this vowel sound, but /ɒ/ is common.
17. sorority
    This sound is in the first syllable. See also /ᴐ:/.
18. uncorroborated
    Both instances of -or- represent this sound, although /ə/ is acceptable in the second syllable. 

Notes for -or- representing /ɜ:/

1. worsted
   This is the past simple and past participle of the verb "to worst". The Macmillan English Dictionary does not list the verb "worst" ; nor does the Collins English Dictionary. The Cambridge Advanced Learners' Dictionary lists it, but calls it "old-fashioned". The past simple of this verb is more common, I would guess, than the present, as "worsted in an argument" is a (relatively) common collocation.

Notes for -or- representing /ɒ/

1. arboriculture
   The Macmillan English Dictionary has this sound in the audio sample, but the transcription has /ə/ (presumably a mistake - I have never heard it in any other context).
2. chorale
   The Macmillan English Dictionary has this transcription, but the audio sample uses /ə/ (which is both common and acceptable).
3. forehead
   This is also sometimes pronounced with /ᴐ:/
4. forex
   The Macmillan English Dictionary has this transcription, but the audio sample uses /ᴐ:/.
5. horrendous
   The Macmillan English Dictionary has this transcription, but the audio sample uses /ə/.
6. hydrochloric acid
   The Macmillan English Dictionary transcription and audio sample have this vowel sound, but some speakers use /ᴐ:/ (reflecting its relation to "chlorine").
7. phantasmagoria
   The Macmillan English Dictionary transcription and audio sample have this vowel sound, but some speakers use /ᴐ:/ which the Cambridge Advanced Learners' Dictionary identifies as the American English pronunciation - although it is common also in British English.

Notes for -or- representing /ʌ/

1. thoroughbred
   This is the sole representative of several other words that use "thorough-" as a prefix.

Notes for -or- representing no sound

1. factory
   This is included here because it is questionable whether it can be regarded as a derivative of "factor". And in that it is (if only historically) so derived, the sense of "factor" in question is largely a businessman (sic - certainly, in the 16th century [when the word was coined], a man) of the past.
   
   The Macmillan English Dictionary transcription and audio sample have this vowel sound, but a pronunciation with /ə/ is not uncommon.
2. mayor, mayoral, mayoralty, mayoress
   It is arguable whether this -or- represents no sound. Rather, the "-ayor" spelling in these words represents the sound /eə/.

Notes for -or- representing /ʊ/

1. Worcester, Worcestershire
   The Macmillan English Dictionary does not list this word, although it does list the tradename Worcester Sauce. The link is to the Collins English Dictionary.
2. worsted
   This is the noun (a sort of cloth). For the verb see under /ɜ:/.
   

Notes for -or- representing /əʊ/

1. forecastle
   This escapes the usual exclusion of "fore-" compounds because of its non-standard pronunciation. Reflecting this pronunciation (/'fǝʊksǝl/), the spelling "fo‘c‘sle" is often used.

OR notes - downpayment

Here are the notes for the letters "or" in words where they represent the sound /ɔ:/. This is the most common sound represented (in stressed syllables). In unstressed syllables, where they represent the sound /ə/, there are many words that I haven't listed, using exclusions such as these:

• words ending -or with the sense of an agent (eg actor or director, but not pallor) 
• polysyllabic words ending -ory; in words with two syllables (like dory, gory , story, or abhor)  the -or- does not represent /ə/.
• ...

Life's too short to list all these, which are both common and largely consistent; inconsistencies are covered in the Notes.

Notes for -or- representing /ɔ:/

1. chlorinated
   The Macmillan English Dictionary has this transcription, but the audio sample uses the sound /ɒr/ – a common alternative pronunciation.
2. con amore
   This is included because - unlike most other "-ore" endings - the final "e" is sounded.
3. corpora, corporal, corporate, corporation, and corporatism
   This sound is in the first syllable. See also under /ə/.
4. corporeal
   This sound is in both the first and the second syllables.
5. corridor
   This sound is in the third syllable. See also under /ɒ/.
6. deformation
   The Macmillan English Dictionary has this transcription, but the audio sample has /ə/ (risking a pun with defamation).
7. for
   This sound is used when the word has stress. See also under /ə/.
8. for[e]bear
   The Macmillan English Dictionary has this transcription, but the audio sample has a hint of /ə/. Some speakers reserve the schwa pronunciation for the "decide against doing" sense, with /ᴐ:/ used in the sense "genealogical antecedent" .
9. forearm
   This is the sole representative of the many words that use "fore-" as a prefix.
10. forebear
    This escapes the usual exclusion of compounds in order to highlight the possible pun with "forbear" with /ə/ in the first syllable.
11. forehead
    This escapes the usual exclusion of "fore-" compounds, because it is also sometimes (but increasingly rarely) pronounced with /ɒ/. When Longfellow rhymed "forehead" with "horrid" the /ɒ/ pronunciation was much more common.
12. fortepiano
    Not in the Macmillan English Dictionary. The link is to the Collins English Dictionary
13. horseback
    This is the sole representative of the many compounds forThe Macmillan English Dictionary with the "horse-" prefix
14. incorporate and incorporated
    This sound is in the second syllable. See also under /ə/.
15. The Koran
    The Macmillan English Dictionary has this transcription, but the audio sample is something between /ə/ and /ɒ/.
16. mortify
    The Macmillan English Dictionary does not have "mortify" as a headword. The link is to the Collins English Dictionary.
17. orang-utan
    The Macmillan English Dictionary has this transcription, but the audio sample is something between schwa and /ɒ/.
18. oratorio
    The third syllable has this sound. See also /ɒ/.
19. organized and organizer
    The Macmillan English Dictionary does not list the -ised version but it exists.
20. orthodontics
    This is the sole representative of the many compound words that use the prefix ortho-.
21. porn
    This is an informal abbreviation of both "pornography" and a cluster of related words, not included here individually as they behave entirely predictably.
22. restorative
    The Macmillan English Dictionary has this transcription, but the audio sample uses /ɒ/, a common alternative.
23. shortbread
    This is the sole representative of other compound words that use the prefix "short".
24. spoilsport
    This is the sole representative of the many compound words that use either "sport" or "sports" as an affix.
25. stormtrooper
    This is the sole representative of many other words that use "storm" as an affix.
26. swordfish
    This is the sole representative of compound words that use either "sword"or "swords" as a prefix.
27. waterborne
    This is the sole representative of the many words that use the suffix "-borne". And as this is a productive mechanism the number is growing, and limited only by the number of suitable vehicles.

From IR to eternity (IR notes)

/ɜ:/ Notes

1. circuitous
   Students of ESOL should note that this has 4 syllables, the second and third being /ju:ɪ/ (although the word circuit has only 2). Note also that the Macmillan English Dictionary transcription has this sound, but the audio sample has /ə/ in the first syllable.
2. extirpate
   The Macmillan English Dictionary transcription has this sound, but the audio sample has /ə/. The word is rarely used, and when it is a precise enunciation (with /ɜ:/) is common.
3. firsthand
   This escapes the usual exclusion of compounds because it is entirely metaphorical.
4. headfirst
   This escapes the usual exclusion of compounds because it is largely metaphorical - always, except when referring to an actual physical plunge.
5. jailbird
   This escapes the usual exclusion of compounds because a jailbird is not a bird.
6. lovebird
   This escapes the usual exclusion of compounds because a lovebird is not - in the more common, metaphorical sense - a bird.
7. stillbirth
   This escapes the usual exclusion of compounds because what is born is more than just "still".
8. yardbird
   This escapes the usual exclusioin of compounds because it is not a bird (and the "yard" in question is of a particular sort).

/ɪ/ Notes

1. aspirateɪ
   In the adjective. the last syllable is /ət/. In the verb. the last syllable is /eɪt/.
2. direct, direction, directionless, directive, directly, directorate, directorial, directorship, directory, indirect. indirectly
   See also /aɪ/.
3. directorial
   See also /aɪ/. (Although the Macmillan English Dictionary does not, in this one case, give two possible pronunciations - giving only the /aɪ/ variant - common usage does not observe this exception.)
4. indirectly
   The Macmillan English Dictionary does not have the /aɪ/ version, although it is common.

/aɪə/ Notes

1. campfire
   Escapes the usual exclusion of compounds because of its frequent collocation with "song". A "campfire song" is not necessarily sung in the presence of ("around" is the customary preposition) a campfire (or indeed any kind of fire).
2. desirous
   The Macmillan English Dictionary transcription has this sound, but the audio sample has no /ə/, a commonly heard variant.
3. dog-tired, hard-wired, live wire, quick-fire, sure-fire
   This escapes the usual exclusion of compounds because it is entirely metaphorical.
4. entirety
   The Macmillan English Dictionary transcription has this sound, but the audio sample has no /ə/ (in the second syllable). although that is commonly heard. Students of ESOL should use this word with caution (if at all!): 'the entirety of' is usually (perhaps always) a grandiloquent way of saying'the whole',  'the whole of' or 'all'.
5. expiry, retiree, retirement, retiring
   The Macmillan English Dictionary transcription has this sound, but the audio sample has no /ə/ (in the second syllable).
6. firebrand
   This escapes the usual exclusion of compound words, for two reasons. The "brand" part scarcely exists as a freestanding word (with a concrete referent, that is), and the word as a whole is - more often than not - used to refer metaphorically to a sort of person.
7. grappling iron, iron, ironing, soldering iron
   Note that the "r" is not pronounced.
8. gridiron
   This escapes the usual exclusion of compounds because of its metaphorical use (to refer to a field marked out for American football.)
9. haywire
   This escapes the usual exclusion of compounds, because it refers neither to hay nor to wire.
10. hot-wire
    This escapes the usual exclusion of compounds, because the wires involved are not hot .
11. wiretap
    This escapes the usual exclusion of compounds because the "tap" in question is metaphorical.
12. wiry
    The Macmillan English Dictionary transcription has this sound, but the audio sample has very little (if any) /ə/.

/aɪ/ Notes

1. direct, direction, directionless, directive, directly, director, directorate, directorship, directory, indirect
   See also /ɪ/.
2. directorial
   See also /aɪ/. (Although the Macmillan English Dictionary does not, in this one case, give two possible pronunciations - giving only the /aɪ/ variant - common usage does not observe this exception).
3. indirectly
   See also /ɪ/. The Macmillan English Dictionary does not have the /aɪ/ version (although it is not uncommon).

/ə/ Notes

1. admirable
   Note that the stress is on the first syllable.
2. circumference
   Students of ESOL should note that, unlike other words formed with the "circum-" prefix, stress is on the second syllable.
3. elixir
   The Macmillan English Dictionary gives this but /i:ə/ and /Iə/ are both common and acceptable.
4. giraffe
   The Macmillan English Dictionary transcription has this sound, but the audio sample has a trace of /ɪ/ - a common and acceptable alternative.
5. miraculous
   The Macmillan English Dictionary transcription has this sound, but the audio sample uses /ɪ/.
6. piranha
   The Macmillan English Dictionary transcription has this sound, but the audio sample uses /ɪ/. Both are acceptable, and in some speech communities the /ɪ/ variant is the more common.
7. satiri[s|z]e, satirist
   The Macmillan English Dictionary transcription has this sound, as does the audio sample, but /ɪ/ is also common.
8. tapir
   The Macmillan English Dictionary gives this pronunciation, as do most other online dictionaries, but a version with /Iə/ is common and acceptable (some might even think it preferable - as it avoids a pun with "taper".
9. triumvirate, virility
   The Macmillan English Dictionary transcription has this sound, as does the audio sample,, but a version with /ɪ/ is common.

By the way(side)

Notes from the word face

 (an irregular report on  work towards WVGTbk2)

Just a quickie: in my ongoing (but  increasingly sporadic...

<digression>
Good word, that – sporadic. I imagine it's got something to do with ...

<meta_digression>
Yup. Etymonline  shows how it started life as a Greek metaphor, then found its way into various Romance languages (via Latin)

sporadic (adj.)

1680s, from Medieval Latin sporadicus "scattered," from Greek sporadikos "scattered," from sporas (genitive sporados) "scattered, dispersed," from spora "a sowing" (see spore).....
</meta_digression>

 ...spore.
 </digression>

..._) trawl through words spelt with the letters *IR*, I took some time off to make an .mp3 file of my choir's next offering – Mozart's Requiem. Rather than use one of the YouTube2mp3 sites I took the old-fashioned path of recording  it through my own sound card (patching the speaker into the record socket) into some audio manipulation software I use – no doubt sacrificing some sound quality on the altar of DIY.

I've mentioned before, somewhere in this blog, the dictionary software I use, which pronounces each word as you select it. While my audio file was still doing its thing, Proceeding with my trawl I came upon a word and clicked on the little loudspeaker doofer to check that the transcription matched the audio sample (pointlessly, of course, as my patch was routing the soundcard back into  itself, but thinking isn't something I do much of when I'm in data-collection mode).

I realized what I had done when I was lstening back to the recording:

Rex tremen-STIRRUP-dae majestatis

Fortunately I learnt not to continue with this fruitless clicking, so the mp3 file does not have disembodied *IR* words scattered (sporadically – appropriate or what?) throughout .

b