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Is there a difference in the way the following words are pronounced singly and spoken as part of a conversation?
I am trying to find out the pronunciation that is most commonly used locally and/or abroad.

Words ending with ~sts
eg There are in the living room.
Should it be something more akin to "guess" (meaning that the t is silient) or "guest-s" (with a "tuh" sound followed by "s" sound and causing a slight pause in between)?

Do you have any references on how names should be pronounced?
eg Is J

2006-08-19 15:29:12 · 11 answers · asked by tom t 1 in Education & Reference Words & Wordplay

11 answers

The t isn't silent, but neither is it fully included.

Try this... make a t sound. Now do it again, but pause as soon as your tongue is in position to produce the hard t.

When you say guests, your tongue should reach that position, and then go directly back to the s sound. The result should be a subtle ts sound, and should negate the feeling that you need to say tuhs...

2006-08-19 15:50:31 · answer #1 · answered by Unknown User 3 · 0 0

I like the combination of Butch and Doubting Tom's answers. Also, yes, there is a difference in the way a word is pronounced when it is said by itself (more strictly correct) and when it is used in a sentence or conversation (more quickly and lazily). For example, the sound of the letter E is often "uh" when used quickly in the middle of a sentence Then it is referred to as the schwa sound. For example, "Enough!" has a strong long E when said alone. But when used in a sentence, such as, "I don't have enough money to pay for that." then it is pronounced "uh-nuff." Well now...Enough!

2006-08-20 00:05:55 · answer #2 · answered by g 3 · 0 0

You are supposed to pronounce the full word, "guest" and and it with the "s". There does tend to be a slight pause in between while your mouth forms the 2nd "S" .

2006-08-19 22:38:29 · answer #3 · answered by lizziemrocks 1 · 0 0

These people are right, but if you're still having trouble may I suggest an online dictonary in english. Some of them have a sample so you can hear someone say it next to the defenition

http://www.m-w.com/dictionary/guests

^^^^listen to the man say the word, then add an "s" to the end.

2006-08-19 23:58:59 · answer #4 · answered by Ali 3 · 0 0

"Guests" is just plain wrong if pronounced as "guess". The "t" is not silent. Putting a "tuh" in between the last two letters is equally wrong.

2006-08-19 22:35:44 · answer #5 · answered by Larry 6 · 0 0

'Guests' is always pronounced as /gests/ . As it is a single syllabic word, the stress is at the beginning on it.

Source Oxford Advance Learner's Dictionary

2006-08-19 22:59:31 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0 0

'unknown user' has it down fairly well
as for the names...you probably should ask someone what their name is and then repeat what they say...spanish rendered names are hard because the J in Jose is pronounced as an H (Hoe-say) and the J in Juan is like the WH in when...most people will correct you if you get it wrong

2006-08-20 00:06:01 · answer #7 · answered by uranus2mars 6 · 0 0

The t and s are pronounced guess is a different word

2006-08-19 22:39:25 · answer #8 · answered by Jerry T 4 · 0 0

No silent t and the pronunciation of names vary with the owner (it's better to ask so as not to cause offense).

2006-08-19 22:58:26 · answer #9 · answered by butch 5 · 0 0

Oh,what a difficult question?

2006-08-19 23:33:17 · answer #10 · answered by khan a 4 · 0 0

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