pronunciation

noun

pro·nun·ci·a·tion prə-ˌnən(t)-sē-ˈā-shən

also nonstandard -ˌnau̇n(t)-

: the act or manner of pronouncing something

pronunciational

prə-ˌnən(t)-sē-ˈā-shnəl

-shə-nᵊl

adjective

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Is it 'pronunciation' or 'pronounciation'?

Among the various letters and emails we receive from correspondents asking for pronunciation help are a number in which pronunciation is spelled pronounciation. The confusion is understandable: the verb is pronounce, so why shouldn’t the noun be pronounciation? Both the noun and verb come ultimately from the Latin verb pronuntiare. But when the Latin verb was taken into Anglo-French and later entered Middle English, that second vowel was sometimes rendered as -u- and sometimes rendered as -ou-. This means that, from about the 1500s onward, we see evidence of both pronounciation and pronunciation in the written record. Eventually, the noun standardized to pronunciation, but because of influence from pronounce, we occasionally still see pronounciation in print, and encounter a corresponding pronunciation for pronounciation (\pruh-nown-see-AY-shun\). These facts notwithstanding, the pronounciation spelling and the pronunciation that goes with it are not considered a part of standard English, and may open one criticism or questioning.

Examples of pronunciation in a Sentence

What is the correct pronunciation of his name? I haven't learned proper pronunciation of French words.

Recent Examples on the Web In his opening monologue, Colbert had fun with the pronunciation of Hanbury’s title. —

Martha Ross, The Mercury News, 13 Mar. 2024 The Lai family supplemented Huong Que with a secondary, English-language handle, so that its new Western fans wouldn’t fumble the pronunciation. —

Tim Carman, Washington Post, 23 Feb. 2024 Also appearing on menus are more descriptions of international dishes, pronunciation guides to understand how to say certain food names and more storytelling about the destination’s culinary history. —

Ramsey Qubein, Forbes, 11 Feb. 2024 Each character — parents can choose from among 2,999 under the law — has a pronunciation generally associated with it, and those sounds together make up the reading of the name. —

Hikari Hida, New York Times, 1 Dec. 2023 So Peterson crafted a vocabulary and pronunciations that could actually be used by actors including Chalamet, Zendaya, and Javier Bardem (who returns as the Fremen leader Stilgar). —

EW.com, 20 Feb. 2024 The city has asked translators to furnish names that are transliterated, a process that more closely approximates English pronunciations. —

Amy Qin, New York Times, 18 Feb. 2024 My mouth is sore, and my pronunciation of certain words is slightly off. —

Theresa Vargas, Washington Post, 14 Feb. 2024 After a clip of Travis clarifying the pronunciation made its rounds on social media, some of his teammates shared their reactions — including Jones. —

Bailey Richards, Peoplemag, 27 Jan. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'pronunciation.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.