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Learn to Pronounce Words with HowJSay
Posted by Kevin Purdy at 2:00 AM on December 4, 2007
Find yourself stumbling over those ten-dollar words you've read before but don't quite know how to say? Pronunciation search site HowJSay offers instant audio of a huge catalog of words correctly read. Although the words seem to be read mostly by British speakers, American English alternatives are provided for most words that sound different across the ocean. HowJSay might make for a handy Firefox search plug-in when you're preparing for your next speech or presentation.
Comments (AU Comments · US Comments)
There are currently no AU comments for this post.
jarmod
Posted 1:51 PM 3/12/07
Hey, it even pronounces "chaise longue" properly. That'll upset all those people who pronounce it "shays lounge". Nice.
jarmod
Cidinho
Posted 1:36 PM 3/12/07
@muffinimal: Wondering how could it pronounce that! As you said, it's 'unpronounceable'.
Cidinho
cv
Posted 1:11 PM 3/12/07
Yes, I'm another longtime user of the Merriam-Webster audio pronunciation feature.
cv
arby
Posted 12:55 PM 3/12/07
I would just use Merriam-Webster online: [m-w.com]
arby
muffinimal
Posted 12:44 PM 3/12/07
Sweet tool! I toyed a bit with it as well and I was very satisfied after hearing it say 'unpronouncable'...
muffinimal
joelena
Posted 12:15 PM 3/12/07
@Cidinho: That's a neat trick, though a bit harder to understand than the human-read audio snippets at howjsay.com.
I tried to give them some challenges: the XP voice did fine with "chiaroscuro", but misplaced the accent in "onomatopaeic".
joelena
Cidinho
Posted 10:37 AM 3/12/07
I actually use Windows XP's. It's built in Control Panel, under Speech.
Cidinho
Koticat
Posted 3:48 PM 3/12/07
I usually use www.M-W.com, which provides sound only for the word requested, but this one gives you an additional list of words, which is a nice option. I'll definitely use it. Too bad it doesn't offer a button for the toolbar.
Thanks for the tip.
Koticat
ChambrasWeed
Posted 3:47 PM 3/12/07
Nice tool. I like it. It is perfect when you have a doubt. I use the one in Xp as well.
ChambrasWeed
greymatters
Posted 5:17 PM 3/12/07
Just for fun, try putting it up against the 100 Most Often Mispronounced Words and Phrases in English.
It mispronounced Nevada. The first a sounds the same as the a in "gamble". It's "neh-VA-duh", not "neh-VAH-duh". Say "neh-VAH-duh", and the locals will ask whether you're a tourist, a news anchor, or a politician.
greymatters
jarmod
Posted 7:04 PM 3/12/07
That list of the "100 Most Often Mispronounced Words and Phrases in English" includes "Heineken remover" (for "Heimlich maneuver"). How can that possibly be in the top 100? I doubt that the phrase "Heineken remover" has even been said 10 times in the whole of human history, and two of those times were by me just now.
That list is a cork. Er, crock.
jarmod
othium
Posted 9:23 PM 3/12/07
Just for fun, I had it look up "supercalifraqgilisticexpealidotious" and sure enough, it was in there.
Very cool.
othium
cswilly
Posted 2:33 AM 4/12/07
Why a new tool for this.
[www.answers.com] has this and even pronounces [www.answers.com]
cswilly
Website of the Day: Howjsay on geeksugar -- Geek is chic.
Posted 5:33 PM 6/12/07
Website of the Day: Howjsay on geeksugar -- Geek is chic.