Thicknesse: Question on Pronunciation - All and Oil in Texas

[Carol]

bboyminn wrote:
>
> Trick business, this pronunciation thing. I do think
> we can all agree that the difference between Sirius
> and Serious is extremely subtle, and as I said, nearly
> to completely non-existent in common speech.
>
> A quick look in American Heritage CD-ROM dictionary,
> indicates that the last part of both words is identical,
> though I still have my personal doubts.
>
> The distinction made on the first part is the
> difference between a standard short 'I' or 'I' marked
> with a 'breve' (Sirius), and a 'circumflex' or a 'caret'
> above the 'I' for the other(serious). Though for the
> life of me, I can't find any pronunciation guide that
> explains exactly how a letter modified by a 'circumflex'
> should be pronounced.


Carol responds:

I'm attempting this post in HTML Beta and who knows how it will appear
onlist. However, regardless of the dictionary you're citing,  "sir" with
a breve above the "i" would be a short "i" as in "pit." Try "SIH" "ree
us," moving the "r" sound to the second syllable. (The name would *not*
be prounounced "SUH ree us" or "SUR ee us" under any circumstances.)
"Serious," OTOH, seems to be pronounced (according to American Heritage)
with the "r" in the first syllable. The "r" modifies the sound of the
short "i" (ih), making it almost a long "e" (ee).

If you want a pronunciation key, American Heritage does provide one:

http://www.bartleby.com/61/12.html

I can't insert the key where I want it or get rid of unwanted elements,
but essentially,  American Heritage is putting the "r" in the first
syllable for "serious," making it equivalent to the "ier" in "pier," but
putting the "r" in the second syllable for "Sirius," making the "i"
equivalent to the short "i" in "pit."

Carol, at last getting the (slight) distinction between "SIH ree us" and
"SEER ee us" but not making it herself


pit    yes y   pie, by    zebra, xylem z   pier îr



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