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To distinguish between the word woman and women, we change the A to an E, but only change the pronunciation on the O.

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JeSuisUnHombre@lemm.ee
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showerthoughts@lemmy.world
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w(uh)man to w(ih)men

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ccunning@lemmy.world
65 points

Except by your own pronunciation guide:

w(uh)man to w(ih)men

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intensely_human@lemm.ee
7 points

Yeah that’s the spelling part OP is referring to

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ccunning@lemmy.world
6 points

But the pronunciation changes there too*, contrary to what OP says.

* Maybe there are regional pronunciation differences I’ve never heard of before?

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Ellia Plissken@lemm.ee
30 points

nah i say wuh-man and wih-min

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cartoon meme dog@lemm.ee
20 points

it’s normal for unstressed short vowels in English to all come out as a “schwa”, which the most common phoneme of the language.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mid_central_vowel

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The Assman@sh.itjust.works
8 points

What kind of weirdo says chick-uhn?

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TrickDacy@lemmy.world
6 points

English speakers globally

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EmoDuck@sh.itjust.works
4 points
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BirdyBoogleBop@lemmy.dbzer0.com
3 points
*

I don’t pronunce any of those words like that. Maybe stadium I pronounce the same. Maybe.

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EdanGrey@sh.itjust.works
19 points

It must only be in some places because where I live in the UK both parts change pronunciation.

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BingBong@sh.itjust.works
6 points

Does in Midwest USA too.

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intensely_human@lemm.ee
0 points

Where’s that?

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lazynooblet@lazysoci.al
13 points
*

In UK it goes from

Woman – Wu mun

Women - Wi men

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Carighan Maconar@lemmy.world
17 points

Wait until you try to figure out how to pronounce “ough”, like in rough or through or dough.

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some_guy@lemmy.sdf.org
5 points

Looks like it’s time to recommend one of my favorite books:

Highly Irregular: Why Tough, Through, and Dough Don’t Rhyme―And Other Oddities of the English Language

I found it via an interview with the author on the 99% Invisible podcast:

Corpse, Corps, Horse and Worse

It’s a great book because it lays out, very logically, all the ways our language went to shit. It was a product of the Great Vowel Shift and crappy timing regarding it, plus competing cultures ruling the lands in England.

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ornery_chemist@mander.xyz
2 points

Corpse, Corps, Horse, and Worse

I will keep you, Susy, busy,

Make your head with heat grow dizzy;

Tear in eye, your dress you’ll tear;

Queer, fair seer, hear my prayer.

banger poem

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ivanafterall ☑️@lemmy.world
1 point

Isn’t it just pronounced how it looks?

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