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Spelling PronunciationA spelling pronunciation is a pronunciation that, instead of reflecting the way the word was pronounced by previous generations of speakers, is a rendering in sound of the word's spelling. Spelling pronunciations compete, often effectively, with the older traditional pronunciation. Examples of English words with common spelling pronunciations - often, pronounced by many with t
- palm, calm, psalm, balm, pronounced by many with l
- salmon, occasionally pronounced with l
- comptroller, often pronounced with mp; accepted pronunciation is "controller"
- forehead, still pronounced by many with h (as if spelled "fore-head")
- teat, pronounced (and now often spelled) "tit"
- victuals, sometimes pronounced with kt, or respelled "vittles"
- The pronunciation of waistcoat as spelled is now more common than the previous pronunciation "weskit"
Spelling pronunciations and history Spelling pronunciations often restore ancient pronunciation patterns. For example, centuries ago, the word often did have a t, heard elsewhere in oft. The t dropped by a regular process before the ending -en, as elsewhere in soften, moisten, fasten. After the t fell, often continued to be spelled with t. The current tendency to pronounce the t thus restores an ancient rendition. The word palm (in the sense, 'palm of the hand') was originally Latin, and had an l in that language. The word was inherited into French, where it lost the l: paume. From the French it was borrowed into Middle English, still without l: paume. Scholars, aware of its Latin origin, then introduced a (then-silent) 'l' into the spelling. The rendering of this l in pronunciation is apparently a fairly recent phenomenon. Spelling pronunciation vs. popular etymology In some cases, we cannot tell if a pronunciation is a true spelling pronunciation. The alternative is that a word is being pronounced analogically, in essence as the "sum of its parts". Thus, forehead is pronounced as a sequence of fore plus head, instead of "forrid"; waistcoat is pronounced as a sequence of waist and coat instead of "westkit". This phenomenon is sometimes called popular etymology. Popular etymology can arise even when not supported by spelling. For example, inmost was not originally a compound word (in + most) but was a popular etymology from earlier (Old English) innemest, which contains the ordinary superlative suffix -est. Many cases are ambiguous between spelling pronunciation and popular etymology, and indeed may perhaps arise as a result of both factors operating simultaneously. The only unambiguous cases of spelling pronunciation are those in which the irregular spelling was introduced by idiosyncratic scribal practice, as in the "palm" example above. Opinions about spelling pronunciation Spelling pronunciations give rise to varied opinions. Often those who retain the old pronunciation consider the spelling pronunciation to be a mark of ignorance or insecurity. Those who use a spelling pronunciation may not be aware that it is one, and consider the historically authentic version to be slovenly, since it "slurs over" a letter. Spelling pronunciations in children and foreigners Children who read a great deal often produce spelling pronunciations, since they have no way of knowing, other than the spelling, how the rare words they encounter are correctly pronounced. Thoughtful parents usually try to correct such children's errors gently. Well-read second language learners are likewise vulnerable to producing spelling pronunciations. See also Books - See the index entries under "spelling pronunciation" from Leonard Bloomfield, Language (originally published 1933; current edition 1984, University of Chicago Press, Chicago; ISBN 812081195X).
- The etymologies and spelling histories above are taken from the Oxford English Dictionary.
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