Aren't ''to'' and ''two'' not really homonyms because there said differently in sentences and aren't also ''for'' and ''four'' not homonyms because they're pronounced differently in sentence.
They went down stairs for breakfast.
[THei went daun sterz f..r brekf..st]
It's four o'clock.
[it's fo:r ..kla:k]
So really, that would mean that ''four'' and ''for'' and also ''to'' and ''two'' aren't really homonyms. Isn't that right?
Hmmm. Not exactly sure what you mean. I'm from the mid-west USA and pronounce too, two, and to _exactly_ the same. Same thing for four and for.
<<_exactly_ the same>>
Say these at normal conversational speed, i.e., fairly quickly.
I have to go for lunch. (hafta) (ferlunch)
I have *two*, not *four*.
Still 'exactly'?
These words can be real homonyms if they are separated from sentences. You may read the word "to", then "two". Thus "to" [tu:] is not weakened as [t..] and its pronunciation is exactly the same as "two".
You can do the same for "for" and "four".
<<Still 'exactly'?>
Well, yes, actually, because I enunciate :-)
But I see your point. Prepositions, articles, and other small words tend to get smashed between words when a native speaker speaks fast.
ie,
"I'm going to go to bed" may sound like "I'm going t'go t'bed" etc
But to be fair, you need to compare the words in a poisition where that won't happen.
"Where has my cat gotten to." [her location]
and
"Where has my cat gotten two?" [speaking of mice]
would sound exactly the same. Yeah, that's a bad example, but the easiest I could think up.
I want to know where it's going to. Would come out as [ai w^nt t.. nOu wer its gOuiN tu:].
Both the ''to's'' in that sentence would not be pronounced the same.
I want to catch two big fish too but my four poles are too small for catching big fish and the other people don't even want to.
[ai w^nt t.. ketS tu: big fiS tu: b^t mai fo:r pOulz a:r tu: sma:l fo:r ketSiN big fiS @nd th.. ^th..r pi:p..l dOunt ev..n w^nt tu:]
So I guess it all depends on where the ''to'' is in the sentence.
''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''
The same for ''can'' [able to] and ''can'' [the metal container] they're not always pronounced exactly the same.
<<I want to catch two big fish too but my four poles are too small for catching big fish and the other people don't even want to. >>
I said that sentence aloud several times. I tend to speak very clearly as I do a good bit of public speaking and presentations. Other than which words I stress, all of the to/too/twos sound the same. Here's where I place the largest stresses.
I want to catch TWO big fish TOO, but my four poles are too SMALL for catching big fish and the other people don't even WANT to.
It would usually come out more like this though,
[ai w^nt t.. ketS tu: big fiS tu: b^t mai fo:r pOulz a:r tu: sma:l fo:r ketSiN big fiS @nd th.. ^th..r pi:p..l dOunt ev..n w^nt tu:]
Note how all of the two/too's and to's don't match.
What phonetic alphabet are you using? Is there a website?
btw, I noticed several of you had ^ in both "want" and "other".
What's that about? Do you hear those vowels the same?
Numbers, your pronunciation of "want to" seems just the same as "one two". Just kidding.
Has anyone of you ever heard the word ´two´ pronounced as [tchew] ?
[tchew]. I assume that by ''tchew'' you mean, like the word ''chew''. No, I've never heard anyone pronounce two that way.
"chew" is British for "two".
"chune" is British for "tune".
"jew" is British for "dew".
"june" is British for "dune".
T + Yoo = CHoo
D + Yoo = Joo
Conversely,
"toon" is American for "tune".
"doon" is American for "dune".
T + Yoo = Too
D + Yoo = Doo
Different varieties of English approach the combination of dental stop (t or d) plus front glide (y) differently when word initial.
