Do you pronounce ''world'' with one or two syllables?

Don   Wednesday, June 08, 2005, 20:38 GMT
''world'' has two syllables for me.

world = /w3`.@5d/.
Lazar   Wednesday, June 08, 2005, 21:16 GMT
I pronounce it with one big consonant-laden syllable: /w3r5d/.

But don't feel lonely. The Dutch had the same idea as you, because their word for "world" is "wereld".
Lazar   Wednesday, June 08, 2005, 21:23 GMT
That should be /w3`5d/, not /w3r5d/, above.

By the way, do you pronounce the name Carl with two syllables?
Don   Wednesday, June 08, 2005, 21:33 GMT
<<By the way, do you pronounce the name Carl with two syllables?>>

Yes,

Carl - /kAr.@5/.

So you pronounce ''Carl'' with one syllable, but ''Carroll'' with two? For me, they both have two syllables.
Lazar   Wednesday, June 08, 2005, 21:35 GMT
<<So you pronounce ''Carl'' with one syllable, but ''Carroll'' with two?>>

Yes.
Don   Wednesday, June 08, 2005, 21:35 GMT
/w3`5d/ for ''world'' sounds strange to me. I don't think I've ever heard it pronounced that way. Either that or I haven't noticed it being pronounced that way.
Don   Wednesday, June 08, 2005, 21:43 GMT
I have though heard it pronounced as /w35d/ by the r-droppers.
Kirk   Thursday, June 09, 2005, 04:03 GMT
So you pronounce ''Carl'' with one syllable, but ''Carroll'' with two? For me, they both have two syllables.

It's kind of hard to say, but my "world" and "Karl" seem to be to be monosyllabic on a phonemic level but may be represented as "closer to" bisyllabic (if that's even possible) in expressed form.

/w@rld/ --> [w3`5=d], maybe ["w3`.5=d]
/kArl/ --> [k_hAr\5=], maybe ["k_hAr\.5=]

It really is hard to say, because if they were truly two different syllables it seems they should be longer. "Carroll" is a similar situation where I find it hard to tell, altho (regardless of spelling) it does seem at least a little longer than the previous two, possibly pointing to a two-syllable underlying form.

/kEr\@l/ --> [k_hEr\5=], maybe ["k_hEr\.5=]
Don   Thursday, June 09, 2005, 15:17 GMT
''The Dutch had the same idea as you, because their word for "world" is "wereld".''

Lazar,

Why is their word for ''world'' spelled much more phonetically than our word? Their word has ''er'' instead of the unphonetic ''or'' that our word has.
Sander   Thursday, June 09, 2005, 15:30 GMT
=>Why is their word for ''world'' spelled much more phonetically than our word? Their word has ''er'' instead of the unphonetic ''or'' that our word has.<=

Because its a different language?
Tiffany   Thursday, June 09, 2005, 16:36 GMT
One syllable for "world".

One syllable for "Carl".

Two syllables for "Carroll"

Miami, Florida
Travis   Thursday, June 09, 2005, 18:40 GMT
I myself pronounce it as one heavyish syllable, that is, as /wr=ld/ --> [w3`5d_}].
Adam   Thursday, June 09, 2005, 18:45 GMT
"wereld." That shows how close Dutch is to English.

I pronounce "world" with one syllable. Like the word "whirl" with a "d" on the end.
Sander   Thursday, June 09, 2005, 18:48 GMT
You mean, how close English is to Dutch.

And no, because 'wereld'is pronounced totally different from 'world' (whurld)

sukkel...
Adam   Thursday, June 09, 2005, 18:52 GMT
"Why is their word for ''world'' spelled much more phonetically than our word? Their word has ''er'' instead of the unphonetic ''or'' that our word has. "

Because English, unlike Dutch and most other European languages, is NOT a phonetic language. Most English words are pronounced slightly differently as they are spelt. That's the main reason why English is the most difficult European language to learn to read.

An example of how crazily unphonetic the English language is is the pronounciation of "ough." It can be pronounced about 8 different ways -

through, though, rough, cough, lough, bought and about 2 others that I can't remember.