Nobody Pronounces the 'B' in 'Debt'
merriam-webster.com
Nobody Pronounces the 'B' in 'Debt'
1–10 of 338 posts
Re: Nobody Pronounces the 'B' in 'Debt'
#2Ummm… I do. It’s not a hard b sound, but it is there. It sort of moves the location of the “t” sound down towards a “b.” It defiantly does not sound like “det”.
And I distinctly pronounce the “b” in “plumber” (another example in the article.
Re: Nobody Pronounces the 'B' in 'Debt'
#3Nobody in some nobodyland. Majority in the world would. It is safer to pronounce English as it written and just modify on well-known cases. Especially when two non-natives speak two each other. "Fancy" pronunciation can make things impossible, as only native speakers can understand where you are aiming at.
Re: Nobody Pronounces the 'B' in 'Debt'
#4Ummm… I do. It’s not a hard b sound, but it is there. It sort of moves the location of the “t” sound down towards a “b.” It defiantly does not sound like “det”. And I distinctly pronounce the “b” in “plumber” (another example in the article.
We all have our faults. But we don't need to promote them.
There is also no "t" sound in "often", never was. Some officious busybody thought "offen" and "oft" ought to be related. so put "often" in a dictionary. Now people who don't know any better pronounce it. But it's rare to find anybody trying, foolishly, to say the "b" in debt and doubt.
I doubt anybody tries to pronounce the "l" in "could". That one appears to be the product of busybody typesetters, imagining some parallel with "should" and "would" (related to "shall" and "will"), which also do not get any "l" sound; but "could" is related to "can".
Re: Nobody Pronounces the 'B' in 'Debt'
#5Nobody in some nobodyland. Majority in the world would. It is safer to pronounce English as it written and just modify on well-known cases. Especially when two non-natives speak two each other. "Fancy" pronunciation can make things impossible, as only native speakers can understand where you are aiming at.
Anybody who knows won't.
Re: Nobody Pronounces the 'B' in 'Debt'
#6English is not my first language so I wouldn't presume I know more than people at Merriam Webster - but that sounds iffy to me. Sure, I don't say deb-t, but isn't the b still there as a plosive / stop? If it were just spelt "det" I feel like it'd have a more prominent t sound.
It also seems strange to say it would have been better to get rid of it when we definitely need the b in "debit" and "debenture", isn't it better to keep the b, if just for clearer etymology?
Re: Nobody Pronounces the 'B' in 'Debt'
#7English is not my first language so I wouldn't presume I know more than people at Merriam Webster - but that sounds iffy to me. Sure, I don't say deb-t, but isn't the b still there as a plosive / stop? If it were just spelt "det" I feel like it'd have a more prominent t sound. It also seems strange to say it would have been better to get rid of it when we definitely need the b in "debit" and "debenture", isn't it bet…
No, there is nothing there at all. If you look on a sonograph, "debt" and "det" sound exactly identical.
Anybody who imagines English pronunciation should match spelling can't possibly know much of anything about English.
Let's not get started on how many British pronounce "drawing".
Re: Nobody Pronounces the 'B' in 'Debt'
#8Nobody in some nobodyland. Majority in the world would. It is safer to pronounce English as it written and just modify on well-known cases. Especially when two non-natives speak two each other. "Fancy" pronunciation can make things impossible, as only native speakers can understand where you are aiming at.
Anybody who knows won't.
Me knows, but I wont. Some bulgarian innkeeper will not understands any detts. But insists on me paying my deBts with special emphasis on "B".
Re: Nobody Pronounces the 'B' in 'Debt'
#9Ummm… I do. It’s not a hard b sound, but it is there. It sort of moves the location of the “t” sound down towards a “b.” It defiantly does not sound like “det”. And I distinctly pronounce the “b” in “plumber” (another example in the article.
Native French speaker here,
same, I woulnd't pronounce "debt" the same way I would pronounce "dette" in French, and likewise for "doubt", which would turn in French "doute" ...
Re: Nobody Pronounces the 'B' in 'Debt'
#10English is not my first language so I wouldn't presume I know more than people at Merriam Webster - but that sounds iffy to me. Sure, I don't say deb-t, but isn't the b still there as a plosive / stop? If it were just spelt "det" I feel like it'd have a more prominent t sound. It also seems strange to say it would have been better to get rid of it when we definitely need the b in "debit" and "debenture", isn't it bet…
No, there is nothing there at all. If you look on a sonograph, "debt" and "det" sound exactly identical. Anybody who imagines English pronunciation should match spelling can't possibly know much of anything about English. Let's not get started on how many British pronounce "drawing".
Drawring lol. That r just magically appears after ahh or ohh, and almost everyone is shocked when you point it out.