This is an All Ears English podcast, episode 2470, Picky Pronunciation, part two, three or four syllables.
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Do you say the word comfortable with three syllables or four?
Today we get four syllable words that are usually scrunched down to three.
Listen in to find out what they are today.
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Hello Lindsay, how are you? Good, Aubrey.
How are you doing? I have a question for you today, actually.
All right, let's hear it. You ready? All right.
So Aubrey, do you say comfortable or comfortable?
Ooh, good question. I say comfortable. Okay.
What about you? Same here. I don't, say comfortable.
Yeah, that's that takes too long again. But a lot of people do, right?
Yeah, this is an interesting series. This is part two of a series about Syllables, right?
Sometimes for three-syllable words, we pronounce them with just two syllables.
And for today's words, they could be four syllables. or three and today we actually have some that are more often said the same way by native speakers, but often pronounced incorrectly by language learners.
So I'm excited to dive into this today. Yes, we're getting into the bigger words, the three and four syllable words today.
I love it. And where can our listeners go, Aubrey, to get the best listening experience?
Yes. You definitely need to be listening in the app, right?
Go to allersenglish.com slash app. to download it.
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It's a great place to go to listen. Again, you can become a premium member to see those transcripts in real time and create your personal power list.
So go to allearsenglish.com slash app. Awesome.
So this... series was inspired by a question in our Q&A where a listener had heard Lindsay and I pronounce restaurant differently.
One said restaurant, three syllables, one said restaurant.
There are a lot of words where depending on someone's regional dialect or accent, you might pronounce words differently.
So at the end, we'll share that one. You can definitely listen to these out of order.
Today, we're diving into these longer words.
Yes, this first one, interested and interesting.
Interesting. I like these. So, for example, what are the two different ways that we could say this?
Yeah, so this is one of those tricky ones where...
Most native speakers are going to say interested, right?
We're changing it to three syllables or interesting, making it three syllables, partially because it's quicker.
But so this is so common that it does sound off to us.
It sounds like a mistake to pronounce each syllable and say, interested or interesting, right?
We always hear this as three syllables. Yeah, interesting does seem a little weird.
I think I do hear it sometimes. But hey, let's just speak quickly.
Let's keep the connection going. Let's stick with interested.
Right. Right. So, for example, I've always been interested in learning languages where this book is really interesting.
So because most native speakers do this, you guys definitely feel free to. to shorten this to those three syllables.
Yes, next one is comfortable. We mentioned this at the top of the show.
Are there two options here, Aubrey? Yeah, you will hear native speakers sometimes say comfortable, comfortable, and they pronounce all of those syllables.
Both Lindsay and I say comfortable. There are definitely two options here.
Oh yeah, for sure. Literature, literature.
How else could we say it? So you will hear it.
It's funny because I can tell that you pronounce all the syllables of this.
You're like, how else would this even be said?
Sure. Some people will say literature, literature, and they remove that syllable, right?
So I love classical literature. but not sure I can make a career out of it.
I also pronounce all of these syllables, all four syllables, but I say them quite quickly.
Literature. Literature, right. I feel like maybe it's a British pronunciation.
I don't know. Our listeners will have to check in if they have a British teacher or friend.
But I feel like I've heard in England, literature, literature.
Literature. Yeah, maybe. Sounds so fancy.
Exactly. Right? And the next few, these are all words that end with the same suffix, A-L-L-Y.
And a lot of these are where we will hear what sounds very off to a native speaker.
We usually will pronounce these as three syllables.
Practically is the first one. My son's friend is here so often he practically lives here.
And sometimes, because it looks like it should be pronounced as four syllables, we'll hear someone say practically.
Yeah. Yeah. And this I mean, it takes you longer.
And because of that, it's so rare for native speakers that we highly recommend you pronouncing this as three syllables.
Yeah, go for the, yeah, again, continue the conversation.
Don't get stuck in any one word because any one word is not as important as the overall connection, right?
Exactly. Right. But there are a few here where when in doubt, just change it to three syllables.
For ease of speaking, it's going to be quicker.
And if you're wanting to know, like, which should I choose, right?
These you're going to hear almost always as three syllables.
So practically is the first one. The next one is physically.
I'm running every day to say physically fit.
And every now and then we'll hear someone say physically fit. but rarely, right?
It takes longer. It's harder to say. So we usually change this to three syllables.
Change it to three. That's our recommendation.
And basically same thing. It would be weird to hear basically.
Very weird. It's hard to say, right? You're having to put in so much more work, so we just don't do it.
Exactly. So for example, my birthday is in three days.
So I'm basically 34. Yeah, me too. Exactly.
And then actually, same thing. We actually make that the ch sound in the middle usually, actually.
I haven't actually met her, but I know who she is.
And this would take a lot longer and sound strange to hear actually.
Actually. Actually, right? The four syllables.
No, don't do it. Bring it together as three.
Make it quick. Right. Yes. Literally, though, this one literally, I mean, I think I say it as for.
Yeah, I do too. So that's why it's interesting.
There is no hard and fast rule here, right?
Almost all native speakers say literally, and you're pronouncing all four, right?
Every now and then you'd hear someone quickly say, literally, literally.
And this is kind of a regional dialect, literally.
So definitely both are acceptable as four syllables is actually more common for this one, literally.
Yeah, I did hear people saying that like, like 10 years ago, I heard people saying literally, um, it was probably kind of trendy.
I don't know what was going on. Literally.
But maybe again, it sounds kind of British or something.
I'm not sure. But yeah, I literally this is literally the best meal I've ever eaten.
OK. Yes. And then keep in mind, there are some words that are even longer that can have four or five syllables.
One that I thought of as I was preparing is accidentally.
And some people will say accidentally. Both are correct, right?
So even with longer words, sometimes this will happen.
But today we're giving you the most common words that can be either three or four syllables.
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Okay, Aubrey, we are back for a role play because we know our listeners love them.
Here we are friends and we run into each other at a bookstore cafe.
Sounds very 90s. Yes, right? Yeah. I was in Spokane visiting a friend.
And he took us to a bookstore. I wish I could remember that was right in downtown Spokane.
And it was like the old school bookstores.
You see there's a cafe. with tables and chairs, people milling about buying books.
I'm like, oh, this takes me back. I wish.
I miss those. I know I miss it. It doesn't exist in enough places anymore.
I think it's probably more common in the Pacific Northwest because it rains so much there.
Maybe, right? It's rainy, so they go and sit in a bookstore.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, probably. But yeah, you can find them maybe in, you know, you can find them in some bigger towns, but they're rare for sure.
Yeah. Okay. I'm actually kind of surprised to see you here.
I thought you told me you don't like to read.
I usually don't. You've always been way more interested in literature than I am.
I'm basically just here for the coffee and free Wi-Fi, but I did pick up this book and so far it's really interesting.
That's a collection of short stories, right?
I love those. Yes, it looks good. The one I started is about a guy who time travels through dreams, but it's practically written like poetry.
Now that sounds like my kind of read. I love stories that make you think, are you comfortable with that genre though?
Not everyone loves sci-fi. I get that. I tried starting one once and literally couldn't stay awake through a single chapter, but this one has me hooked.
Short stories are good that way. They pull you in fast and then they're over before you know it.
I don't read a lot of short stories. In that bookstore in Spokane, there was a collection of short stories that I started reading that inspired this role play.
It was by Ursula Le Guin. And I loved it.
I'm like, I have to buy this book. Yeah.
Did you finish all the short stories already or are you still reading through them?
Still reading. I wish I had more time to read, Lindsay.
I don't know about you, but I just don't have enough time to read anymore. started reading again at night.
So I just leave my phone in my office. And then when I go to bed, I take like 20 minutes just to get back into my novel.
It is the most delicious thing. It's fantastic.
It's like you empathize. You realize like you build this empathy for the characters.
It feels like a bygone era to even do that anymore.
You know, it's true. And it's such a great way to wind down before falling asleep.
It's really nice. Yeah, I would recommend seeing if you can grab 15 minutes if possible.
Or even like once a week to open that book, you know?
I know, right? Yeah. Often for me, I'm like getting kids to bed and then one of them wants to snuggle and the next thing I know I'm waking up and it's morning.
So. The time I would like open a book is gone somehow.
Not happening. Maybe sometime in the future.
Who knows? Yeah, maybe. All right. So here we did.
I said, I'm actually kind of surprised to see you here.
Right. So actually, actually three syllables there.
Exactly. Right. And then I said you've always been way more interested in literature.
So here interested becomes three syllables, but literature usually stays four.
Nice. And then you said, I'm basically just here for the coffee and the free Wi-Fi.
So you're being honest, right? Yeah. Exactly.
Basically, I'm just here for the coffee and free Wi-Fi.
And that one, three syllables, basically.
Basically. Nice. And then you said what?
Then I said, so far, it's really interesting.
And this, again, looks like it should be four syllables, but we say it as three, interesting.
And then I said, the one I started is about a guy who time travels through his dreams, but it's practically written like poetry.
So practically. Practically three syllables there, right?
Exactly. And then one of the ones that can be said either way, Are you comfortable with that genre?
And we will hear people say comfortable.
Are you comfortable with that genre? Yeah.
You do occasionally hear it. Right. And then the last one you said, I get that.
I tried starting one once and literally couldn't stay awake.
Literally. That one? Four, as we said. Yep.
Yep. Usually four, but it's true. I'm remembering that trendy where people would say literally.
I literally don't care. And they would change it to three syllables intentionally.
Now I feel better. I thought maybe I was saying it wrong or something weird was happening, but it was just kind of went out of it was trendy and we don't hear it as much anymore.
I don't know if it came from something, a reference that I totally missed.
It could be, right? Someone was quoting a movie or a TV show.
Okay, good. I'm glad you also were aware of that.
I remember that. All right. This has been a great episode.
Very important when we get into using bigger words because obviously we want to say them correctly.
Aubrey, where else can we go? Yeah, we want to make sure you don't miss part one.
This was 2466 right here on All Ears English.
Picky pronunciation part one. Should I use two or three syllables?
So definitely scroll up and check that one out if you missed it.
And I think the takeaway today is all about just knowing that there are regional dialects.
There's urban, like there's... Busy environments can lead to speaking faster, which might lead to scrunching down words because we have to get our point across.
Whereas maybe if we're in a less busy environment, we have more time.
So we may stretch things out. Right. Definitely.
Yes. But I'm glad we were able to highlight this.
I know when I'm learning a second language, right, the languages I'm learning often, this is the type of thing that I don't notice when I'm shadowing speech or listening to speech until something's pointed out to me.
So it's really helpful just to be aware of it.
So then you can start noticing it as you are observing English. listening to these longer words.
Pay attention to how many syllables they're being said with.
Yeah, that's a really good point. All right, Aubrey, I'll see you very soon in the next episode.
You have a good day. You too, Sienna. next time all right bye Thanks for listening to All Ears English.
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