Pronunciation of "syrup"

andre in usa   Monday, May 30, 2005, 17:01 GMT
Doesn't pretty much everyone say "seer" completely differently? It's pronounced as two syllables in all the American dialects I've heard.
andre in usa   Monday, May 30, 2005, 17:05 GMT
I meant to say in my post above: Doesn't everyone pronounce "seer" completely different from the other -eer words? (cheer, beer, etc.) Because it's two syllables, not one. Sorry for not being clearer.
Kirk   Monday, May 30, 2005, 19:44 GMT
<<I'm from Arizona. deer and seer are different in my accent too, but it's more like seer being pronounced like /si:j@`/ and deer is something in between /di@`/ and /dI@`/. I think the first sound of my "deer" is very close to the 3rd vowel in the word "appreciate". (the vowel in "ci" part)
It's not completely lax as the vowel in "hit" is, nor is it completely tense as "heat" is.>>

I agree that sometimes my vowel for a word like "beer" may actually lie somewhere between [I] and [i], but overall it's much closer to [I] than [i], even if it doesn't perfectly match up with my [I] in a word like "hit"--but it's really close. That's why I choose [I] for that transcription. Also, there are a couple different ways to say "appreciate" so that may not be the best example--my "appreciate" is [@"pr\ISiet].

<<I wonder how people from other states pronounce those words. How about the word "really"? I've heard it pronounce in three ways; ['r\i:li], /'r\Ili/ and /'r\I@li/.>>

I normally say ['r\Ili]. In a rare case when I want to overemphasize the word I'll say ['r\i:li].

Where are you from in Arizona, Taro? Arizona's interesting because its massive population growth over recent decades has been fueled by Midwesterners escaping the cold and Californians escaping high cost of living (which in turn raises demand and desirability ironically). I visit my relatives in Tempe maybe once or twice a year and I always try and see if there are some consistent accent differences in Arizonans and Californians, but at least at this point I think it's too hard to tell, as Arizona's population has been settled very recently comparatively speaking (proportionally Arizona-born natives are relatively rare, except for maybe the younger generation) and there hasn't been enough time for many widespread regional features to pop up. Or have you possibly noticed anything?
Jim   Wednesday, June 01, 2005, 00:32 GMT
Yes, "seer" is a two syllable word. I'd pronounce it [si:.@]. The other words are completely different. I'd tend towards [sI:] for "sear" but I also might say [sI@]. It rhymes perfectly with "beer", "cheer", "year", "ear", etc.: all one syllable. People from my state (New South Wales) say ['r\i:li] for "really".
Frances   Wednesday, June 01, 2005, 00:40 GMT
I think I'm like Jim but unfortunately don't understand linguistics notation. I tend to say sear so it rhymes with cheer and year but I have noticed that my "beer" and "here" are much pronounced so as to be split into two clear syllables eg bee-yah.
Travis   Wednesday, June 01, 2005, 00:42 GMT
Just for my versions of those, for me those are:

"appreciate" : /@"priSiet/ --> [@"pr\_0i.Sie?]
"really" : /"rili/ --> ["r\i.5i]

Note for me though that instances of /Ir/ are actually rather variable in how they may be realized in my speech, as in normal speech they tend towards [Ir\], but when emphasized, they will somewhere in the middle between the two. The matter of such is that at the phonemic level, one could say that the tenseness/laxness of vowels that exist in lax/tense pairs is *undefined* before /r/, and hence in actual realization there is more flexibility for such than for members of said pairs elsewhere.
Jim   Wednesday, June 01, 2005, 00:55 GMT
Frances   Wednesday, June 01, 2005, 01:06 GMT
My beer and here don't quite rhyme with seer. I'll check your websites now.
posts   Thursday, June 02, 2005, 02:29 GMT
I could pronouncing it in an unpopular way, I say 'sir-rup' - with stress on the first syllable while carrying the 'r' over to 'up'.
guy   Thursday, June 02, 2005, 02:43 GMT
posts, is it unpopular?
Kirk   Thursday, June 02, 2005, 02:57 GMT
<<I say 'sir-rup' - with stress on the first syllable while carrying the 'r' over to 'up'.>>

What exactly do you mean? Do you mean the first syllable in "syrup" rhymes with "her?" If so, that's quite a common pronunciation.
posts   Thursday, June 02, 2005, 18:07 GMT
Guy, I said unpopular because it seems from most of the posters have 'written' here that no one says sir-rup.

Kirk, I mean that first syllable in "syrup" rhymes with the word 'sir' and oh yes, as a matter of fact 'her' too. Okay good, it's common. :-)