ill-temperament

Last week I skipped the usual tranche, as an idea in connection with  my other blog monpolized my attention – some would put it more strongly.

First draft of "il" >  /ɪl/ notes

1. ability
   This is the sole representative of more than 100 words that use the suffix -ability or -ibility.
2. affiliate
   This is the verb. The last syllable in other uses is /ə/.
3. anthill
   Students of ESOL should note that the letters "th" do not represent a /θ/ sound. Each syllable is pronounced as though it were a separate word.
4. bodily
   This can be an adverb, but it is more commonly used as an adjective – as in "bodily harm" or "bodily fluids". The British National Corpus has nine times as many instances of its use as an adjective. But, considered as an adverb, it would escape the general exclusion of -ily adverbs formed from an adjective ending in y for the obvious reason that body is a noun.
5. Cadillac, espadrille, fusillade, grille, and vaudeville
Note that, unlike some other words, such as chenille, this word has been fully Anglicized – the sound is /ɪl/.

6. centilitre
   This is the sole representative of the many words that use the prefix "centi-"
7. dilemma
   The Macmillan English Dictionary gives this pronunciation, but the /aɪ/ diphthong is also common. Macmillan English Dictionary identifies the /aɪ/ pronunciation as American, but it is common also in the UK. The Cambridge Dictionary, for example, gives the /aɪ/ pronunciation (and does not even mention /ɪ/). Both are acceptable, although there are people who insist that the word does not just mean "a sticky situation" but must refer to a choice between two options – so they feel it necessary to emphasize this by using the /aɪ/ pronunciation.
8. downhill
   This is the sole representative of the many compound words that use hill as either a prefix (as in for example hilltop) or a suffix (as here). Individual notes explain the exceptions.
9. fritillary
   This word is not in the Macmillan English Dictionary, being quite rare (as is the flower/butterfly it represents). The link is to Collins.
10. fossilize, fossilized
    The Macmillan English Dictionary does not give the -ise spelling. The link is to Collins.
11. guerrilla
    A spelling with a single r is considered acceptable by some speakers.
12. hillbilly
    This escapes the general exclusion noted in note 8 because the sense of hill, though it forms part of the word‘s etymological story, is not present in the current meaning of the word.
13. hillock
    This escapes the general exclusion noted in note 8 because ock does not in itself mean anything – not now, that is. It is derived from the Middle English diminutive suffix -oc. This is the sole representative of the many compounds formed from ill- and an adjective. Macmillan English Dictionary lists 17, but the prefix is still, as linguists say productive – so many more will occur.
14. ill-advised, ill feeling
    When there is no hyphen, and "ill" is a freestanding adjective, it usually has the meaning "unfriendly" or "unwelcome" or even "hostile".
15. immobilizer
    The Macmillan English Dictionary does not give a version spelt ‘-iser‘, but several dictionaries do. The link is to Collins. (On the other hand, the spellchecker on my android tablet does not recognize the ‘-zer‘ spelling – presumably because of the almost pathological loathing shared by many UK software engineers of all ‘-ize‘ spellings).
16. instil
    The Macmillan English Dictionary, which often gives American variants, does not give a version with the spelling instill, but in the online version the word instill appears with a URL that identifies it as American.
17. killjoy
    This is the sole representative of the many compound words that use kill as either a prefix (as here for example) or as a suffix (as in, for example, roadkill. Individual notes explain the exceptions.
18. kilobit
    This is the sole representative of the many words that use kilo- as a prefix. Individual notes explain the exceptions. Note that the noun has the /i:/ sound. The prefix kilo- has given rise to the colloquial abbreviation k (especially in reference to amounts of money).
19. matrilineal
    The Macmillan English Dictionary gives the (unlengthened) /i/ vowel, not widely used in British English, but the audio clip has /ɪ/.
20. militarized
    The Macmillan English Dictionary does not give a version with the spelling  -ised; the link is to the one dictionary that does – Dictionarist. (On the other hand, the spellchecker on my android tablet does not recognize the ‘-zed‘ spelling.
21. milkman
    This is the sole representative of the compound words that either start milk- or end -milk.
22. millepede
    This escapes the general exclusion given in note 23, as the remaining letters, after the prefix is removed, do not make a freestanding word: there are, for example, measurements such as bar or gram. Besides, the prefix is inappropriate, as these insects typically have many fewer than a thousand legs.
23. millibar
    This is the sole representative of the compound words that start milli-.
24. millstone
    This is the sole representative of the compound words that either start mill- or end -mill.
25. multilateral
    This is the sole representative of the compound words that start multi-. Macmillan English Dictionary gives the (unlengthened) /i/ vowel, not widely used in British English, but the audio clip has /ɪ/. (See also note 27).
26. nihilism
    Note that the Macmillan English Dictionary transcription and audio sample have no /h/, but that pronunciation is not uncommon. For example, listen to the British English pronunciation at Cambridge Dictionaries Online.
27. patrilineal and rectilinear
The Macmillan English Dictionary gives the (unlengthened) pronunciation /i/, as it does for matrilineal. This is possibly a mistake (although some prefixes ending in i- [for example multilateral but not quadrilateral] are given this pronunciation).

28. pillbox
    This escapes the exclusion noted in note 29 [HD: ??? I‘ll have to sort this out – but not now] because – in many of the uses of pillbox (for example, coastal defences and millinery) – the sense of pill is remote, though presumably there is (long ago in the etymological past) a figurative reference to a container for pills.
29. pillowcase
    This is the sole representative of compound nouns prefixed with pillow-, except where noted otherwise for reasons given.
30. sawmill
    This is the sole representative of compound words that use -mill as a suffix (with exceptions as noted).
31. scintillating, similar, and vigil
    The Macmillan English Dictionary gives this transcription but the audio sample has more than a hint of /ə/.
32. silverfish
    This escapes the general exclusion in note 33 because a silverfish is neither silver nor silvern.
33. silversmith
    This is the sole representative of compound words that use silver- as a prefix. In some phrases, "silver" forms what is effectively a compound word, although there is no hyphen; these usually refer to colour or have a figurative sense only distantly connected to the metal – for example, "silver birch" or "silver anniversary"
34. sterilizer
    Oddly, the Macmillan English Dictionary does not include this word, though it does include, for example, stabil[s|z]er. The link here is to Collins.
35. tonsillitis
    Note that the Macmillan English Dictionary does not give the variant spelling with a single l, though several other dictionaries – for example, Collins – do.
36. umbilical and umbilicus
    Note that although the Macmillan English Dictionary gives "umbilicus", and does not give the much more common umbilical, many other dictionaries do list the more common word. The Corpus of Contemporary American records nearly 10 times as many cases of the adjective (almost always occurring in the phrase umbilical cord) as it does of the noun (used almost exclusively by medical professionals). The British National Corpus shows a greater preponderance: the adjective occurs nearly 17 times as frequently as the noun.
37. unilateral
    This is the sole representative of the many words that use uni- as a prefix.
38. upskilling
    The Macmillan English Dictionary does not list upskill as a bare infinitive, though a few (for example, Collins) do.
39. vigilance, vigilant, and vigilante
    In spite of the Macmillan English Dictionary‘s /ə/ for many -il- words, these three have /ɪ/ in both the transcription and the audio sample (and see, in contrast, note 31). As with many other such words, either pronunciation is both common and acceptable.
40. weedkiller
    This is the sole representative of the many compound nouns formed with the ending -killer.
41. wildebeest
    The Macmillan English Dictionary transcribes this with the initial /v/ and second vowel /ə/, faithful to the word‘s Afrikaans origins. But not all usages follow this; for example, Collins gives a transcription with /w/ and /ɪ/ respectively. However,  Macmillan English Dictionary doesn't have all the etymological high ground: the audio sample has the initial consonant /w/.

No country for old rope

The last three of the "el" sounds:

First draft of "el" > "Magic E" notes

1. facelift
   This escapes the general exclusion of "face" and "lift" compounds, because although a facelift does involve tightening of facial elements, the face as a whole is not simply lifted.
2. firelight
   This is the one representative of the many compounds formed with "fire".
3. firelit
   The Macmillan English Dictionary does not include this word. Not many dictionaries do (Onelook finds only four). This link is to the Collins English Dictionary.
4. livelong
   This is a magic E in that the e does not affect the  E of the i (in the same way as it does not affect the i in the /ɪ/ pronunciation of live).
5. omelette
   This does not have a magic E in the traditional sense (where an English word ending in e has an ending [often a suffix], so that the resultant el has no sound represented by the e). But as no other English word of this kind has a silent e – apart from words with a magic E (borrowed suffix and all, with no such word as "*ome") – omelette is included here to avoid creating a separate one-word category.

First draft of "el" > /i:l/  notes

1. delectation
   The Macmillan English Dictionary gives this transcription, but the audio sample has the /e/ phoneme.
2. prelapsarian
   The Macmillan English Dictionary does not include this word, which escapes the general exclusion of words that use the "pre-" prefix because of the opacity of its derivation - Onelook finds only two dictionaries that include "lapsarian" – Wiktionary and Wikipedia. But many other dictionaries do
include "prelapsarian". The link is to Collins English Dictionary.

3. preliterate
   This is the sole representative of words formed with the prefix "pre-", with an exception covered in the previous note.
4. relaxation
   The Macmillan English Dictionary gives this transcription, but the audio sample has the /ɪ/ phoneme.

First draft of "el" > /eɪl/  notes

1. elan
   The Macmillan English Dictionary gives this transcription, but the audio sample has the /e/ phoneme. There are other possible and acceptable versions, as is common with foreign borrowings.
2. melange
   The Macmillan English Dictionary gives this transcription, but the audio sample has the /e/ phoneme (presumably the speaker knows some French, and did not follow the transcription – preferring the purer French vowel).

‘Figurative lag‘ "below-the-fold"

Here are the notes for two el-sounds: first /ə/ and then /ɪ/.

First draft of "el" > /əl/  notes

1. alleluia
   The Macmillan English Dictionary has this transcription but the audio sample has an /e/ vowel.
2. babel
   The Macmillan English Dictionary does not give this its initial capital, which some speakers associate with the pronunciation that has /eɪ/ in the first syllable.
3. becquerel
   The Macmillan English Dictionary has this transcription, but many people use /e/ – especially if they did French at school.
4. belligerent
   The Macmillan English Dictionary has this transcription but the audio sample has an /ɪ/ vowel. Both are both common and acceptable.
5. by-election
   On the Macmillan English Dictionary CD-ROM, although the speaker of both this and election is the same, the second vowel is different (although there is no transcription). It sounds closer to /ə/. It is probable that after the /aɪ/ there is dissimilation to avoid the triphthong (although this /aɪɪ/ is not uncommon – in words such as weighing).
6. celeb, celebrity, celerity, celestial, correlate, crenel(l)ated, derelict, and dereliction
   The Macmillan English Dictionary has this, but the pronunciation /ɪ/ is common (it is given, for example, in the Collins English Dictionary.)
7. deluxe
   The Macmillan English Dictionary has this transcription but the audio sample has the /ɪ/ vowel – a common alternative.
8. fuselage
   The e seems like a magic E, as it makes the u into /ju:/ rather than /ʌ/ (as in pairs like fuss/fuse or muss/muse), but the word has three syllables.
9. gravel(l)ed and gruel(l)ing
   The Macmillan English Dictionary does not include a version with a single l on the CD-ROM, but does in the online version.
10. grovel(l)ing and snivel(l)ing
    The Macmillan English Dictionary does not include a version with a single l, although many other dictionaries (for example, the Collins English Dictionary) do.
11. haveli
    The Macmillan English Dictionary puts primary stress on the last syllable, but the speaker in the audio clip does not. This is not a commonly used word in the UK, and the speaker is probably meeting it for the first time.
12. jewel[l]ery
    Also spelt (as it is pronounced – that is, with 3 syllables) "jewelry". In British English this spelling is optional. In American English the shorter version is standard; it outnumbers jewellery nearly 100:1 in the Corpus of Contemporary American (7,650:79). There is a slightly greater preponderance (this time for jewellery over jewelry) in the British National Corpus (1,216:11). .
13. labeled and labeling
    The Macmillan English Dictionary does not list a version with two ls although many other dictionaries (for example the Collins English Dictionary) do.
14. leveled and leveling
    The Macmillan English Dictionary does not include a version with two ls, though it does include "leveller" (not more level, but something that redresses an imbalance, or a participant in a particular politico-historical movement, The Levellers.
15. minstrelsy
    The Macmillan English Dictionary does not include this word, but many others (for example, the Collins English Dictionary) do.
16. Noel
    This name is a homograph of a word in the /e/ section.
17. quarreled, quarreling, shoveled, shoveling, shriveled, shriveling, snorkeled, snorkeling, swiveled, tunneled, tunneling, unraveled, and unraveling.
    The Macmillan English Dictionary does not include a version with a single l on the CD-ROM, but does in the online version.
18. rebel
    This word when stressed on the first syllable (with a /ə/ in the second) when it is a noun. When it is a verb it takes stress on the second syllable.
19. shellac
    The Macmillan English Dictionary gives both this and /e/ as alternative pronunciations for the noun and does not give the verb. Other dictionaries (for example the Collins English Dictionary) give both. Some speakers distinguish between the verb with /ə/ – and stress on the second syllable – and the noun with /e/ (matching a similar distinction between the noun produce – with an   lagopen vowel in the first syllable – and the verb produce – with /ə/).
20. untramelled
    The Macmillan English Dictionary does not give the spelling with a single l in the CD-ROM version, but in the online version it gives untrameled – with a URL that identifies it as an American usage.

First draft of "el" > /ɪl/  notes

1. below-the-fold
   It is ironic (but a sign of the way metaphors continue to be used long after the underlying technology has moved on) that the Macmillan English Dictionary defines this as "the part of an Internet document that you cannot see without moving the page downwards". In that context, "page" is another. Other examples of this figurative lag are "a flash in the pan" (reference to an obsolete firearm mechanism) and "hang up" (reference to an obsolete telephone design). In this case the reference is to a folded newspaper.
2. deselect
   The Macmillan English Dictionary gives this transcription, but the audio sample has an /ə/. Both vowels are used.
3. elaborate
   In the CD-ROM containing the New Edition of the Macmillan English Dictionary (Version 2.3.0711), although the verb and the adjective have distinct transcriptions (with respect to the last syllable), they both have the same audio; the verb is correct but the adjective is incorrectly given the /eɪt/ ending. This is correct in the online version, so may have been corrected in a later release of the software version
4. elicit
   The Macmillan English Dictionary gives this (both transcription and audio), but often speakers avoid the punning "illicit" by giving "elicit" an /e/.
5. felonious
   The Macmillan English Dictionary does not include this, but many other dictionaries (for example Collins) do.
6. hallelujah
   The Macmillan English Dictionary gives this transcription, but the audio sample has /eɪ/. Both pronunciations are both common and acceptable.
7. pellucid
   The Macmillan English Dictionary gives this transcription, but the audio sample has something approaching /ə/. Both pronunciations are both common and acceptable.
8. preliminary
   The Macmillan English Dictionary transcribes this with an /i/ (for both the adjective and the noun). This is obviously a mistake.
9. select, selection, selective, and selector
   These four are all transcribed in the Macmillan English Dictionary with the /ɪ/ vowel, but the audio for the first three has the vowel /ə/, with only "selector" having an audio clip matching the transcription. Both vowels are both common and acceptable.

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)

Per ardua ad nauseam

First draft of "al" > /æl/ notes

1. algal, and alkali
   The stressed (first) syllable has this vowel. See also under AL:/ə/.
2. allied
   This is the adjective (as in, for example, "allied troops"). When used as a past participle this word has the same stress (and the same unstressed vowel) as the verb "ally" – see under AL:/ə/.
3. alloy
   This is the noun. The same letters appear in words such as "unalloyed", which has an unstressed second syllable – see AL:/ə/
4. balalaika
   The first syllable has this vowel; the "al" in the second syllable is unstressed – /ə/.
5. caloric
   Not in Macmillan English Dictionary but in several other dictionaries – for example, Collins.
6. counterbalance
   This is the sole representative of compound words and idiomatic phrases (such as "balance of power" and "checks and balances").
7. Dalai Lama
   Transcribed thus in the Macmillan English Dictionary but in the audio sample the sound is /ɑ:/
8. gallant
   This is the adjective, with stress on the first syllable. In the noun, the first syllable is unstressed – see AL:/ə/.
9. genealogy
   Perhaps because of the popularity of genealogy on the Internet, the American English pronunciation (which Cambridge Dictionary of American English gives as having either /æl/ or /ɑl/) is often misheard, misreported, and then mistakenly learnt as /ɒ/ and misspelt as "geneology".
10. hallowed
    The noun and the verb have limited (largely literary and/or poetic) use, but the past participle formed from the verb is still used in idioms such as ‘hallowed ground" or the hyperbolic – mock-reverential – "hallowed turf" in certain sports venues.
11. hallucinogen
    The Macmillan English Dictionary gives this word the vowel sound /æ/, but the audio sample has /ə/ (like hallucinate and other derivatives, which are transcribed that way.
12. heraldic
    It is not clear why the Macmillan English Dictionary does not include this word. Many others (for example, Collins) do.
13. maladjustment
    This is the sole representative of the many words that use the prefix "mal-" – with certain exceptions. These exceptions are generally cases where the remaining word, after the "mal-" is removed, is a recognizable word in its own right
14. malfeasance
    This is included because the word "feasance", while it exists, is archaic and used chiefly in a legal context.
15. malapropism
    This is included because the word "apropism" doesn't exist (except, perhaps, in a jocular context).
16. malcontent
    This is included because, although the word "content" is recognizably etymologically relevant, the word is normally not a noun (except in the House of Lords).
17. mall
    The Macmillan English Dictionary gives a total of four transcriptions, two marked as British English and two marked as American English. The two BE ones are /æ/ and /ɔ:/, but they both use the pronunciation /æ/. However, the one marked /ɔ:/ uses /æ/ in the context "shopping mall" – a context that tends to attract one of the American pronunciations /ɔ/ (typically realized by speakers of BE as /ɔ:/).
18. mallrat
    The Macmillan English Dictionary gives a "British English" pronunciation with /æ/. But as the word is American slang this pronunciation seems to be questionable. Certainly I have never heard it.
19. malodorous
    The word "odorous" is not simply "giving off a smell", with a prefix indicating whether that smell is good or bad. (Similarly, "smelly" has an automatically negative connotation.)
20. malware
    The "mal-" refers to the effect of the "-ware" rather than to its quality.
21. palpitations
    Note the plural. The singular also exists, but the plural refers to a specific (though ill-defined) physical condition.
22. phalanx
    The Macmillan English Dictionary transcription is thus for British English, and gives /eɪ/ as American English – although the /eɪ/ pronunciation is common in the UK. In fact, the /æ/ seems to be common enough in the US for the /eɪ/ transcription to be linked to an American voice using /æ/.
23. salmon and salmonella
    Note that in "salmon" the l is silent, whereas in "salmonella" it is not.
24. shall
    In most other cases of words that end "-all" - "ball", "call", "fall", "gall", "hall" .... – the pronunciation is /ɔ:/. Philologists are generally not surprised to find exceptional pronunciations in words that are dying out: scroll down to the very bottom of http://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/shall for evidence of this decline.
    <comment>
    This seems rather cumbersome. I'll probably include this pictue:
    </comment>
25. shallows and valuables
    This is a noun. Note the plural ending.
26. shalom
    The Macmillan English Dictionary gives this transcription, but the audio clip has /ə/. Moreover, especially when sung, the vowel is commonly heard with the long vowel /ɑ:/.
27. shalt
    This is archaic; it is the second person singular of the verb "shall", but is still used in Biblical (and pseudo-Biblical) quotations – particularly in the form "Thou shalt not...".
28. tala
    Indian English musical term.

b