English Language Help: How do you correctly pronounce this handful of words?

Question

Okay, I need help with the proper way of saying these words. The dumbed-down phonetics (the dotted marks and backwards e's of the dictionary are not much help) makes it easier for me:

Sherbert (as in the fruity ice cream). Is it "sh-ur-burt" or "sh-er-bay" or... [insert your/correct phonetic way of saying it]

Bologna (the lunch meat). Why do some say "ba-lone-ee?" Is it "bo-log-na" or "bo-low-na" or... [insert your/correct phonetic way of saying it]

Lawyer (as in, the person with a law degree). Is it "loy-yer" or "lah-yer" or... [insert your/correct phonetic way of saying it]

Chipotle (the pepper). Is it "chip-pot-ul" or "chip-oat-lay" or... [insert your/correct phonetic way of saying it]

And the word fire. Is it one syllable or two? ("fih-er" "fyur")

Thanks to your help!

Answer 1

Sherbert....sherr burrt
("e" is silent. "t" is pronunced)

Bologna ....bo loan ya
(From Italian, "gn" like onion)

Lawyer......lawl yer
("aw" almost pronounced like "L", but
phonetic second "L" is silent, dropped)

Chipotle.....chi...po te
(From Spanish, "L" is silent)

Fire...........fyur One syllable
(Phonetic "u" is silent, dropped)

Answer 2

I really like this site - http://www.m-w.org/cgi-bin/dictionary - as it gives spelling, pronunciation, and definition. I thought it was "sherbet," but "sherbert" is a variant. And it gives to pronunciations for "lawyer." As for "fire," I like to pronounce it the same way the Ohio Players do in the song of the same name: "fiiii-YUUUUUH!" Good question.
PS: I'm not sure how to pronounce these words in Southernese.

Answer 3

Sherbert - shur-burt


Bologna - Bah-low-nee

Lawer - Loy-er

Chipotle - Chip-pote-lay

Two syllables - Fy-ur

Hope that helped.

Answer 4

A lot of words are proniunced with regional/ethnic nuances. Here is my take on your question:

Sher-bit.................not burt!
Ba-lo-nee.........Bologna (Italy is where it originated:nya)
Loy-yer.........but not on the East Coast USA or in the South
Chi-poat-lay.........Mexicans may protest!
Fy-er.......although folks in the Southern USA would differ

Answer 5

Sherbert is pronounced just like you spelt it, but the correct spelling is sherbet.

Ba-lone-ee

Law-yur

Chi-pot-lay

Fy-ur

Answer 6

1)Sherbert (shur-burt)

2)Baloney (be-lo' ne)

3)lawyer (lo' yer)

4)chipotle (che-pot' la)

5)Fire (fir)

Answer 7

Sherbert and sorbet are two different ice creams, tho how, I don't know.

Shur-bur

Ba-low-ny

Lai-yer

Chi-pot-le

Fiyr

Answer 8

i agree with stylus above, but here's one for free:

daschund => daut-sun

Answer 9

try this link,it is much easier than phonetics

http://education.yahoo.com/reference/dictionary/

Answer 10

I say "sh-ur-burt"
"bo-lo-nya"
"loy-yer"
"chip-oat-lay"
"fa-ya"

You're welcome!