ninety

SpaceFlight   Mon Jul 30, 2007 7:12 pm GMT
I'm American and pronounce this word [naIndi], with a [d] sound as though it were spelled "ninedy". For some reason, the historical intervocalic [nt] doesn't undergo the usual reduction to [n] here. How do others pronounce it?
Lazar   Mon Jul 30, 2007 8:08 pm GMT
I usually pronounce it ["naIndi] - never ["naInti] - although sometimes in rapid speech I pronounce it ["naIni]. The same applies for "seventy" in my speech.

The odd thing is that "twenty" doesn't seem to undergo this process. I usually pronounce that ["t_hwEni], sometimes ["t_hwEnti] in formal or deliberate speech.
SpaceFlight   Mon Jul 30, 2007 8:15 pm GMT
<<The odd thing is that "twenty" doesn't seem to undergo this process. I usually pronounce that ["t_hwEni], sometimes ["t_hwEnti] in formal or deliberate speech.>>

"twenty" is [t_hwVni] for me. It undergoes the usual process of reduction of [nt] to [n] that occurs in "center" [sIn@`], "enter" [In@`], "dentist" [dInIst] etc. For some reason, "seventy" and "ninety" don't undergo it, and instead I have [sEv@ndi] and [naIndi], never *[sEv@ni] and *[naIni].
Guest   Wed Aug 01, 2007 11:24 am GMT
Does any of you pronounce "twenty" as "twonny"?
furrykef   Wed Aug 01, 2007 12:15 pm GMT
<< Does any of you pronounce "twenty" as "twonny"? >>

I do. Not always, but sometimes.

- Kef
Travis   Wed Aug 01, 2007 7:07 pm GMT
I always pronounce "twenty" as ["t_hwV:i~] or, more carefully, ["t_hwV~4~i:]; I never have [E] in "twenty" myself.
Guest   Wed Aug 01, 2007 8:28 pm GMT
<<I always pronounce "twenty" as ["t_hwV:i~] or, more carefully, ["t_hwV~4~i:]; I never have [E] in "twenty" myself.>>

What about "seventy" and "ninety"? Also, what about "thirty", "forty", "fifty", "sixty" and "eighty? I have "thirdy", "fordy", "fifdy", "sixdy" and "eighdy" myself.
Travis   Wed Aug 01, 2007 9:14 pm GMT
I have, from least to most formal:

twenty : ["t_hwV:i~], ["t_hwV~4~i:]
thirty: ["TR=i:], ["TR=4i:] (I may sporadically have [t_d] rather than [T] here in informal speech)
forty: ["fORi:], ["fOR4i:]
fifty: ["fIfti:]
sixty: ["sIksti:]
seventy: ["sE::n4i:], ["sE:n=4i:], ["sE:vn=4i:]
eighty: ["ei:], ["e4i:]
ninety: ["naI~i:], ["naI~4i:], ["naI~n4i:]
Travis   Wed Aug 01, 2007 9:42 pm GMT
Actually, I forgot one thing there; for "sixty" I really should have:

sixty: ["sIksi:], ["sIksti:]
Skippy   Wed Aug 01, 2007 9:45 pm GMT
I don't really pronounce the 't' at all... I say it more like /nayni/.

Texas represent...
Travis   Wed Aug 01, 2007 9:51 pm GMT
Thanks for reminding me about that one; I also actually have:

ninety: ["naI~i:], ["naI~ni:], ["naI~4i:], ["naI~n4i:]

Note that ["naI~ni:] cannot be /"naIni/ in my dialect due to the presence of the short vowel in its first syllable - whereas /"naIni/ would have a long vowel in its first syllable in my dialect, being ["na:I~ni:].
Guest   Sat Aug 04, 2007 8:03 pm GMT
What about "eleven"? I've heard [@lEv@n], [ilEv@n], [IlEv@n] etc.
Uriel   Sat Aug 04, 2007 8:22 pm GMT
You got it, Skip -- my ninety can be either "ninedy" or "niney". And my twenty is always "twunny".

Eleven is usually "uh-levin".

<<What about "seventy" and "ninety"? Also, what about "thirty", "forty", "fifty", "sixty" and "eighty? I have "thirdy", "fordy", "fifdy", "sixdy" and "eighdy" myself.>>

As do the rest of us. Down with T!
furrykef   Sun Aug 05, 2007 2:11 am GMT
I think the "d" sound in "fifty" and "sixty" might just be an unaspirated "t" sound rather than a true "d", since they're not preceded by a voiced sound. The others do come after a voiced sound, so they become "d" more easily. At least, that's how I perceive it when I say it.

- Kef
Travis   Sun Aug 05, 2007 6:26 am GMT
I also forgot about another common pronunciation of "fifty" here, which is [fIt:i:].

>>>I think the "d" sound in "fifty" and "sixty" might just be an unaspirated "t" sound rather than a true "d", since they're not preceded by a voiced sound. The others do come after a voiced sound, so they become "d" more easily. At least, that's how I perceive it when I say it.<<

Here it is definitely [t] (an "unaspirated 't'"), not [d] or [4], aside from when it is elided in "sixty" at times.