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ESL forum >
Grammar and Linguistics > Pronunciation of the word February
Pronunciation of the word February

Sonn
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Pronunciation of the word February
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Nice Saturday to everybody!
I was tought to pronounce the word February as [ˈfebrʊərɪ] and in my dictionary (which is quite new) the transcription is the same. But recently I hear this word to be pronounced as [ˈfe(ɪ)bjʊərɪ] by native speakers. And today I �ve heard the same pronunciation in an ESL song. Has the pronunciation changed? |
13 Mar 2010
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libertybelle
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I �ve probably said this word wrong my whole life - but you also must know that language evolves, words become shorter, words are put together etc.
anyway - I �ve always said - Feb-u-ary but perhaps that was a family thing. Who knows?
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13 Mar 2010
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lshorton99
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I pronounce it the second way you posted Sonn - sorry! But that could just be my part of the UK!
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13 Mar 2010
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Kate (kkcat)
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I pronounce the word the second way too...don �t know why lol
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13 Mar 2010
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Sonn
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To tell you the truth the second way is much easier to pronounce)) My students will be happy to know that because [ˈfebrʊərɪ] is a bit difficult for them)) I think it �s a kind of dissimilation because it is hard to pronounce two [r] sounds in one word. Thank you very much for you answers. |
13 Mar 2010
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Aurore
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as a native speaker I �ve always said and heard - Feb-u-ary. have a good evening.
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13 Mar 2010
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yanogator
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Here in the US, we are taught very strictly that the pronunciation you listed first is the only correct pronunciation. However, the second pronunciation is very common here, too. Because it is taught so strictly, people correct others when they don �t pronounce the r, but nothing changes.
Libertybelle frequently reminds us that language evolves, so I �m sure it won �t be long before feb-u-ary gets listed in the dictionaries.
Bruce |
14 Mar 2010
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