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To Pronounce Instinctively
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FB
Jun 5, 2004, 4:56:03 PM6/5/04
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Lately Michael (Brewster) and I have written about instinct when deciding
how to pronounce an English word we've never read before. He didn't think a
foreigner used his instinct to decide how to pronounce new English words. I
told him I did.
Today I've read the word "hearken" for the first time (the Silmarillion's
incipit): I didn't know what it meant, but I did pronounce it correctly,
/'ha:k&n/ (& ==> schwa) *. Why? I just know I couldn't think of pronouncing
it otherwise. Perhaps I pronounced "heark" like "heart". Yes, it must have
been that.
how to pronounce an English word we've never read before. He didn't think a
foreigner used his instinct to decide how to pronounce new English words. I
told him I did.
Today I've read the word "hearken" for the first time (the Silmarillion's
incipit): I didn't know what it meant, but I did pronounce it correctly,
/'ha:k&n/ (& ==> schwa) *. Why? I just know I couldn't think of pronouncing
it otherwise. Perhaps I pronounced "heark" like "heart". Yes, it must have
been that.
* Americans (and the other rhotic speakers) pronounce the "r", as usual,
and may write it "harken". But I suppose one hardly ever has to...
Bye, FB
--
Mrs. Palmer, in her way, was equally angry. 'She was determined to drop his
acquaintance immediately, and she was very thankful that she had never been
acquainted with him at all'. (Jane Austen)
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