different ways to pronounce the word "comfortable"

Hey, recently I realized there are many different ways to pronounce the word "comfortable".

I'm from Arizona and I pronounce it /k_hVFft@bl=/ and I think it's the most common around here, but here's a list of other pronunciations I've encountered.

/k_hVmft@bl=/ - My friend from Wisconsin
/k_hVmft@`bl=/ - My friend from Canada, note that there's an r in a strange position
/k_hVFf@`t@bl=/ - A lady from California

Is this a regional difference? How do you pronounce it and tell me where you are from, too.

Well, I'm from the same region as you, and I pronounce it like your Canadian friend. So much for regional differences. I think this pronunciation is the most common one I hear, followed by the one you give for the lady from California. Your own and the Wisconsin pronunciations sound more unusual and vaguely substandard to me, whereas the California lady sounds fine, even though I don't normally use that pronunciation myself—I believe it is the preferred pronunciation.

I pronounce it like the Canadian as well: [kVmft@`bl=]

I say cumf-ter-bul. Or just "comfy".

I say it ["k_hVFft@`bl=] and I'm from California. Based on Uriel's spelling, she says it the same way I do, assuming she also assimilates the /mf/ to the labiodental nasal + labiodental fricative combo [Ff] like I do.

I say kumf-ter-uh-bull (with metathesis) and often hear Uriel & Kirk's "cumf-ter-bul" even though the "educated" or "cultured" pronunciation is really kum-fer-tuh-bull. "Comfy" brings back memories of the hippie years.

<<I say kumf-ter-uh-bull (with metathesis) and often hear Uriel & Kirk's "cumf-ter-bul" even though the "educated" or "cultured" pronunciation is really kum-fer-tuh-bull.>>

Haha, lovely. Well call me an uncultured and uncouth plebeian but "kum-fer-tuh-bull" actually doesn't sound cultured to my ears but if I had to associate it with anything it has an air of affectation about it, being based on a spelling pronunciation.

If "educated" and "cultured" are important criteria for you, nearly all of my PhD-holding professors would say "cumf-ter-bul" like I do. My parents (both of whom are college-educated and then some--my dad has a doctorate) aren't too slovenly of folk and also say "cumf-ter-bul."

Mm. I am far too young to be a hippie, comfy or not. And I have no idea what my labiodentals are nasally fricatating, Kirk. (!!!) Sounds illegal. ;)

When I hear "com-fer-ta-bul" I think something along the lines of "You are trying way too hard..." But to each their own.

I pronounce "comfortable" as /"k@mft@`bl=/ -> ["k_hV~Ff.t@`.b5=] or ["k_hV~mf.t@`.b5=], for the record.

>>Haha, lovely. Well call me an uncultured and uncouth plebeian but "kum-fer-tuh-bull" actually doesn't sound cultured to my ears but if I had to associate it with anything it has an air of affectation about it, being based on a spelling pronunciation.<<

I tend to perceive it as affected, but at the same specifically tend to look down on such affectation because such individuals are trying to be "correct", when what they think of as "correct" is *not* even the traditionally prescriptivist "correct" form. Consequently, I view it as even worse than if they were just insisting on prescriptive "correctness" alone.

>>If "educated" and "cultured" are important criteria for you, nearly all of my PhD-holding professors would say "cumf-ter-bul" like I do. My parents (both of whom are college-educated and then some--my dad has a doctorate) aren't too slovenly of folk and also say "cumf-ter-bul." <<

Same here. Such is the *only* pronunciation I am used to for "comfortable", and "kum-fer-tuh-bull" just sounds plain wrong, and that the speaker is trying to hard to speak "correctly", when they really aren't.

<<And I have no idea what my labiodentals are nasally fricatating, Kirk. (!!!) Sounds illegal. ;)>>

Almost, but we'll let you get away with it this time ;) Anyway, it's just a phonological assimilation common in words /mf/ or /nf/ but I won't bore you with the details :)

<<When I hear "com-fer-ta-bul" I think something along the lines of "You are trying way too hard...">>

Yup. That's basically what I was saying, too.

<<Same here. Such is the *only* pronunciation I am used to for "comfortable", and "kum-fer-tuh-bull" just sounds plain wrong, and that the speaker is trying to hard to speak "correctly", when they really aren't.>>

Yeah, that's kind of the impression I get when I hear that pronunciation too, as it doesn't sound natural to my ears. I suppose some people may naturally say it that way but it's almost certainly a spelling pronunciation.

Thanks for your your replies, guys:)

Kirk, I also have /nf/ & /mf/ -> /Ff/ assimilation in my accent, though some people around me denied having /nf/ -> /Ff/ assimilation. I think most people assimilate /mf/ as /Ff/.

So, most of you guys have r after the t, huh? As I said I pronouce it more like kumf-tuh-bul rather than kumf-tur-bul but maybe it's because my parents' accents are non-rhotic... Many people say my r sound is weaker than the majority of americans.

So how widespread is /Ff/ assimilation?

Oh, okay, I think I know what you mean, Kirk. Yes, i do that, too -- the MF gets modified slightly.

(Hmm, now THAT sounds bad, too....)

<<Kirk, I also have /nf/ & /mf/ -> /Ff/ assimilation in my accent, though some people around me denied having /nf/ -> /Ff/ assimilation. I think most people assimilate /mf/ as /Ff/.>>

Yeah, me too. Some people may do it more often than others but I would find it very surprising if someone didn't do it at all. Of course, Lazar says he doesn't do it so I guess not everyone does it--but I do find that very surprising.

<<So, most of you guys have r after the t, huh? As I said I pronouce it more like kumf-tuh-bul rather than kumf-tur-bul but maybe it's because my parents' accents are non-rhotic... Many people say my r sound is weaker than the majority of americans.>>

Yeah I definitely always have a rhotic schwa in "comfortable" and it always comes after the /kVmft/. That's interesting you don't have a rhotic vowel there. Where are you (and your parents) from?

<<So how widespread is /Ff/ assimilation?>>

Well it's pretty common in languages that have the possibility of nasal stops /m/ and /n/ followed by a labiodentally articulated fricative. I can't imagine it would ever be phonemically contrastive but it is a very common (almost expected) assimilation in human languages when those two sounds are next to each other. Now, that doesn't mean it'll happen every time--some people may have it more often when they speak informally but it even turns up in formal speech. I can certainly say something like "comfort" without using [F] but it requires deliberate effort to pronounce it [k_hVmf@`t] instead of [k_hVFf@`t], so obviously in normal speech I'm going to almost always use the latter.

<<Oh, okay, I think I know what you mean, Kirk. Yes, i do that, too -- the MF gets modified slightly.

(Hmm, now THAT sounds bad, too....)>>

Haha well I guess those labiodental fricatives are just always living on the edge then eh?