Is a guest who‘s "well-turrned-out" welcome?

This week‘s tranche starts on the "el" notes.

First draft of "el" > /el/  notes

1. bellyache
   This is the one representative of the many compounds formed with "belly".
2. beltway
   This is the one representative of the many compounds formed with "belt".
3. bombshell
   This is the one representative of the many compounds formed with "shell".
4. bookseller
   This is the one representative of the many compounds formed with "sell[er]".
5. bookshelf
   This is the one representative of the many compounds formed with "shelf".
6. caramel
   The Macmillan English Dictionary gives this with /e/, but the pronunciation /ə/ is common (for example, see The Collins English Dictionary).
7. dumbell
   This escapes the general exclusion of "bell" derivatives, because this is not a bell. Nor indeed is it dumb (although this Etymonline link shows the derivation: the object itself is not dumb, but it makes no noise when brandished – in the absence of a bell-like container).
8. electromagnetic wave
   On the CD-ROM that accompanies the Macmillan English Dictionary software the audio clip has /e/ rather than /ɪ/ in the first syllable (unlike the entry for the single word). But the speakers are different and there is no transcription for such collocations. Both pronunciations are acceptable and common.
9. fel(d)spar
   The "d", if present, is silent.
10. fellatio
    The Macmillan English Dictionary transcribes this with /e/, but the audio sample gives the pronunciation /ə/. Both pronunciations are common and both are acceptable.
11. gel
    Also spelt "jell".
12. helpmate
    The Macmillan English Dictionary does not include the synonymous "helpmeet", but other dictionaries (for example the Collins English Dictionary) do. The British National Corpus (BNC) shows a slight preference for "-mate": 8/6. The Corpus of Contemporary American (COCA) shows a much greater preference (62/25), but as COCA is 4.5 times bigger than BNC this suggests a much stronger preference in American for "-mate" over "-meet" (which has an almost equivalent [absolute] frequency on both sides of the Atlantic).
13. helter-skelter
    Both instances of "el" represent the same sound.
14. herself
    This is the sole representative of "-self" and "-selves" compounds. Students of ESOL should note that myself, yourself, ourselves, yourselves (and arguably itself [= its + self?] and herself [possessive or objective her?]) are all formed from the possessive pronoun. In contrast, himself, themselves (and arguably itself [= it + self?] and herself [objective or possessive her?]) are formed from the objective pronoun. (In some dialects, hisself and theirselves do exist, but they are not standard.)
15. melee
    The Macmillan English Dictionary, for the American version, gives the pronunciation /eɪ/ in both syllables. This pronunciation is increasingly heard in the UK, especially among younger speakers (particularly those who haven‘t studied French).
16. multicellular
    This is the sole representative of the countless words that use the prefix "multi-".
17. Noel
    This word, sometimes marked with a diaeresis, is a homograph of a word in the /ə/ section.
18. Orwellian
    Whereas "Churchillian", "Freudian", "Kafkaesque", "Pinteresque", "Shakespearean" , "Shavian", etc. all refer to an author or thinker, and words that refer to a particular story (rarer) append their suffix to the name of the work or character (e.g. "Faustian", "Pooterish"), "Orwellian" usually refers to only one book in that author‘s œuvre and means something like "1984esque".
19. outsell
    This is the sole representative of the many words that use the prefix "out-".
20. overdeveloped
    This is the sole representative of the many words that use the prefix "over-".
21. rapell
    The Macmillan English Dictionary CD-ROM (version 2.3.0711) transcribes the first syllable with the vowel /æ/ but (for both the British and the American audio) it is pronounced /ə/. The transcriptions for the online version are correct.
22. rebel
    This word, when stressed on the first syllable (with an /ə/ in the second), is a noun; there is also an entry under /ə/. When it is a verb, as here, it takes stress on the second syllable.
23. self-absorbed and well-adjusted
    The Macmillan English Dictionary notes about 100 such compounds. This is the sole representative of this format, with a few exceptions explained in their notes.
24. self-righteous and self-serving
    This is an exception to the general exclusion of "self-" compounds because the sense of the past participle (or "third part") is not as clearly relevant as is, for example the "-preservation" in "self-preservation".
25. shellac
    The Macmillan English Dictionary gives both this and /ə/ as alternative pronunciations for the noun and does not give the verb. Other dictionaries (for example Collins) give both. Some speakers distinguish between the verb with /ə/ and the noun with /e/ (matching a similar distinction between the noun produce ‐ with an open vowel in the first syllable ‐ and the verb produce ‐ with /ə/).
26. skeletal
    This is stressed on the first syllable. Increasingly, in the UK, there is a version with /ə/ in the first syllable and /i:/ in the (stressed) second syllable. Macmillan English Dictionary gives this, with the shorter /i/ vowel, as an American option.
27. telecast
    This is the sole representative of the very many words that incorporate the prefix "tele-". (Strictly, this particular word does not use the prefix (as a prefix), as it is a portmanteau word formed from "television" and "broadcast".)
28. well-appointed, well-born, well-built, well-disposed, and well-heeled
    This is an exception to the general exclusion of "well-" compounds because the sense of the past participle (or "third part") is not as clearly relevant as is, for example the "-defined" in "well-defined".
29. well-bred
    This is an exception to the general exclusion of "well-" compounds because the sense of "-bred" is not as clearly relevant as is, for example the "-defined" in "well-defined" (that is, a "well-bred" person is not one whose parents are particularly good at breeding).
30. well-read
    This is an exception to the general exclusion of "well-" compounds because the sense of "-read" is not as clearly relevant as is, for example the "-defined" in "well-defined". Students of ESOL should note that the second syllable has /e/ rather than /i:/.
31. well-spoken
    This is an exception to the general exclusion of "well-" compounds because the sense of "-spoken" is not as clearly relevant as is, for example the "-defined" in "well-defined" – in one sense of "well-spoken" (when it means "with the accent of an educated person". If someone is "well spoken of" there should be no hyphen.)
32. well-turned-out
    This is an exception to the general exclusion of "well-" compounds because the sense of "-turned-out" is not as clearly relevant as is, for example the "-defined" in "well-defined". You cannot say that a holiday that turns out well is "well-turned-out"; nor can you say that an unwelcome guest who has been ejected is "well-turned-out" (although, if their clothes were fine, they might be "well-turned-out").
33. well-versed
    This is an exception to the general exclusion of "well-" compounds because the sense of "-versed" is not as clearly relevant as is, for example the "-defined" in "well-defined". In any case, the word "versed" is hardly current.

The Grim Creeper Creeps On

Two lots of notes this time, representing the two least common "-al-" sounds.

First draft of "al" > /eɪ/  notes

1. Fairytale
   This is included not as a compound noun (a story with content suggested by the first element), but as an adjective.
2. Farthingale
   Not included in Macmillan English Dictionary, but is in several other dictionaries (for example Collins).
3. Hale
   If you search Macmillan English Dictionary Online, the link suggests it is an American usage. But if you change (in the URL) "american" for "british", you find a British pronunciation. The word, related etymologically to "health", is widely used on both sides of the Atlantic in the idiomatic phrase "hale and hearty".
4. Halfpenny
   This is not excluded along with other compounds that include the string "half-" because in this case the vowel sound is not /ɑ:/. Unlike the behaviour of "-al-" in other words in this section, the "l" is not sounded (it does not represent an /l/).
5. Palaeontology
   This word is transcribed in Macmillan English Dictionary with the /eɪ/ diphthong, but the audio sample has /æ/ ; some dictionaries (for example, Collins) specify /æ/ in the transcription as well.
6. Saleroom
   This represents the several other compounds that include the string "sale-"
7. Salesman
   This represents the several other compounds that include the string "sales-"
8. Telltale
   This represents the many other compounds that include the string "-tale".
9. Unsaleable
   Macmillan English Dictionary gives both "saleable" and "salable", but gives no option to this.
10. Upscale
    Macmillan English Dictionary identifies this as American and an adjective. Other dictionaries (for example, Collins) recognize it as current in British English, and also as a verb.
11. Valence
    The Macmillan English Dictionary transcribes this word with this diphthong but the audio sample has a clear /æ/ – almost as if the reader at recording had misread it as "valance". But as the American speaker uses the same phoneme, perhaps there was a typo in the script.

First draft of "al" > /a:/ | /a:l/ notes

1. almond
   Macmillan English Dictionary transcribes "almond" with this long vowel and no /l/, but many other pronunciations are current among native-speakers of British English. I have heard /ɑ:l/, /ɔ:l/, /æl/ and /ɒl/. Some of these are reported in Cambridge Dictionaries Online and identified as "American".
2. almoner
   The Macmillan English Dictionary does not include "almoner", but other dictionaries (for example, Collins) do. In this and many other "-al-" words the letters "al" represent the phoneme /ɑ:/; there is no /l/.
3. alms
   Note the plural ending.
4. aloo
   The Macmillan English Dictionary gives "aloo" this long vowel, but other pronunciations are common (as is normal with foreign borrowings).
5. fly-half
   In this expression (a position in a game of rugby) there is no clear (immediate) sense of " divided by two".
6. gala
   Used in compounds, probably the most successful being "swimming gala". In many northern dialects the stressed vowel is pronounced /eɪ/. (This pronunciation is identified in the Macmillan English Dictionary as "American".)
7. half-baked , half-breed and half-caste
   In these and many other words that use the qualifier "half" "half"-ness does not have a direct and/or obvious association with the word that follows "half-".
8. half-timbered
   In this sort of building, some of the structural timbers (not necessarily half) have a cosmetic function.
9. half-truth
   In this sort of misleading statement much of what is asserted is true (often more than half).
10. Kabbalah
    The Macmillan English Dictionary transcribes this word with the long /ɑ:/ vowel, but the audio sample has a clear /æ/. Both pronunciations are common.
11. marsala
    The Macmillan English Dictionary does not include this word but other dictionaries (for example, Collins) do.
12. qualms
    The Macmillan English Dictionary gives this in the plural. The plural is indeed more common; the British National Corpus contains 141 instances of the plural and only 30 of the singular, and in the Corpus Of Contemporary American (a much bigger corpus) the preference is even stronger (705:71). But the singular is used – most commonly after a negative, as in the idiom "without a qualm".

/ɔ:/, you‘re just saying that



First draft of "al" > /ɔ:l/ | /ɔ:/ notes

 

1. all-conquering
    This is the sole representative of the many adjectives that use the prefix "all" (for example "all-knowing", "all-powerful"...).
2. all alone/along
   This sound occurs in the first word. The *al* in the second word is unstressed. See /ə/.
   
3. alright
   This is not included in some dictionaries, but the Macmillan English Dictionary does include it – only adding "Many people consider this to be incorrect."
4. balk
   Also "baulk". Note that, unlike many other *alk words (chalk, stalk, talk and walk), this word keeps the /l/ sound.
5. Balkanis/zation
   The Macmillan English Dictionary transcribes this word thus, but the audio sample uses the sound /ɒ/.
6. ballcock
   This is the sole representative of the many compound words that start "ball-" (for example" ballgown") – or end "-ball" (for example "baseball").
7. balti
   The Macmillan English Dictionary gives two transcriptions, /ɔ:/ and /æ/, but the audio clips (though of different speakers) both use the /ɔ:/ phoneme. Typical of foreign borrowings, the vowels can vary widely; /ɒ/ is also common in this word.
8. be-all
   This is part of the phrase "be-all-and-end-all". In current usage there is no other phrase that includes it.
9. callback
   This is the sole representative of the many compound words that use the string "call-" or "-call".
10. chalkboard
    This is the sole representative of other compound words that use the string "chalk-" (for example, "chalkface").
11. cobalt
    The Macmillan English Dictionary gives this transcription, but the audio sample uses a sound that falls somewhere between /ɒ/ and /æ/.
12. enthral(l)
    The Macmillan English Dictionary does not include the version that has "ll" in the CD-ROM version (and indeed its participles are much more common). But other dictionaries, including Macmillan English Dictionary online, do include it. The link there includes the word "American" , though the BNC has 12 instances in a corpus of 100 million words (1:83), whereas COCA has an almost identical frequency (58 in a corpus of 450 million – 1:76). Both corpuses include both spellings; the version with "ll" is much more frequent on both sides of the Atlantic.
13. fall
    This list does not include the many compound words that include the string "fall" where there is a clear sense of downward motion; in many cases this meaning is present but lost in the mists of etymology.
14. hallmark
    The many compound words that include the string "hall", where there is a clear sense of a public and/or general-use room. In some cases (for instance, "hallmark") this sense is less clear.
15. instal(l)
    The Macmillan English Dictionary does not include the spelling with a single "l" but many other dictionaries do – Collins, for example does.
16. mall
    See also under /æ/.
17. overalls
    The adjective (with no "s") is excluded along with many other "over-" and "-all" compounds, but the "plural" is a garment (which is naturally singular, not unlike "trousers").
18. palter
    This word is not in Macmillan English Dictionary , though it is in several other dictionaries (for example, Collins). It is indeed rare: it does not figure in BNC, and COCA includes only 11 instances.
19. salt water
    This is the sole representative of collocations that include the word "salt".
20. SWALK
    The Macmillan English Dictionary gives this with the /ɔ:/ vowel, but as it is necessarily written (on the outside of an envelope) the question of its pronunciation is moot. (My "mental voice" pronounces it with the /æ/ vowel.
21. uptalk
    The Macmillan English Dictionary gives only the noun, but the primary stress marked in the transcription does not match the primary stress sounded in the audio sample (either for British English or for American English). The speakers in the examples presumably have in mind a verb (which other dictionaries agree in not including); but I have heard both stresses, and suspect that future dictionaries may recognize the existence of a verb. At present, the word is used fairly rarely in discussions of modes of speech, and "uptalk" is not alone among terms used to refer to the same phenomenon. In academic use the preferred word seems to be "HRT" (High Rise Terminal and/or Tone).
22. walkover/walkthrough
    This is not excluded with other "walk-" compounds because a contestant awarded a walkover does not necessarily walk; nor does a person conducting a walkthrough, for similar reasons.
23. wallflower/wallpaper
    This is not excluded with other "wall-" compounds because of the figurative meaning (wallflower – someone [in the days when formal dancing was the norm this person was necessarily a woman] who does not have a dancing partner; wallpaper – a background on a PC/laptop/tablet/phone)