how to pronounce "something"?

beti   Fri Mar 09, 2007 8:00 pm GMT
I have some problems with pronouncing the word "something". In my pronunciation there occurs "F" sound after "M" as it seems hardly posssible for me to be able to pronounce [th] with the tip of the tounge against the teeth just after [m]. How do you pronounce the word?
Travis   Fri Mar 09, 2007 8:10 pm GMT
I pronounce "something" as ["sV~:mTI~:N] myself.
SpaceFlight   Fri Mar 09, 2007 8:47 pm GMT
It's very common for many English speakers to insert a [p] in between the [m] and the [T] in "something". I'd advise you to just replace the [f] your using with a [p], as that's what many native speakers actual use there. Hence, you can pronounce it "sump thing" [sVmpTin]/[sVmpTIN].
Sarcastic Northwesterner   Fri Mar 09, 2007 8:50 pm GMT
It's pronounced "sump theen".
Josh Lalonde   Fri Mar 09, 2007 8:57 pm GMT
I pronounce it ['sVmTIN] in careful speech, [sVmTIn]/[sVmTI~] in normal speech and sometimes [sVm?I~] in casual speech. (I wouldn't recommend the last one for ESL students, though.)
SpaceFlight   Fri Mar 09, 2007 9:04 pm GMT
I pronounce "something" as /sVmTiN/ [sVm(p)TiN].
Sarcastic Northwesterner   Fri Mar 09, 2007 9:17 pm GMT
>> I pronounce "something" as /sVmTiN/ [sVm(p)TiN].<<

Interesting. That's similar to how Californians say it.
SpaceFlight   Fri Mar 09, 2007 9:20 pm GMT
<<Interesting. That's similar to how Californians say it.>>

I'm from Florida.
Josh Lalonde   Fri Mar 09, 2007 9:33 pm GMT
<<I pronounce "something" as /sVmTiN/ [sVm(p)TiN].>>

Do you really use [i], or did you mean to write [I]? Because as Sarcastic Northwesterner said, [i] is how Californians pronounce it.
SpaceFlight   Fri Mar 09, 2007 10:29 pm GMT
<<Do you really use [i], or did you mean to write [I]? Because as Sarcastic Northwesterner said, [i] is how Californians pronounce it.>>

Yes, I pronounce it with [i].

[{] and [I] become [eI] and [i] before [N] for me.

"thick" /TIk/
"thing" /TiN/

"sack" /s{k/
"sang" /seIN/
Travis   Fri Mar 09, 2007 10:36 pm GMT
I have to correct my post and say that I really use ["sV~mTI~:N] (the vowel length was wrong), ["sV~mpTI~:N], their counterparts with [I~:n] or [n=:] instead of [I~:N], and also ["sVm?n=:] in informal speech.
SpaceFlight   Fri Mar 09, 2007 10:52 pm GMT
<<["sVm?n=:] in informal speech.>>

That [sVm?n=:] is interesting, as such a pronunciation with a glottal stop does sound rather off to me.
RedFox   Fri Mar 09, 2007 11:35 pm GMT
[sVmpm=]. Is [=] the correct way to mark syllabic consonants?
Travis   Fri Mar 09, 2007 11:59 pm GMT
>>[sVmpm=]. Is [=] the correct way to mark syllabic consonants?<<

In X-SAMPA, the system that is in use here, yes.
Lazar   Sat Mar 10, 2007 3:54 am GMT
I pronounce "something" as ["sVmTIN], or in informal speech, ["sVmTIn].