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The most off-topic WCDT discussion ever

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Method of Madness:

--- Quote from: Carl-E on 09 May 2013, 08:12 ---It's only one syllable south of the Mason-Dixon line.   

As in, "Man, I'm Tired" (Man, I'm TAHR'D). 

"You're hired" (Yer HAHR'D) (not to be confused with, "You're hard!")
--- End quote ---
Fair enough, to me, tire and hire rhyme with liar, which is two syllables, so that's why I consider tire and hire (and their past tense versions) to be two as well.

Carl-E:
Oh, same for me.  I'm a certifiable nor'easter.  Hell, where I come from, the word "yup" has two syllables (eye-up)


But my wife's from St. Louis.  27 years, and I still have trouble with her drawl at times...

Akima:

--- Quote from: Method of Madness on 09 May 2013, 12:38 ---Fair enough, to me, tire and hire rhyme with liar, which is two syllables, so that's why I consider tire and hire (and their past tense versions) to be two as well.
--- End quote ---
I always struggle a bit with syllable count in English. As a rule of thumb, I base it on vowel-sounds, so tire is one syllable because there is only one vowel-sound, while liar is two because there are two vowel-sounds ("lie-ah" in my accent). Regional pronunciation does complicate this idea though, I will admit. I have known people who pronounce liar as "lahr".

I once wrote a poem that contained the word "crushed", and was bashed for treating it as two syllables. It certainly has two "beats", I think, but there is only one vowel-sound. On-line syllable counters sometimes treat it as one, sometimes two, so... I don't know.

mtmerrick:
I've always heard it pronounced lye-AR

Redball:

--- Quote from: Akima on 09 May 2013, 15:36 ---
--- Quote from: Method of Madness on 09 May 2013, 12:38 ---Fair enough, to me, tire and hire rhyme with liar, which is two syllables, so that's why I consider tire and hire (and their past tense versions) to be two as well.
--- End quote ---
I always struggle a bit with syllable count in English. As a rule of thumb, I base it on vowel-sounds, so tire is one syllable because there is only one vowel-sound, while liar is two because there are two vowel-sounds ("lie-ah" in my accent). Regional pronunciation does complicate this idea though, I will admit. I have known people who pronounce liar as "lahr".

I once wrote a poem that contained the word "crushed", and was bashed for treating it as two syllables. It certainly has two "beats", I think, but there is only one vowel-sound. On-line syllable counters sometimes treat it as one, sometimes two, so... I don't know.

--- End quote ---

I think you're talking about diphthongs, which describe two vowel sounds in what's considered a single syllable. "Loud" "coin" and "side" are offered as examples" LOU-ewd, COE-ane and SI-ed.  You can try to pronounce them without changing the vowel sound, but at least in American English, you probably won't succeed.

So I don't see a distinction between TIE-er and LIE-er.

And "crushed" is not CRUSH-ed, but CRUSHT: one syllable. I think in some poetry, t is substituted for ed.

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