pronunciation of genuine
When speaking myself English I use to pronounce the word genuine like this : dZenjUIn
But in "The Last Samurai" I heard Tom Cruise pronouncing it :
dZenjUaIn
I guess he has used this pronunciation sarcastically to underline the non authentic side of the fact they were talking about during a scene in the film.
Or was it just the way this word is usually pronounced in the States ?
I do not think so. Thank you for your comments.
Cheers. Claude.
I usually say "jen-yoo-win", but it can be pronounced either way in the US. I'm guessing the context of the Last Samurai, Tom Cruise was using the exaggerated pronunciation in an ironic way.
I pronounce it as [ˈdʒɛn.juˌɑɪ̯n].
I only have ["dZEnjMIn] personally. If I said ["dZEnjMaIn] it'd be in an ironic sense.
Some people actually say genuine as ["dZEnjuaIn] to answer your question but it's usually ["dZEnjuIn] or ["dZenjUIn].
Thank you for your comments. Now it's perfectly clear for me, and I remember that Tom had an ironic smile when he pronounced the word genuine "jen-yoo-wain" instead of "jen-yoo-win".
Be sure I will remember this trick and use it too in due time.
Cheers. Claude.
I myself pronounce "genuine" as /"dZEnjuIn/ -> ["dZE~:.Ju.wI~:n] or as /"dZEnjUIn/ -> ["dZE~:.JU.wI~:n].
I heard some English accents silent the 'U' in 'genuine'
<<I heard some English accents silent the 'U' in 'genuine'>>
I've never heard of that. Do you mean it'd sound like "jen-yin?" ["dZEnjIn]...?
Upon reflection, I'm no longer sure how I pronounce this word; both [ˈdʒɛn.juˌɪn] and [ˈdʒɛn.juˌɑɪ̯n] sound familiar. I almost never use the word so I don't have a preferred pronunciation. The version without the diphthong is apparently the standard version.
<<Thank you for your comments. Now it's perfectly clear for me, and I remember that Tom had an ironic smile when he pronounced the word genuine "jen-yoo-wain" instead of "jen-yoo-win".>>
Claude, based on the statement you made above, I think you pretty much figured it out.
In addition, Brennus was pretty much correct when he wrote:
<<dZenjUIn = Standard American English
dZenjUaIn = Southern U.S.A. and Black English>>
I once read somewhere that "dZenjUaIn" is an example of non-standard pronunciation and should be avoided in job interviews, formal speech, and any kind of discourse with educated people. Although it is is a rather common mistake, it still shows low class and in some movies and TV shows the writers sometimes have a low-class character say "dZenjUaIn" just to reinforce the fact that he is low class. Enough said.
That "genuine" spelling is not good for lerning corect pronunciation. In some cases, the silent E is misleading. Why not "genuin"?
"Equine" and "genuine" should not rime.
"Penguin" and "genuin" would not rime.
How caotic!
<<That "genuine" spelling is not good for lerning corect pronunciation. In some cases, the silent E is misleading. Why not "genuin"?>>
You are absolutely right, elto (jpn). When it comes to learning pronunciation English is an EXTREMELY misleading language with no rhyme nor reason. This is not really the case with French and definitely not with Spanish or Italian. Even German tends to make more sense with regard to spelling and pronunciation and even has umlauts to help you out in cases where it would otherwise be ambiguous.
<<You are absolutely right, elto (jpn). When it comes to learning pronunciation English is an EXTREMELY misleading language with no rhyme nor reason.>>
That's not really true. There are plenty of consistent rules in English spelling. The strangest, most "out-there" ones tend to be some of the most high-frequency words and stand out, but there are many more which are very consistent.