A quick question about pronunciation.

General discussion of subjects beyond the scope of the other forums.

A quick question about pronunciation.

Postby Aeroprism » Sat Jan 5, '13, 2:57 pm

I have a little pet project in mind and it requires some knowledge:

How (in english) would you guys pronounce the word "Mota"? Would you use a hard T like in Teen or a soft T like in Peter?

The question is flawed, I know. Americans will say PeDer and Brits will say PeTer but I'm still curious.

My french background tells me that Mota with a hard T sounds better.
User avatar
Aeroprism
Numan
Numan
 
Posts: 1631
Joined: June 2010
Achievements: 95
Gender: Male

Re: A quick question about pronunciation.

Postby myau56 » Sat Jan 5, '13, 4:34 pm

Same for me : my french background tells me that the hard T is better but let the others answer to it ! But that is a very interesting question !
Phantasy Star Forever

Image
Image
User avatar
myau56
Algolian Master
Algolian Master
 
Posts: 16727
Joined: December 2011
Location: Lanester, near Lorient, Brittany (west), France
Achievements: 209
Gender: Male

Re: A quick question about pronunciation.

Postby Bragatyr » Sat Jan 5, '13, 7:37 pm

In my mind I would tend to think it would be a hard, voiceless "t", but when I really think about it I think you could probably pronounce it either way in American English. We are lazy about that intervocalic "t". I'm trying to think of proper names and foreign countries, and we do pronounce, say, Qatar with a hard "t", and even Haiti, oftentimes, but the second syllable in Qatar tends to get at least some emphasis and the final vowel in Haiti is probably a little more unusual than the more indeterminate sound in Mota. I'm thinking it depends on how you handle the surrounding syllables, and Mota would almost certainly have an unaccented final syllable. So, yeah, I imagine it could go either way.
User avatar
Bragatyr
Sage
Sage
 
Posts: 1311
Joined: May 2011
Achievements: 65

Re: A quick question about pronunciation.

Postby Thoul » Sun Jan 6, '13, 4:00 am

I pronounce it as "moh-tuh." Here are some words that sound similar, but with something different in place of the opening M. These pages have audio for each word, which will probably be a better example than my attempt to explain the pronunciation I use.

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/nota
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/lota
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/quota
User avatar
Thoul
Administrator
Administrator
 
Posts: 12923
Joined: March 2007
Location: USA
Achievements: 123
Gender: Male

Re: A quick question about pronunciation.

Postby Aeroprism » Sun Jan 6, '13, 2:43 pm

Thank you for the opinions and examples. I think I will let my exaggerated hard T come through ans see what it sounds like. It will underline my foreigner accent and give the project a certain dubious charm.

Expect to hear more from this soon!
User avatar
Aeroprism
Numan
Numan
 
Posts: 1631
Joined: June 2010
Achievements: 95
Gender: Male


Return to Casual Conversation

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 0 guests