OL factory

This post contains the first of the *OL* sounds, of which there are many more than for *IL*  –  8 or 9 (depending on  whether you give chocolate 2 syllables or 3; in fact the advertiser‘s chocolatey definitely has 3 syllables and not 4.)

First draft of "ol" >  /ɒl/ notes

1. alcoholism
   The Macmillan English Dictionary gives this transcription. but the audio sample has the vowel sound /ə/.
2. bankroll [Must check this –  should be /əʊ]
   This is the sole representative of the many compound nouns formed by the addition of -roll. In this case adding another noun has produced a new verb too: to bankroll something (usually a project of some kind) is to make it possible by making funds available.
3. bollocking
   The Macmillan English Dictionary also gives bollock as a verb. It is rarely used, except in this -ing form. The British National Corpus records 15 instances of the word, with 12 having the meaning harsh criticism. There are also 15 instances of bollock, but only two of these are verbs, and only one of those has the relevant meaning; the other must be a regional usage – with the apparent meaning grumble.
4. choleric
   The Macmillan English Dictionary gives two American pronunciations, one with stress on the second syllable. In this case the first vowel-sound is /ə/. The same dictionary gives only one pronunciation, marked British. But the version with stress on the second syllable is common in the UK and widely accepted.
5. colitis
   The Macmillan English Dictionary gives this transcription. but the audio sample has the vowel sound /ə/.
6. Collect
   This is the noun (which is not in Macmillan English Dictionary; the link is to the Collins English Dictionary). The verb – and, in American English, adverb (in the collocation "call collect") – is in the *OL* > /ə/ section.
7. colleen
   This borrowing from Irish Gaelic is transcribed with this vowel, although its stress – in regular British English – would normally suggest a /ə/ in the first syllable. And the audio sample on the CD-ROM follows this suggestion.
8. colloquy
   The Macmillan English Dictionary does not include this word, but several other dictionaries do. The link is to the Collins English Dictionary.
9. consolatory
   The Macmillan English Dictionary gives this transcription. but the audio sample has a very slight (almost non-existent) /ə/, as primary stress is placed on the first syllable (also unlike the transcription). The pronunciation with /ə/ in the first syllable and primary stress on the second is common but is on the decline. As is often the case when a pronunciation is dying out, many of its users regard it as in some sense correct (following the "argument" often heard in language circles that what used to be customary is necessarily the only option).
10. décolleté
    The Macmillan English Dictionary transcribes this with only three syllables, but the audio sample has a clear /ə/ after the /l/. Both pronunciations are both acceptable and common.
11. dissolve
    Students of English for Speakers of Other Languages should note that the written letters "ss" represent /z/, whereas in dissolute (see the /ə/ section) the same letters represent /s/.
12. molecule
    Students of English for Speakers of Other Languages should note that there is no Magic E affecting the first syllable, and that this word has three syllables – /‘mɑlɪkju:l/.
13. pink-collar
    Note that this is not in any way an opposite of blue-collar, except in the sense that a blue-collar worker has tended, historically, to be male.
14. polka 
    The Macmillan English Dictionary gives this transcription (and a corresponding audio example), but for the collocation "polka dot" (which has no separate transcription), the audio sample has a suggestion of the vowel-sound /əʊ/. Both pronunciations are acceptable.
15. polyandry
    This is the sole representative of the many compound words (and neologisms) that use the prefix poly-.
16. resolve
    Macmillan English Dictionary gives one transcription and a corresponding audio sample, with the stressed syllable /zɒlv/, and to make a firm decision as the primary meaning. Other dictionaries differ; Collins English Dictionary, for example, gives to solve a problem as the primary meaning, with to make a firm decision as the sixth of fourteen verbal meanings. Although both these dictionaries use the same /z/ pronunciation, some speakers use /z/ for making a decision and /s/ (with /ri:/ in the first syllable) for to solve again. In the expressions resolve an equation and resolve a dispute/problem/disagreement..., the /z/ pronunciation is correct.
17. troll
    Also heard with /əʊ/. Both pronunciations are common and acceptable.
18. vol-au-vent
    Note that the second syllable is just /ə/.
19. volte-face
    This is unlike the (unrelated) word volt (derived from the Italian name Volta – see the /əʊ/ section). It is interesting, and no doubt confusing for students of English for Speakers of Other Languages, that the word with no final E has the sound /əʊ/, while the one with final E has the sound /ɒ/.