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Re: Pronunciations you had to unlearn
Posted: Sun Apr 12, 2026 5:05 pm
by Raphael
I very recently learned that in English, the "o" in "leopard" is silent. To think that for all that time, my inner ear had a completely false idea of how the face eating quote would sound like when spoken out aloud!
Re: Pronunciations you had to unlearn
Posted: Sun Apr 12, 2026 5:29 pm
by Lērisama
Raphael wrote: ↑Sun Apr 12, 2026 5:05 pm
I very recently learned that in English, the "o" in "leopard" is silent. To think that for all that time, my inner ear had a completely false idea of how the face eating quote would sound like when spoken out aloud!
The ⟨e⟩ is short¹ as well, which is odd. Interestingly this pronounciation of ⟨eo⟩ is also found in the word ⟨Leonard('s)⟩². Does anyone know whats going on here? I'd guess trisyllabic laxing and then … randomly dropping a schwa?
¹ In English spelling terminology, and coincidentally also in real life. It's the
DRESS vowel /ɛ/.
² In the UK at least, it's much more likely that you come across something named St Leonard's than someone named Leonard.
Edit: forgot to double check my lexical set and got it wrong
Re: Pronunciations you had to unlearn
Posted: Sun Apr 12, 2026 6:26 pm
by Travis B.
Lērisama wrote: ↑Sun Apr 12, 2026 5:29 pm
Raphael wrote: ↑Sun Apr 12, 2026 5:05 pm
I very recently learned that in English, the "o" in "leopard" is silent. To think that for all that time, my inner ear had a completely false idea of how the face eating quote would sound like when spoken out aloud!
The ⟨e⟩ is short¹ as well, which is odd. Interestingly this pronounciation of ⟨eo⟩ is also found in the word ⟨Leonard('s)⟩². Does anyone know whats going on here? I'd guess trisyllabic laxing and then … randomly dropping a schwa?
¹ In English spelling terminology, and coincidentally also in real life. It's the
BED vowel /ɛ/.
I'm pretty sure the term is 'DRESS', not 'BED'.
Lērisama wrote: ↑Sun Apr 12, 2026 5:29 pm
² In the UK at least, it's much more likely that you come across something named St Leonard's than someone named Leonard.
I'd never even heard of a "St. Leonard's" until I saw your post.
Re: Pronunciations you had to unlearn
Posted: Sun Apr 12, 2026 7:00 pm
by Travis B.
I should also note that 'Leonard' is just the English equivalent to Scandinavian/German 'Lennart'.
Re: Pronunciations you had to unlearn
Posted: Mon Apr 13, 2026 5:47 am
by jal
Travis B. wrote: ↑Sun Apr 12, 2026 7:00 pmI should also note that 'Leonard' is just the English equivalent to Scandinavian/German 'Lennart'.
Or any of the other multitude of local varieties ("Leonardo", "Léonard", "Lennard" etc.). Apparently it's from Germanic "Leonhard", "brave lion".
JAL
Re: Pronunciations you had to unlearn
Posted: Tue Aug 11, 2026 6:18 am
by Raphael
I just learned how "coyote" is pronounced in English. Would never have expected that.
Re: Pronunciations you had to unlearn
Posted: Tue Aug 11, 2026 10:14 am
by jal
Raphael wrote: ↑Tue Aug 11, 2026 6:18 amI just learned how "coyote" is pronounced in English. Would never have expected that.
What variety? GenAm and British English differ in the first vowel.
JAL
Re: Pronunciations you had to unlearn
Posted: Tue Aug 11, 2026 1:12 pm
by Travis B.
jal wrote: ↑Tue Aug 11, 2026 10:14 am
Raphael wrote: ↑Tue Aug 11, 2026 6:18 amI just learned how "coyote" is pronounced in English. Would never have expected that.
What variety? GenAm and British English differ in the first vowel.
The thing is the EngE pronunciation is the 'expected' one -- it's GA which has an unexpected pronunciation here.
Re: Pronunciations you had to unlearn
Posted: Tue Aug 11, 2026 9:47 pm
by Glenn
Travis B. wrote: ↑Tue Aug 11, 2026 1:12 pm
jal wrote: ↑Tue Aug 11, 2026 10:14 am
Raphael wrote: ↑Tue Aug 11, 2026 6:18 amI just learned how "coyote" is pronounced in English. Would never have expected that.
What variety? GenAm and British English differ in the first vowel.
The thing is the EngE pronunciation is the 'expected' one -- it's GA which has an unexpected pronunciation here.
I had to look up the British pronunciation, as I had never encountered it before.
A further variation is whether “coyote” is pronounced with three syllables or two; some speakers drop the final vowel. When I was little, I was told that the former was the “Eastern” (US) pronunciation, while the latter was the “Western” one; for example, people in Ohio, where I grew up, pronounced “coyote” with three syllables, while my relatives in South Dakota pronounced it with two. I think that this may still be a broad tendency, but not universal; I’m sure that there are many exceptions.
Re: Pronunciations you had to unlearn
Posted: Tue Aug 11, 2026 10:17 pm
by Travis B.
Glenn wrote: ↑Tue Aug 11, 2026 9:47 pm
Travis B. wrote: ↑Tue Aug 11, 2026 1:12 pm
jal wrote: ↑Tue Aug 11, 2026 10:14 am
What variety? GenAm and British English differ in the first vowel.
The thing is the EngE pronunciation is the 'expected' one -- it's GA which has an unexpected pronunciation here.
I had to look up the British pronunciation, as I had never encountered it before.
A further variation is whether “coyote” is pronounced with three syllables or two; some speakers drop the final vowel. When I was little, I was told that the former was the “Eastern” (US) pronunciation, while the latter was the “Western” one; for example, people in Ohio, where I grew up, pronounced “coyote” with three syllables, while my relatives in South Dakota pronounced it with two. I think that this may still be a broad tendency, but not universal; I’m sure that there are many exceptions.
I pronounce it two different ways in free variation ─ /kaɪˈjoʊti/ [kʰae̯ˈjo̞ɾi(ː)] and /kəɪˈjoʊti/ [kʰəe̯ˈjo̞ɾi(ː)] ─ even though I am more likely to use the former when speaking carefully.
Edit: And yes, I have heard of the two-syllable pronunciation, but I have never actually heard it in the wild here in Wisconsin.
Re: Pronunciations you had to unlearn
Posted: Wed Aug 12, 2026 12:05 am
by Raphael