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What is the real pronunciation of “postmanâ€� [duplicate]
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This question already has an answer here:
Why is “man†in “Snowman†pronounced differently than in “Frenchman†or “Englishman�
3 answers
I can see that the word postman is pronounced as /pəʊs(t)mən/ commonly, where you can’t hear the vowel in the ‑man syllable.
But sometimes it is pronounced
/pəʊs(t)mæn/ — with a noticeable /æ/ vowel like in the word man — as heard in the 1961 song “Please Mr. Postman†by the Marvelettes from more than fifty years ago.
Why is postman sometimes pronounced differently in different times, places, or situations?
What is the real pronunciation of the word?
pronunciation phonology stress songs
edited Aug 25 at 17:13
tchrist♦
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asked Aug 25 at 14:53
Angela
111
marked as duplicate by Knotell, Skooba, user070221, Robusto, tchrist♦ Aug 31 at 2:20
This question has been asked before and already has an answer. If those answers do not fully address your question, please ask a new question.
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up vote
2
down vote
favorite
This question already has an answer here:
Why is “man†in “Snowman†pronounced differently than in “Frenchman†or “Englishman�
3 answers
I can see that the word postman is pronounced as /pəʊs(t)mən/ commonly, where you can’t hear the vowel in the ‑man syllable.
But sometimes it is pronounced
/pəʊs(t)mæn/ — with a noticeable /æ/ vowel like in the word man — as heard in the 1961 song “Please Mr. Postman†by the Marvelettes from more than fifty years ago.
Why is postman sometimes pronounced differently in different times, places, or situations?
What is the real pronunciation of the word?
pronunciation phonology stress songs
edited Aug 25 at 17:13
tchrist♦
107k27288455
asked Aug 25 at 14:53
Angela
111
marked as duplicate by Knotell, Skooba, user070221, Robusto, tchrist♦ Aug 31 at 2:20
This question has been asked before and already has an answer. If those answers do not fully address your question, please ask a new question.
There is also the matter of stress. the first is a trochee, the second a spondee
– Mitch
Aug 25 at 16:21
3
What’s a “real pronunciationâ€�
– tchrist♦
Aug 25 at 16:28
1
Related and possible duplicates: english.stackexchange.com/q/415266, english.stackexchange.com/q/78871, english.stackexchange.com/a/448656, english.stackexchange.com/q/174536, english.stackexchange.com/a/196681, english.stackexchange.com/q/284525, english.stackexchange.com/a/110766, english.stackexchange.com/q/257157, english.stackexchange.com/q/102624, english.stackexchange.com/a/188295), et cetera.
– tchrist♦
Aug 25 at 16:59
3
Why do you think there should only be one way to pronounce something? If you think it's anything that can be enforced, I've got a pecan grove to sell you.
– choster
Aug 25 at 18:36
Mail carrier or letter carrier is how I would say it.
– Knotell
Aug 26 at 3:36
 |Â
show 1 more comment
up vote
2
down vote
favorite
up vote
2
down vote
favorite
This question already has an answer here:
Why is “man†in “Snowman†pronounced differently than in “Frenchman†or “Englishman�
3 answers
I can see that the word postman is pronounced as /pəʊs(t)mən/ commonly, where you can’t hear the vowel in the ‑man syllable.
But sometimes it is pronounced
/pəʊs(t)mæn/ — with a noticeable /æ/ vowel like in the word man — as heard in the 1961 song “Please Mr. Postman†by the Marvelettes from more than fifty years ago.
Why is postman sometimes pronounced differently in different times, places, or situations?
What is the real pronunciation of the word?
pronunciation phonology stress songs
edited Aug 25 at 17:13
tchrist♦
107k27288455
asked Aug 25 at 14:53
Angela
111
This question already has an answer here:
Why is “man†in “Snowman†pronounced differently than in “Frenchman†or “Englishman�
3 answers
I can see that the word postman is pronounced as /pəʊs(t)mən/ commonly, where you can’t hear the vowel in the ‑man syllable.
But sometimes it is pronounced
/pəʊs(t)mæn/ — with a noticeable /æ/ vowel like in the word man — as heard in the 1961 song “Please Mr. Postman†by the Marvelettes from more than fifty years ago.
Why is postman sometimes pronounced differently in different times, places, or situations?
What is the real pronunciation of the word?
This question already has an answer here:
Why is “man†in “Snowman†pronounced differently than in “Frenchman†or “Englishman�
3 answers
pronunciation phonology stress songs
edited Aug 25 at 17:13
tchrist♦
107k27288455
asked Aug 25 at 14:53
Angela
111
edited Aug 25 at 17:13
tchrist♦
107k27288455
edited Aug 25 at 17:13
tchrist♦
107k27288455
edited Aug 25 at 17:13
tchrist♦
107k27288455
107k27288455
asked Aug 25 at 14:53
Angela
111
asked Aug 25 at 14:53
Angela
111
asked Aug 25 at 14:53
Angela
111
111
marked as duplicate by Knotell, Skooba, user070221, Robusto, tchrist♦ Aug 31 at 2:20
This question has been asked before and already has an answer. If those answers do not fully address your question, please ask a new question.
marked as duplicate by Knotell, Skooba, user070221, Robusto, tchrist♦ Aug 31 at 2:20
This question has been asked before and already has an answer. If those answers do not fully address your question, please ask a new question.
There is also the matter of stress. the first is a trochee, the second a spondee
– Mitch
Aug 25 at 16:21
3
What’s a “real pronunciationâ€�
– tchrist♦
Aug 25 at 16:28
1
Related and possible duplicates: english.stackexchange.com/q/415266, english.stackexchange.com/q/78871, english.stackexchange.com/a/448656, english.stackexchange.com/q/174536, english.stackexchange.com/a/196681, english.stackexchange.com/q/284525, english.stackexchange.com/a/110766, english.stackexchange.com/q/257157, english.stackexchange.com/q/102624, english.stackexchange.com/a/188295), et cetera.
– tchrist♦
Aug 25 at 16:59
3
Why do you think there should only be one way to pronounce something? If you think it's anything that can be enforced, I've got a pecan grove to sell you.
– choster
Aug 25 at 18:36
Mail carrier or letter carrier is how I would say it.
– Knotell
Aug 26 at 3:36
 |Â
show 1 more comment
There is also the matter of stress. the first is a trochee, the second a spondee
– Mitch
Aug 25 at 16:21
3
What’s a “real pronunciationâ€�
– tchrist♦
Aug 25 at 16:28
1
Related and possible duplicates: english.stackexchange.com/q/415266, english.stackexchange.com/q/78871, english.stackexchange.com/a/448656, english.stackexchange.com/q/174536, english.stackexchange.com/a/196681, english.stackexchange.com/q/284525, english.stackexchange.com/a/110766, english.stackexchange.com/q/257157, english.stackexchange.com/q/102624, english.stackexchange.com/a/188295), et cetera.
– tchrist♦
Aug 25 at 16:59
3
Why do you think there should only be one way to pronounce something? If you think it's anything that can be enforced, I've got a pecan grove to sell you.
– choster
Aug 25 at 18:36
Mail carrier or letter carrier is how I would say it.
– Knotell
Aug 26 at 3:36
There is also the matter of stress. the first is a trochee, the second a spondee
– Mitch
Aug 25 at 16:21
There is also the matter of stress. the first is a trochee, the second a spondee
– Mitch
Aug 25 at 16:21
3
3
What’s a “real pronunciationâ€�
– tchrist♦
Aug 25 at 16:28
What’s a “real pronunciationâ€�
– tchrist♦
Aug 25 at 16:28
1
1
Related and possible duplicates: english.stackexchange.com/q/415266, english.stackexchange.com/q/78871, english.stackexchange.com/a/448656, english.stackexchange.com/q/174536, english.stackexchange.com/a/196681, english.stackexchange.com/q/284525, english.stackexchange.com/a/110766, english.stackexchange.com/q/257157, english.stackexchange.com/q/102624, english.stackexchange.com/a/188295), et cetera.
– tchrist♦
Aug 25 at 16:59
Related and possible duplicates: english.stackexchange.com/q/415266, english.stackexchange.com/q/78871, english.stackexchange.com/a/448656, english.stackexchange.com/q/174536, english.stackexchange.com/a/196681, english.stackexchange.com/q/284525, english.stackexchange.com/a/110766, english.stackexchange.com/q/257157, english.stackexchange.com/q/102624, english.stackexchange.com/a/188295), et cetera.
– tchrist♦
Aug 25 at 16:59
3
3
Why do you think there should only be one way to pronounce something? If you think it's anything that can be enforced, I've got a pecan grove to sell you.
– choster
Aug 25 at 18:36
Why do you think there should only be one way to pronounce something? If you think it's anything that can be enforced, I've got a pecan grove to sell you.
– choster
Aug 25 at 18:36
Mail carrier or letter carrier is how I would say it.
– Knotell
Aug 26 at 3:36
Mail carrier or letter carrier is how I would say it.
– Knotell
Aug 26 at 3:36
 |Â
show 1 more comment
1 Answer
1
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up vote
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There is a fair amount of variation in the pronunciation of words ending in -man. Dictionaries usually try to indicate the most common variant first, but in most cases there is no special reason to call the most common variant the "real pronunciation" or anything like that. Both pronunciations are "real" (at least in the most literal sense of the word). If you feel uncertain about which pronunciation you should use, though, it's probably a safe bet to go with the most common one.
Merriam-Webster for example says " ˈpÃ…Âs(t)-mən , -ˌman ".
Mark Liberman wrote a Language Log post in 2015 about this topic: "Man: reduced or not?" Liberman says "the distinction looks pretty arbitrary to me, in synchronic terms"; a later comment by Jongseong Park cites John Wells's Longman Pronunciation Dictionary as saying
-man mən, mæn —This suffix may be weak or strong. (i) In most well-established formations, written as one word, it is weak, mən: policeman pə ˈliËÂs mən. (ii) Where written hyphenated or as two words, and in new formations, it is usually strong, mæn: spaceman ˈspeɪs mæn. Note batman 'army servant' ˈbæt mən, but Batman (cartoon character) ˈbæt mæn
answered Aug 25 at 15:10
sumelic
42.4k6102199
May I once again beg you not to use anything but IPA? How is everybody supposed to know what you mean when you use non-standard notation whose actual pronunciation is going to vary by speaker? That's just no help at all. How can we know whether -man is supposed to be [mɑn] or [man] or [mæn]? I won't even mention [mÉÂn] or [mnÌ©] or [mɨn].
– tchrist♦
Aug 25 at 16:21
The MW way of spelling the two pronunciations ( ˈpÃ…Âs(t)-mən , -ˌman ) seems sufficient, since english speakers should recognize a schwa and as for 'man' well it represents the last syllable in Batman @tchrist
– Knotell
Aug 25 at 20:35
add a comment |Â
1 Answer
1
active
oldest
votes
1 Answer
1
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
up vote
5
down vote
There is a fair amount of variation in the pronunciation of words ending in -man. Dictionaries usually try to indicate the most common variant first, but in most cases there is no special reason to call the most common variant the "real pronunciation" or anything like that. Both pronunciations are "real" (at least in the most literal sense of the word). If you feel uncertain about which pronunciation you should use, though, it's probably a safe bet to go with the most common one.
Merriam-Webster for example says " ˈpÃ…Âs(t)-mən , -ˌman ".
Mark Liberman wrote a Language Log post in 2015 about this topic: "Man: reduced or not?" Liberman says "the distinction looks pretty arbitrary to me, in synchronic terms"; a later comment by Jongseong Park cites John Wells's Longman Pronunciation Dictionary as saying
-man mən, mæn —This suffix may be weak or strong. (i) In most well-established formations, written as one word, it is weak, mən: policeman pə ˈliËÂs mən. (ii) Where written hyphenated or as two words, and in new formations, it is usually strong, mæn: spaceman ˈspeɪs mæn. Note batman 'army servant' ˈbæt mən, but Batman (cartoon character) ˈbæt mæn
answered Aug 25 at 15:10
sumelic
42.4k6102199
May I once again beg you not to use anything but IPA? How is everybody supposed to know what you mean when you use non-standard notation whose actual pronunciation is going to vary by speaker? That's just no help at all. How can we know whether -man is supposed to be [mɑn] or [man] or [mæn]? I won't even mention [mÉÂn] or [mnÌ©] or [mɨn].
– tchrist♦
Aug 25 at 16:21
The MW way of spelling the two pronunciations ( ˈpÃ…Âs(t)-mən , -ˌman ) seems sufficient, since english speakers should recognize a schwa and as for 'man' well it represents the last syllable in Batman @tchrist
– Knotell
Aug 25 at 20:35
add a comment |Â
up vote
5
down vote
There is a fair amount of variation in the pronunciation of words ending in -man. Dictionaries usually try to indicate the most common variant first, but in most cases there is no special reason to call the most common variant the "real pronunciation" or anything like that. Both pronunciations are "real" (at least in the most literal sense of the word). If you feel uncertain about which pronunciation you should use, though, it's probably a safe bet to go with the most common one.
Merriam-Webster for example says " ˈpÃ…Âs(t)-mən , -ˌman ".
Mark Liberman wrote a Language Log post in 2015 about this topic: "Man: reduced or not?" Liberman says "the distinction looks pretty arbitrary to me, in synchronic terms"; a later comment by Jongseong Park cites John Wells's Longman Pronunciation Dictionary as saying
-man mən, mæn —This suffix may be weak or strong. (i) In most well-established formations, written as one word, it is weak, mən: policeman pə ˈliËÂs mən. (ii) Where written hyphenated or as two words, and in new formations, it is usually strong, mæn: spaceman ˈspeɪs mæn. Note batman 'army servant' ˈbæt mən, but Batman (cartoon character) ˈbæt mæn
answered Aug 25 at 15:10
sumelic
42.4k6102199
May I once again beg you not to use anything but IPA? How is everybody supposed to know what you mean when you use non-standard notation whose actual pronunciation is going to vary by speaker? That's just no help at all. How can we know whether -man is supposed to be [mɑn] or [man] or [mæn]? I won't even mention [mÉÂn] or [mnÌ©] or [mɨn].
– tchrist♦
Aug 25 at 16:21
The MW way of spelling the two pronunciations ( ˈpÃ…Âs(t)-mən , -ˌman ) seems sufficient, since english speakers should recognize a schwa and as for 'man' well it represents the last syllable in Batman @tchrist
– Knotell
Aug 25 at 20:35
add a comment |Â
up vote
5
down vote
up vote
5
down vote
There is a fair amount of variation in the pronunciation of words ending in -man. Dictionaries usually try to indicate the most common variant first, but in most cases there is no special reason to call the most common variant the "real pronunciation" or anything like that. Both pronunciations are "real" (at least in the most literal sense of the word). If you feel uncertain about which pronunciation you should use, though, it's probably a safe bet to go with the most common one.
Merriam-Webster for example says " ˈpÃ…Âs(t)-mən , -ˌman ".
Mark Liberman wrote a Language Log post in 2015 about this topic: "Man: reduced or not?" Liberman says "the distinction looks pretty arbitrary to me, in synchronic terms"; a later comment by Jongseong Park cites John Wells's Longman Pronunciation Dictionary as saying
-man mən, mæn —This suffix may be weak or strong. (i) In most well-established formations, written as one word, it is weak, mən: policeman pə ˈliËÂs mən. (ii) Where written hyphenated or as two words, and in new formations, it is usually strong, mæn: spaceman ˈspeɪs mæn. Note batman 'army servant' ˈbæt mən, but Batman (cartoon character) ˈbæt mæn
answered Aug 25 at 15:10
sumelic
42.4k6102199
There is a fair amount of variation in the pronunciation of words ending in -man. Dictionaries usually try to indicate the most common variant first, but in most cases there is no special reason to call the most common variant the "real pronunciation" or anything like that. Both pronunciations are "real" (at least in the most literal sense of the word). If you feel uncertain about which pronunciation you should use, though, it's probably a safe bet to go with the most common one.
Merriam-Webster for example says " ˈpÃ…Âs(t)-mən , -ˌman ".
Mark Liberman wrote a Language Log post in 2015 about this topic: "Man: reduced or not?" Liberman says "the distinction looks pretty arbitrary to me, in synchronic terms"; a later comment by Jongseong Park cites John Wells's Longman Pronunciation Dictionary as saying
-man mən, mæn —This suffix may be weak or strong. (i) In most well-established formations, written as one word, it is weak, mən: policeman pə ˈliËÂs mən. (ii) Where written hyphenated or as two words, and in new formations, it is usually strong, mæn: spaceman ˈspeɪs mæn. Note batman 'army servant' ˈbæt mən, but Batman (cartoon character) ˈbæt mæn
answered Aug 25 at 15:10
sumelic
42.4k6102199
edited Aug 25 at 15:15
answered Aug 25 at 15:10
sumelic
42.4k6102199
answered Aug 25 at 15:10
sumelic
42.4k6102199
answered Aug 25 at 15:10
sumelic
42.4k6102199
42.4k6102199
May I once again beg you not to use anything but IPA? How is everybody supposed to know what you mean when you use non-standard notation whose actual pronunciation is going to vary by speaker? That's just no help at all. How can we know whether -man is supposed to be [mɑn] or [man] or [mæn]? I won't even mention [mÉÂn] or [mnÌ©] or [mɨn].
– tchrist♦
Aug 25 at 16:21
The MW way of spelling the two pronunciations ( ˈpÃ…Âs(t)-mən , -ˌman ) seems sufficient, since english speakers should recognize a schwa and as for 'man' well it represents the last syllable in Batman @tchrist
– Knotell
Aug 25 at 20:35
add a comment |Â
May I once again beg you not to use anything but IPA? How is everybody supposed to know what you mean when you use non-standard notation whose actual pronunciation is going to vary by speaker? That's just no help at all. How can we know whether -man is supposed to be [mɑn] or [man] or [mæn]? I won't even mention [mÉÂn] or [mnÌ©] or [mɨn].
– tchrist♦
Aug 25 at 16:21
The MW way of spelling the two pronunciations ( ˈpÃ…Âs(t)-mən , -ˌman ) seems sufficient, since english speakers should recognize a schwa and as for 'man' well it represents the last syllable in Batman @tchrist
– Knotell
Aug 25 at 20:35
May I once again beg you not to use anything but IPA? How is everybody supposed to know what you mean when you use non-standard notation whose actual pronunciation is going to vary by speaker? That's just no help at all. How can we know whether -man is supposed to be [mɑn] or [man] or [mæn]? I won't even mention [mÉÂn] or [mnÌ©] or [mɨn].
– tchrist♦
Aug 25 at 16:21
May I once again beg you not to use anything but IPA? How is everybody supposed to know what you mean when you use non-standard notation whose actual pronunciation is going to vary by speaker? That's just no help at all. How can we know whether -man is supposed to be [mɑn] or [man] or [mæn]? I won't even mention [mÉÂn] or [mnÌ©] or [mɨn].
– tchrist♦
Aug 25 at 16:21
The MW way of spelling the two pronunciations ( ˈpÃ…Âs(t)-mən , -ˌman ) seems sufficient, since english speakers should recognize a schwa and as for 'man' well it represents the last syllable in Batman @tchrist
– Knotell
Aug 25 at 20:35
The MW way of spelling the two pronunciations ( ˈpÃ…Âs(t)-mən , -ˌman ) seems sufficient, since english speakers should recognize a schwa and as for 'man' well it represents the last syllable in Batman @tchrist
– Knotell
Aug 25 at 20:35
add a comment |Â
There is also the matter of stress. the first is a trochee, the second a spondee
– Mitch
Aug 25 at 16:21
3
What’s a “real pronunciationâ€�
– tchrist♦
Aug 25 at 16:28
1
Related and possible duplicates: english.stackexchange.com/q/415266, english.stackexchange.com/q/78871, english.stackexchange.com/a/448656, english.stackexchange.com/q/174536, english.stackexchange.com/a/196681, english.stackexchange.com/q/284525, english.stackexchange.com/a/110766, english.stackexchange.com/q/257157, english.stackexchange.com/q/102624, english.stackexchange.com/a/188295), et cetera.
– tchrist♦
Aug 25 at 16:59
3
Why do you think there should only be one way to pronounce something? If you think it's anything that can be enforced, I've got a pecan grove to sell you.
– choster
Aug 25 at 18:36
Mail carrier or letter carrier is how I would say it.
– Knotell
Aug 26 at 3:36