Question for non-rhotic speakers

Lazar   Mon Mar 06, 2006 3:15 am GMT
I'd like to now about some instances of smoothing that I've read can occur in non-rhotic dialects.

How many syllables do you have in the following words?

idea (3 or 2?)
diarrhoea (4 or 3?)
panacea (4 or 3?)
theater (3 or 2?)
Maria (3 or 2?)
Korea (3 or 2?)

(In X-SAMPA,
/aI."di:.@/ or /aI."dI@/ ?
/daI.@."ri:.@/ or /daI.@."rI@/ ?
/p{n.@."si:.@/ or /p{n.@."sI@/ ?
/"Ti:.@.t@/ or /"TI@.t@/ ?
/m@."ri:.@/ or /m@."rI@/ ?
/k@."ri:.@/ or /k@."rI@/ ?)

Thanks in advance to all respondents.
Guest   Mon Mar 06, 2006 4:53 am GMT
idea (3 or 2?) 2
diarrhoea (4 or 3?) 4
panacea (4 or 3?) 3
theater (3 or 2?) 3
Maria (3 or 2?) 3
Korea (3 or 2?) 3
Uriel   Mon Mar 06, 2006 6:31 am GMT
How do you only get 3 syllables out of "panacea"?
Guest   Mon Mar 06, 2006 6:56 am GMT
Pa-na-ce-a
Thommo   Mon Mar 06, 2006 7:20 am GMT
idea: 2, the second a diphthong.
diarrhoea: 3, with the third a diphthong
theatre, Maria and Korea : 3
panacea: 4
Jim   Mon Mar 06, 2006 8:10 am GMT
idea 2
diarrhoea 4
panacea 4
theatre 3
Maria 3
Korea 3
Antonio   Tue Mar 07, 2006 3:12 pm GMT
Guest: Have you come around on your 3 syllables for panacea or what?
[pa-na-cee]?
Guest   Tue Mar 07, 2006 9:36 pm GMT
Seriously I do say 'Panacea' with four syllables. ''Pa na ce ah''
Guest   Tue Mar 07, 2006 9:43 pm GMT
<How do you only get 3 syllables out of "panacea"? >

[Pa-na-cee] usually when a when there are two vowels together the second vowel is silent. So in this example the letter 'a' in 'Panacea' is silent while the 'e' is held.

Another example are 'guess' with the silent 'e'. Is this unique to my English accent? How about other non-rhotic English speakers?
Guest   Tue Mar 07, 2006 9:52 pm GMT
*are = is
Antonio   Tue Mar 07, 2006 9:57 pm GMT
Guest I only asked that because I also say it with 3. And think it´s quite common.
Ella   Tue Mar 07, 2006 10:14 pm GMT
I have heard people say 'Panacea' with four syllables.

Guest said
"Seriously I do say 'Panacea' with four syllables. ''Pa na ce ah''

They tend to stress the 'a' especially after another vowel which is the total opposite to what guest said:

"[Pa-na-cee] usually when a when there are two vowels together the second vowel is silent. So in this example the letter 'a' in 'Panacea' is silent while the 'e' is held.

Another example are 'guess' with the silent 'e'. Is this unique to my English accent? How about other non-rhotic English speakers?"
Jim   Wed Mar 08, 2006 12:04 am GMT
The Cambridge Dictionary gives four syllables.

/%p{n.@"si:.@/

http://www.dictionary.cambridge.org/define.asp?dict=CALD&key=57263&ph=on

I don't agree with the Guest of Tuesday the 7th of March 2006 at 9:43 pm GMT.

"... usually when a when there are two vowels together the second vowel is silent." No, what you're talking about are digraphs. Neither letter is really silent instead they both indicate the sound together. However, the "ea" in "panacea" is not a digraph.

"Another example are 'guess' with the silent 'e'." Do you pronounce "guess" as you would the name "Gus"? You're talking about the "u" but it's not really silent it's there to stop the "g"'s being pronounced as an affricative (like a "j").
Guest   Wed Mar 08, 2006 1:14 am GMT
''Gus''

I heard it in Canada once.
Guest   Sat Mar 11, 2006 8:43 am GMT
I agree with four syllables for panacea, with the last a schwa.