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Science Forum Index » Languages Forum » "Allege" pronunciation: An anecdote
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| Daniel al-Autistiqui |
 Posted: Thu May 01, 2008 10:48 am |
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Guest
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I was reminded last night of the interesting story of how I learned
the correct pronunciation of a word. Until about five years ago, I
always thought that the English word "allege" had a long "e" sound in
the second syllable and rhymed with "besiege". But I was fairly
certain that I had heard people use a short "e" in the derivative
"allegedly". I attributed this change in vowel sound to Chomsky and
Halle's well-known rule of trisyllabic laxing, the same rule that
figures in pairs like "sane"/"sanity" and "serene"/"serenity".
However, it did seem quite bizarre for the rule to apply here:
although "-ity" is a Latinate suffix, "-edly" is a native English one
and would not normally affect the pronunciation of a root word.
Eventually I stumbled on the entry for "allege" in a dictionary and
found that I had been mentally mispronouncing the base word all along.
It sounds like "a ledge", not "a liege", despite the lack of a "d" in
the spelling. No wonder "allegedly" has a short "e".
daniel mcgrath
--
Daniel Gerard McGrath, a/k/a "Govende":
for e-mail replace "invalid" with "com"
Developmentally disabled;
has Autism (Pervasive Developmental Disorder),
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder,
& periodic bouts of depression.
[This signature is under construction.] |
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| Peter T. Daniels |
| Posted: Thu May 01, 2008 10:48 am |
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On May 1, 11:48 am, Daniel al-Autistiqui <govend...@hotmail.invalid>
wrote:
Quote: I was reminded last night of the interesting story of how I learned
the correct pronunciation of a word. Until about five years ago, I
always thought that the English word "allege" had a long "e" sound in
the second syllable and rhymed with "besiege". But I was fairly
certain that I had heard people use a short "e" in the derivative
"allegedly". I attributed this change in vowel sound to Chomsky and
Halle's well-known rule of trisyllabic laxing, the same rule that
figures in pairs like "sane"/"sanity" and "serene"/"serenity".
However, it did seem quite bizarre for the rule to apply here:
although "-ity" is a Latinate suffix, "-edly" is a native English one
and would not normally affect the pronunciation of a root word.
Eventually I stumbled on the entry for "allege" in a dictionary and
found that I had been mentally mispronouncing the base word all along.
It sounds like "a ledge", not "a liege", despite the lack of a "d" in
the spelling. No wonder "allegedly" has a short "e".
And no wonder it's often misspelled. Can you guess how? |
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| Alec McKenzie |
| Posted: Thu May 01, 2008 10:49 am |
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Daniel al-Autistiqui <govende30@hotmail.invalid> wrote:
Quote: No wonder "allegedly" has a short "e".
Allegedly, anyway.
--
Alec McKenzie
alecusenet@<surname>.me.uk |
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| Maria C. |
| Posted: Thu May 01, 2008 11:12 am |
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Guest
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Daniel al-Autistiqui wrote:
Quote: I was reminded last night of the interesting story of how I learned
the correct pronunciation of a word. Until about five years ago, I
always thought that the English word "allege" had a long "e" sound in
the second syllable and rhymed with "besiege". But I was fairly
certain that I had heard people use a short "e" in the derivative
"allegedly". I attributed this change in vowel sound to Chomsky and
Halle's well-known rule of trisyllabic laxing, the same rule that
figures in pairs like "sane"/"sanity" and "serene"/"serenity".
However, it did seem quite bizarre for the rule to apply here:
although "-ity" is a Latinate suffix, "-edly" is a native English one
and would not normally affect the pronunciation of a root word.
Eventually I stumbled on the entry for "allege" in a dictionary and
found that I had been mentally mispronouncing the base word all along.
It sounds like "a ledge", not "a liege", despite the lack of a "d" in
the spelling. No wonder "allegedly" has a short "e".
That's interesting, Daniel, and it reminds me that having a dictionary
handy while reading is a good idea. One can figure out, correctly, the
meaning of a word from context, but the pronunciation is not so easy --
we base it on comparison to words similarly constructed. And sometimes,
we just come to a wrong conclusion.
Adding confusion to this matter is the fact that more than one
pronunciation is often "correct."
I've learned a lot in AUE about how certain words are pronounced.
("Allege" wasn't one of them however. I think I learned that word's
pronunciation via the tv or radio.) I'll give you an example of the
words that /were/ "re-formed" for me, so to speak, just as soon as I can
remember which words they were.
--
Maria C. |
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| R H Draney |
| Posted: Thu May 01, 2008 12:02 pm |
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Maria C. filted:
Quote:
I've learned a lot in AUE about how certain words are pronounced.
("Allege" wasn't one of them however. I think I learned that word's
pronunciation via the tv or radio.) I'll give you an example of the
words that /were/ "re-formed" for me, so to speak, just as soon as I can
remember which words they were.
For me: "detritus", "vagary" and "frustum"...in the case of the last I also
learned that I'd been spelling it wrong....
It took me a long time to shake a defective pronunciation of "Sirius" that I
picked up from a teacher who seemed to think it was spelled "Sirrus"....r
--
What good is being an executive if you never get to execute anyone? |
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| Daniel al-Autistiqui |
| Posted: Thu May 01, 2008 12:52 pm |
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On 1 May 2008 10:02:19 -0700, R H Draney <dadoctah@spamcop.net> wrote:
Quote: Maria C. filted:
I've learned a lot in AUE about how certain words are pronounced.
("Allege" wasn't one of them however. I think I learned that word's
pronunciation via the tv or radio.) I'll give you an example of the
words that /were/ "re-formed" for me, so to speak, just as soon as I can
remember which words they were.
For me: "detritus", "vagary" and "frustum"...in the case of the last I also
learned that I'd been spelling it wrong....
I should add that I was also thrown off by "discretion" until 2004.
It is probably the only exception to the rule that, while "i" is
pronounced short before "-tion" endings, all other vowels are long.
And speaking of which, I was more familiar at that time with the word
"discrete" than its homophone "discreet". Does that prove anything
about me?
daniel mcgrath
--
Daniel Gerard McGrath, a/k/a "Govende":
for e-mail replace "invalid" with "com"
Developmentally disabled;
has Autism (Pervasive Developmental Disorder),
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder,
& periodic bouts of depression.
[This signature is under construction.] |
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| Nell |
| Posted: Thu May 01, 2008 8:41 pm |
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Guest
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Maria C. laid this down on his screen :
Quote: Daniel al-Autistiqui wrote:
I was reminded last night of the interesting story of how I learned
the correct pronunciation of a word. Until about five years ago, I
always thought that the English word "allege" had a long "e" sound in
the second syllable and rhymed with "besiege". But I was fairly
certain that I had heard people use a short "e" in the derivative
"allegedly". I attributed this change in vowel sound to Chomsky and
Halle's well-known rule of trisyllabic laxing, the same rule that
figures in pairs like "sane"/"sanity" and "serene"/"serenity".
However, it did seem quite bizarre for the rule to apply here:
although "-ity" is a Latinate suffix, "-edly" is a native English one
and would not normally affect the pronunciation of a root word.
Eventually I stumbled on the entry for "allege" in a dictionary and
found that I had been mentally mispronouncing the base word all along.
It sounds like "a ledge", not "a liege", despite the lack of a "d" in
the spelling. No wonder "allegedly" has a short "e".
That's interesting, Daniel, and it reminds me that having a dictionary handy
while reading is a good idea. One can figure out, correctly, the meaning of a
word from context, but the pronunciation is not so easy -- we base it on
comparison to words similarly constructed. And sometimes, we just come to a
wrong conclusion.
Adding confusion to this matter is the fact that more than one pronunciation
is often "correct."
I've learned a lot in AUE about how certain words are pronounced. ("Allege"
wasn't one of them however. I think I learned that word's pronunciation via
the tv or radio.) I'll give you an example of the words that /were/
"re-formed" for me, so to speak, just as soon as I can remember which words
they were.
One of my daughters pronounced "pint" to rhyme with "lint" when she was
a child.
Nell
--
Thou shouldst eat to live; not live to eat.
~~Socrates |
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