pro·nun·ci·a·tion

(prə-nŭn′sē-ā′shən)

1. The act or manner of pronouncing words; utterance of speech.

2. A way of speaking a word, especially a way that is accepted or generally understood.

3. A graphic representation of the way a word is spoken, using phonetic symbols.

[Middle English, from Old French prononciation, from Latin prōnūntiātiō, prōnūntiātiōn-, from prōnūntiātus, past participle of prōnūntiāre, to pronounce; see pronounce.]

pro·nun′ci·a′tion·al adj.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

pronunciation

(prəˌnʌnsɪˈeɪʃən)

1. (Phonetics & Phonology) the act, instance, or manner of pronouncing sounds

2. (Phonetics & Phonology) the supposedly correct manner of pronouncing sounds in a given language

3. (Phonetics & Phonology) a phonetic transcription of a word

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

pro•nun•ci•a•tion

(prəˌnʌn siˈeɪ ʃən)

n.

1. the act, manner, or result of producing the sounds of speech, including articulation, stress, and intonation.

2. a way of pronouncing a word, syllable, etc., that is accepted or considered correct.

3. the conventional patterns of treatment of the sounds of a language: the pronunciation of French.

4. a phonetic transcription of a given word, sound, etc.

[1400–50; late Middle English pronunciacion < Latin prōnūntiātiō delivery (of a speech) =prōnūntiā(re) to announce, utter (see pronounce) + -tiō -tion]

pro•nun`ci•a′tion•al, adj.

Pronunciation

See also language; speech

cacoepy

the habit of unacceptable or bad pronunciation.

cacology

1. a defectively produced speech.
2. socially unacceptable enunciation.
3. nonconformist pronunciation.

etacism

the pronunciation of Greek eta like the e in be. — etacist, n.

hyper-urbanism

an overcorrected pronunciation or usage that attempts to mask guttural or provincial speech.

nasalism

a tendency toward nasality in pronouncing words. Also nasality.

orthoepy

the study of correct pronunciation. — orthoepist, n. — orthoepic, orthoepical, orthoepistic, adj.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Noun	1.	pronunciation - the manner in which someone utters a word; "they are always correcting my pronunciation" utterance, vocalization - the use of uttered sounds for auditory communication assibilation, sibilation - pronunciation with a sibilant (hissing or whistling) sound mispronunciation - incorrect pronunciation homophony - the same pronunciation for words of different origins accent, speech pattern - distinctive manner of oral expression; "he couldn't suppress his contemptuous accent"; "she had a very clear speech pattern" articulation - the aspect of pronunciation that involves bringing articulatory organs together so as to shape the sounds of speech
	2.	pronunciation - the way a word or a language is customarily spoken; "the pronunciation of Chinese is difficult for foreigners"; "that is the correct pronunciation" orthoepy Received Pronunciation - the approved pronunciation of British English; originally based on the King's English as spoken at public schools and at Oxford and Cambridge Universities (and widely accepted elsewhere in Britain); until recently it was the pronunciation of English used in British broadcasting speech communication, spoken communication, spoken language, voice communication, oral communication, speech, language - (language) communication by word of mouth; "his speech was garbled"; "he uttered harsh language"; "he recorded the spoken language of the streets"

pronunciation

noun intonation, accent, speech, stress, articulation, inflection, diction, elocution, enunciation, accentuation You'll have to forgive my bad French pronunciation.

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

Translations

لَفْظنُطْق

pronunciació

výslovnostvyslovování

udtale

prononco

ääntämys

izgovor

kiejtés

pronunciation

framburðurframburîur

pronuncia

発音

발음

pronuntiatio

tarimas

izgovorjava

uttal

การออกเสียงคำพูด

sesletimtelaffuztelâffuz

sự phát âm

发音

pronunciation

[prəˌnʌnsɪˈeɪʃən] N → pronunciación f

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

pronunciation

[prəˌnʌnsiˈeɪʃ^ən] n [word, language] → prononciation f

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

pronunciation

n → Aussprache f

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

pronunciation

[prəˌnʌnsɪˈeɪʃ/ən] n → pronuncia

Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

pronounce

(prəˈnauns) verb

1. to speak (words or sounds, especially in a certain way). He pronounced my name wrongly; The `b' in `lamb' and the `k' in `knob' are not pronounced.

2. to announce officially or formally. He pronounced judgement on the prisoner.

proˈnounceable adjective

(negative unpronounceable) able to be pronounced.

proˈnounced adjective

noticeable; definite. He walks with a pronounced limp.

proˈnouncement noun

an announcement.

proˌnunciˈation (-nansi-) noun

the act, or a way, of saying a word etc. She had difficulty with the pronunciation of his name.

pronunciation

→ نُطْق výslovnost udtale Aussprache προφορά pronunciación ääntämys prononciation izgovor pronuncia 発音 발음 uitspraak uttale wymowa pronúncia произношение uttal การออกเสียงคำพูด telaffuz sự phát âm 发音

pronunciation

n. pronunciación.

Mentioned in

References in classic literature

[Reads, reproducing her pronunciation exactly] "Cheer ap, Keptin; n' haw ya flahr orf a pore gel."

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* Strictly speaking, the pronunciation of all words such as Liang, Kiang, etc., is nearer one syllable than two.

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Father only left Paris after he had seen us what he calls comfortably settled here, and had informed Madame de Maisonrouge (the mistress of the establishment--the head of the "family") that he wished my French pronunciation especially attended to.

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Eliot, at the close of his Indian Grammar, mentions him as "a pregnant-witted young man, who had been a servant in an English house, who pretty well understood his own language, and had a clear pronunciation." He took this Indian into his family, and by constant intercourse with him soon become sufficiently conversant with the vocabulary and construction of the language to translate the ten commandments, the Lord's prayer, and several passages of Scripture, besides composing exhortations and prayers.

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The next one spoke with a simpering precision of pronunciation that was irritating and said:

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"That's it!" cried Clare, pleased to think that she has reverted to the real pronunciation. "What place is The Herons?"

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"Ah, my dear vicomte," put in Anna Pavlovna, "L'Urope" (for some reason she called it Urope as if that were a specially refined French pronunciation which she could allow herself when conversing with a Frenchman), "L'Urope ne sera jamais notre alliee sincere."*

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He was a Hanoverian, and his accent was then, I believe, the standard, though the Berlinese is now the accepted pronunciation. But I cared very little for accent; my wish was to get at Heine with as little delay as possible; and I began to cultivate the friendship of that bookbinder in every way.

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Their pronunciation was quick, and the words they uttered, not having any apparent connection with visible objects, I was unable to discover any clue by which I could unravel the mystery of their reference.

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Le Quoi” Richard was too much agitated to regard his pronunciation, of which he was commonly a little vain: “Monsieur La Quoi, pray get off my leg; you hold my leg so tight that it's no wonder the horses back.”

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And yet within a hundred years after his death, such was the irony of circumstances, English pronunciation had so greatly altered that his meter was held to be rude and barbarous, and not until the nineteenth century were its principles again fully understood.

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He sneered at Philip because he was better educated than himself, and he mocked at Philip's pronunciation; he could not forgive him because he spoke without a cockney accent, and when he talked to him sarcastically exaggerated his aitches.

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