Pronunciation of "you're" and other contractions

[ESquared]

This is what I said in another forum, but the topic really belongs here. So here goes.

Your and [/i]you're[/i]... I think the latter should be pronounced with two syllables. Even though the dictionary gives many valid pronunciations: y&r, 'yur, 'yOr, 'yor, "yü-&r

Then anotherhiggins said

Your and you're... I think the latter should be pronounced with two syllables.

Wacky.... I've never even thought of pronouncing "you're" with two syllables! In my mind, that kind of negates the purpose of making a contraction in the first place. If speaking at speed, it seems like that would sound just like the words were never contracted.
Just out of curiosity, do you pronounce other contractions (I've, we're, you've, etc.) with two syllables? I wonder if this is a regional thing.

Then cLFlaVA said

and I wonder what it sounds like to listen to him speak!

"I-vuh got something you-ruh really going to enjoy!"

So I said

Well, perhaps I was going overboard to say two syllables. I say it just like YOU plus R. This is not the same as YOUR and 'almost' has two syllables. /yewr/... if you draw out the w it has two syllables otherwise it's kind of a single-syllable smear. It's not even /yoor/.

I say all the contractions like that... think about it. You've doesn't sound like /yOv/ or /y&v/ and you're doesn't sound like /yOr/ or /y&r/.

And

I don't say /you-ruh/. I say /yUr/ or /yewr/.

And finally cLFlaVA asked

how does one pronounce "&"? I-vuh never seen that before.

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It is better to have honor than a good reputation.
(Reputation is what other people think about you. Honor is what you know about yourself.)

 

[ESquared]

&" is the schwa, normally represented by an upside-down E

, which is pronounced sort of like uh and sort of like nothing else.

Here's a good article at Wikipedia on the schwa.

The a in about is a schwa
The e in synthesis is a schwa
In American and Australian English, the i in decimal is a schwa (not in British English)
The o in harmony is a schwa
The u in medium is a schwa
The y in syringe is a schwa

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It is better to have honor than a good reputation.
(Reputation is what other people think about you. Honor is what you know about yourself.)

 

[Genimuse]

I don't say "you're" with two syllables, but it seems that I do draw it out a bit more than "your," and I pronounce it slightly differently. I say "your" like "yore," but I say "you're" like "yooer.

 

[ESquared]

That's exactly what I mean! It's not quite two syllables, but two syllables is more accurate than just saying /yOr/.

-------------------------------------
It is better to have honor than a good reputation.
(Reputation is what other people think about you. Honor is what you know about yourself.)

 

[sleipnir214]

I will sometimes pronounce you're as two syllables. But only in the rare situations where I need to disambiguate between your and you're in a sentence.


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[mscallisto]

I copy Genimuse's "draw it out a bit" rule, kinda like 1.5 syllables.

 

[Dimandja]

I'm happy to say I have no such pronunciation problems. You see, with my accent, I have a very small window of differentiations. To me, "you're" and "your", "pick" and "pick", "leaves" and "lives", all sound exactly the same coming from me.

 

[sleipnir214]

pick" and "pick" ?


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[Dimandja]

No. "Peek" and "pick". But you see what mean? I was writing phonetically -- no difference at all.

 

[sleipnir214]

You're right. I couldn't hear the difference, either.


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[ESquared]

Peek and pick are definitely not pronounced the same!

My poor Brazilian fiancée struggles with some words, for example delicate vs. "deli cut." She can't hear the difference.

It takes a long time to learn to differentiate sounds that aren't part of one's native vocabulary. I can barely tell the difference between the Portuguese for grandma and grandpa: vovó and vovô. I'm told I am doing well to hear *any* difference at all!

-------------------------------------
It is better to have honor than a good reputation.
(Reputation is what other people think about you. Honor is what you know about yourself.)

 

[BillyRayPreachersSon]

Much like when my NZ partner says "bear" and "beer" - both sound identical to me.

Sometimes you have to guess the word by the context in which it is used (a pint of bear would just be ridiculous... and leave a lot of fur in your mouth!)... Although with the grandma / grandpa words, I'm guessing that the context may not always be distiguishable.

 

[tskelton]

If more people pronounced it with 1.5 syllables as indicated by ESquared and Genimuse, we probably wouldn't see as many misspellings such as this:

"I see that your in line for a promotion."

Or maybe I'm just an eternal optimist!

 

[Dimandja]

Konde ko'nde konde": the crocodile did not eat the beans.

This is a coherent phrase, which I made up, in an African language. There are no latin or otherwise known accentuations that will render how to pronounce each one of those distinct words distinctively. Yet, there is no conventional way of distinguishing those words in writing (the contraction which I made up in the second word is phony, because there is no 'uncontracted' form of that conjugation).

The English language is kind of lucky it can manipulate and control the latin alphabet -- down to fractional syllables

 

[AnotherHiggins]

[Very Off-Topic]
Dimandja,

Where are you originally from? I’ve been reading posts from you for a very long time. Judging by your typed English, I wouldn't have guessed that it isn’t your native tongue.
[/Very Off-Topic]

[tt]-John[/tt]
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[Dimandja]

[Further Off-Topic]
DR Congo, Africa. English was the last language I learned (in the US). Since I knew other languages, it was a bit easier -- and fun -- to acquire English. Actually, no one I knew, before coming to the US, spoke only one language; but, it could happen.

For me to learn English comfortably, I tackled the swear words first -- you know, to get them out of the way first? Then, I took a job cooking and selling hamburgers and french fries. Pretty soon, I could eat, drink and swear in English. The rest was easy, but who needed it?
[/Further Off-Topic]

 

[ESquared]

I'm jealous of people who know other languages fluently!

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It is better to have honor than a good reputation.
(Reputation is what other people think about you. Honor is what you know about yourself.)

 

[AnotherHiggins]

E^2,

I agree! I used to be pretty good with French. A few years ago I spent a week in Paris and was able to go into shops without having to use any English. Alas, the old saying 'use it or lose it' applies to languages, too.

I now consider myself to be multi-lingual illiterate.

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[sleipnir214]

I now consider myself to be multi-lingual illiterate.

Same here. At one time I spoke German well enough to argue damage compensation fees with my landlord. My grasp of German is nowhere near that good any more.


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[Dimandja]

> now consider myself to be multi-lingual illiterate.

It is difficult to keep up with multiple languages, especially when the society you live in now, can only use a single language.

In my case, for example, I found that by reading French books/papers or participating in French forums (when I am not actually talking to someone), I could keep my French up-to-date.