| The American Heritage® Book of English Usage. |
| A Practical and Authoritative Guide to Contemporary English. 1996. |
| Page 232 |
pronunciation spelling | |
| A pronunciation spelling is a spelling that more closely reflects the pronunciation of a given word than the word’s traditional spelling does. Over time the new spelling may become as acceptable as the original spelling, as is the case with the pronunciation spelling bosun for boatswain. Many writers use pronunciation spellings, as wanna for want to or talkin’ for talking, to convey speech. | 1 |
| More at spelling pronunciation. | 2 |
prosody | |
This word, which is etymologically unrelated to the more common word prose, is normally pronounced (pr s’ -d ), with the first syllable rhyming with cross. | 3 |
pumpkin | |
The pronunciations (p mp’k n), (pm’kn), and (png’kn) are all widespread and are all considered standard in American English. In the pronunciation (pm’kn), the (p) drops out so that the consonant cluster mpk becomes simplified, which also occurs in the words assumption, bumpkin, and symptom. In (png’kn) the (p) has been lost and the (m) has assimilated to the (k), becoming (ng). | 4 |
| More at assimilation. | 5 |
quark | |
| Quark, a term used to refer to a type of subatomic particle, is an invented word that is associated with the line “Three quarks for Muster Mark!” from James Joyce’s novel Finnegan’s Wake. Although Joyce clearly intended the word to rhyme with mark, physicists generally pronounce this word (kwôrk), with the same vowel as in quart and quarter. However, the pronunciation rhyming with mark is also considered acceptable. | 6 |
quasi | |
The pronunciation (kwä’s) is Classical Latin and the pronunciation (kw ’s ) is Anglicized Latin. Note that in both of these the s is pronounced like s. In American English, speakers are more likely to pronounce the s like z, which is now also considered standard. | 7 |
quay | |
| This word is an etymological cousin of the words key and cay, which both mean “a low offshore island or reef.” Quay is traditionally pronounced like key, although the pronunciations (k) and (kw) are now also considered standard in American English. | 8 |
quixotic | |
This word, pronounced (kwk-st’k), derives from the English word Quixote, which in turn derives from the name of the hero of Cervantes’s novel, Don Quixote. Quixote is generally pronounced (kwk’st) in British English and (k-h ’t), an attempt at the Spanish pronunciation, in American English. | 9 |
ration | |
| The older pronunciation rhymes with nation. The newer variant pronunciation, rhyming with fashion, has gained a lot of ground in the 20th century, however, and is now predominant in both American and British English. | 10 |
| The American Heritage® Book of English Usage. Copyright © 1996 by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. |
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