Sirius - /sIr\_Gi@s/ ''sihr-ee-us''
serious - /sir\_G@s/ ''seer-ee-us''
serious - /sir\_G@s/ ''seer-ee-us''
Your Accent!
I pronounce them differently:
Sirius - [sIri@s]
serious - [sI@ri@s]
"Serious" doesn't have the vowel of "seed" for me - it has a special pre-rhotic diphthong [I@], which is distinct from the plain [I] of "Sirius".
Maintaining pre-rhotic vowel distinctions like "Sirius-serious", "Mary-merry-marry", and "hurry-furry" is common here in the Northeast but rare elsewhere in North America.
Sirius - [sIri@s]
serious - [sI@ri@s]
"Serious" doesn't have the vowel of "seed" for me - it has a special pre-rhotic diphthong [I@], which is distinct from the plain [I] of "Sirius".
Maintaining pre-rhotic vowel distinctions like "Sirius-serious", "Mary-merry-marry", and "hurry-furry" is common here in the Northeast but rare elsewhere in North America.
<<Sirius - sihr-us
serious - seer-ree-us >>
You don't say the second "i" in "Sirius"? Do you pronounce it the same as "serous"?
serious - seer-ree-us >>
You don't say the second "i" in "Sirius"? Do you pronounce it the same as "serous"?
>> Must be a 'merican thang, eh, Trav?<<
Well, it probably is, considering that neutralization of vowel values before /r\/ is primarily a feature North American English dialects.
Well, it probably is, considering that neutralization of vowel values before /r\/ is primarily a feature North American English dialects.
I meant to say "is primarily a feature *of* North American English dialects" above.
<<You don't say the second "i" in "Sirius"? Do you pronounce it the same as "serous"?>>
Uriel, for me, the first syllables of ''Sirius'' and ''serous'' sound different, so even if I did leave out the second ''i'' in ''Sirius'' it still wouldn't sound like ''serous''.
Uriel, for me, the first syllables of ''Sirius'' and ''serous'' sound different, so even if I did leave out the second ''i'' in ''Sirius'' it still wouldn't sound like ''serous''.
I believe I distinguish between serious and Sirius, but I have to say the difference is slight in my accent.
Closest approximation for me would be that the "e" in serious is pronounced with a long vowel, so that the beginning of the word sounds identical to the word "sea". The first syllable of "Sirius" instead sounds like the word "sear".
I have no clue how to transcribe this this, or that it will even make sense to anyone if the "ea" sound in "sea" and "sear" sound alike in another's accent.
Closest approximation for me would be that the "e" in serious is pronounced with a long vowel, so that the beginning of the word sounds identical to the word "sea". The first syllable of "Sirius" instead sounds like the word "sear".
I have no clue how to transcribe this this, or that it will even make sense to anyone if the "ea" sound in "sea" and "sear" sound alike in another's accent.
Well the first syllable of "serious" isn't exactly the same as "sea" for me, although it's very similar. Technically it uses a special pre-rhotic allophone. For me, it is the first syllable of "serious" that sounds identical to "sear".
For me, the first vowel in "Sirius" sounds exactly the same as the vowel in "hit".
For me, the first vowel in "Sirius" sounds exactly the same as the vowel in "hit".
I have the same pronunciations as Travis. "Serious" and "Sirius" are both ["sIr\iIs] for me. In my dialect I have no tense vowels before /r\/ (except [A]) so this is pretty expected.
<<"Candy Wed Sep 14, 2005 6:21 pm GMT
Actually, Ulverston! :-)"
No way... Ulverston is my family's ancestral home! Well at least on my dad's side. His grandparents were from there and then moved to canada. >>
No way, Melissa!!! What a coincidence - there's only 12,000 of us in the whole place! Have you ever been there? Which part of Canada are you from? My partner is from Ontario.
The official homepage for Ulverston is http://www.ulverston.net/home.asp
if you'd like to take a look!!
I think a lot of the people from the area - Ulverston, Dalton, Barrow - emigrated to Canada a few decades ago.
Actually, Ulverston! :-)"
No way... Ulverston is my family's ancestral home! Well at least on my dad's side. His grandparents were from there and then moved to canada. >>
No way, Melissa!!! What a coincidence - there's only 12,000 of us in the whole place! Have you ever been there? Which part of Canada are you from? My partner is from Ontario.
The official homepage for Ulverston is http://www.ulverston.net/home.asp
if you'd like to take a look!!
I think a lot of the people from the area - Ulverston, Dalton, Barrow - emigrated to Canada a few decades ago.