Which would you automatically use, were you in the situation of having to use it?
We have to staunch the flow immigrants.
We have to stanch the flow immigrants.
We have to staunch the flow immigrants.
We have to stanch the flow immigrants.
staunch/stanch
The differing spellings reflect the differing pronunciations between British and American English, so which one you say or write will depend on which variety of English you have learnt.
Interestingly the adjective meaning 'very loyal or devoted' appears to be spelt 'staunch' in American English even though the pronunciation is the same as the 'stop the flow' meaning, which makes you wonder why the latter meaning should have come to be spelt 'stanch'.
Interestingly the adjective meaning 'very loyal or devoted' appears to be spelt 'staunch' in American English even though the pronunciation is the same as the 'stop the flow' meaning, which makes you wonder why the latter meaning should have come to be spelt 'stanch'.
A "flow immigrant" is a special class of immigrant characterized by the ability to seamlessly infiltrate a nation's defense for the purpose of scoping out new possible living quarters
get a dictionary
get a dictionary
<<The differing spellings reflect the differing pronunciations between British and American English, so which one you say or write will depend on which variety of English you have learnt.>>
That's not true: dictionary.com and other sources give the primary pronunciation of "stanch" as /stOntS/, not /st{ntS/.
That's not true: dictionary.com and other sources give the primary pronunciation of "stanch" as /stOntS/, not /st{ntS/.
Lazar, I am not sure what especially the { is meant to be representing in your post there, and I don't use dictionary.com much (it would help if the phonetic symbols would display on the average PC). But sure, some dictionaries do give differing primary pronunciations for AmE 'stanch' - for example, the AmE version of the MED online:
http://www.macmillandictionary.com/dictionary/american/stanch
However, the majority of the dictionaries that I consult(ed) give /a:/ as the primary sound:
http://www.learnersdictionary.com/search/stanch
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/define.asp?dict=CALD&key=77755&ph=on
etc.
http://www.macmillandictionary.com/dictionary/american/stanch
However, the majority of the dictionaries that I consult(ed) give /a:/ as the primary sound:
http://www.learnersdictionary.com/search/stanch
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/define.asp?dict=CALD&key=77755&ph=on
etc.
/{/ is the X-SAMPA version of /æ/, because I didn't have IPA available. But again, I've seen nothing that indicates that the differing spellings of "staunch" relate to a systematic phonological difference. As you will see on the learnersdictionary.com site, they give identical primary pronunciations for the verb "stanch" and the adjective "staunch". And I would note that the Cambridge pronunciation is inconclusive on the question of /ɑ/ versus /ɔ/, because the Cambridge Learner's Dictionary displays low-back merged pronunciations for American English, and thus they don't contrast /ɑ/ and /ɔ/. The Merriam Webster online dictionary, and indeed the Cambridge American English dictionary, both join dictionary.com in listing /ɔ/ as the primary pronunciation for "stanch" ( http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/stanch , http://dictionary.cambridge.org/define.asp?key=stanch*1+0&dict=A ).
So again, the multitude of sources listing /ɔ/ as the primary pronunciation for "stanch", and the fact that "stanch" coexists in American English with the identically pronounced adjective "staunch", says to me that phonology has nothing to do with the spelling.
So again, the multitude of sources listing /ɔ/ as the primary pronunciation for "stanch", and the fact that "stanch" coexists in American English with the identically pronounced adjective "staunch", says to me that phonology has nothing to do with the spelling.
In fact, now that I look, the MW Learner's Dictionary that you cite also displays low-back merged pronunciations (for example, they list /ɑ/ as the vowel in "taut" and "haughty"), so you actually haven't found a single source which indicates that /ɑ/ is preferred over /ɔ/ in "stanch".
Lazar, perhaps I should have added 'as presented in learner dictionaries aimed at the international market, which do not really have space to list subnational/"substandard" variants in addition to the apparent RP and GA' to my 'The differing spellings reflect the differing pronunciations between British and American English'. It may be that these dictionaries are somewhat inadequate, but IMHO they represent at least BrE quite well*, and I think a student (especially one using one such international dictionary), which is the perspective I was ultimately taking, could be forgiven for postulating via various analogies (with BrE at least) that stanch ought really to be pronounced differently to staunch, or that only one or the other form should be used in writing if they are or can be pronounced the same in AmE (a fact that I remarked upon in my first post, thanks!). But seeing as you said in your first reply that dictionary.com gives the primary pronunciation of 'stanch/staunch' as "stawnch"/ /stOntS/ ([sto:ntS] in Antimoon ASCII Phonetic Alphabet - would be a nice idea to use it here, what with this being their site, and your IPA not appearing on the PC I am using ;), which is what it is in BrE too, what are we apparently arguing about? The deficiencies of international EFLy learner dictionaries from British publishers (and/or of ES(O)L learner dictionaries from American publishers), or the state (of flux LOL) in American English, or... ? Ah wait, I know, the real problem is my obvious inadequacy as a phonetician! o;)
*At least, those from British publishers do - the MW Learner one didn't have any BrE in it, IIRC - their site's unfortunately on the blink at the mo!
*At least, those from British publishers do - the MW Learner one didn't have any BrE in it, IIRC - their site's unfortunately on the blink at the mo!
I always thought staunch was pronounced as spelled -- stAHnch, like paunch. I've never said stanch, rhymes with blanch.
But then again, it's not a word I've probably ever had occasion to say a lot.....
But then again, it's not a word I've probably ever had occasion to say a lot.....
<<But seeing as you said in your first reply that dictionary.com gives the primary pronunciation of 'stanch/staunch' as "stawnch"/ /stOntS/ ([sto:ntS] in Antimoon ASCII Phonetic Alphabet - would be a nice idea to use it here, what with this being their site, and your IPA not appearing on the PC I am using ;), which is what it is in BrE too, what are we apparently arguing about?>>
Well my only real bone of contention was your initial statement that the difference in spelling was the result of differing pronunciations, but we seem to have settled that.
<<The deficiencies of international EFLy learner dictionaries from British publishers (and/or of ES(O)L learner dictionaries from American publishers), or the state (of flux LOL) in American English, or... ?>>
Well I think the confusion arises from the fact that there is a minority of dictionaries (such as the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary, the Merriam Webster Learner's Dictionary that you cited) that list low-back (or "cot-caught") merged pronunciations for American English. The low-back merger is a widespread innovation, found in the speech of about half of North Americans, particularly in the western US, Canada, and parts of the northeastern US. It's sufficiently widespread (both in real life and in broadcasting) that we can now reasonably say that it's a standard variant in General American, but nonetheless most American dictionaries continue to display the unmerged pronunciations.
Well my only real bone of contention was your initial statement that the difference in spelling was the result of differing pronunciations, but we seem to have settled that.
<<The deficiencies of international EFLy learner dictionaries from British publishers (and/or of ES(O)L learner dictionaries from American publishers), or the state (of flux LOL) in American English, or... ?>>
Well I think the confusion arises from the fact that there is a minority of dictionaries (such as the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary, the Merriam Webster Learner's Dictionary that you cited) that list low-back (or "cot-caught") merged pronunciations for American English. The low-back merger is a widespread innovation, found in the speech of about half of North Americans, particularly in the western US, Canada, and parts of the northeastern US. It's sufficiently widespread (both in real life and in broadcasting) that we can now reasonably say that it's a standard variant in General American, but nonetheless most American dictionaries continue to display the unmerged pronunciations.