longman pronunciation dictionary jc wells

Thus, it may be less suitable for the general public. This wealth of information, of course, makes the Longman dictionary slightly more complicated to read than the two other dictionaries, and you have to know a few more symbols to use it. assimilation), it provides native pronunciations for loanwords and, most importantly in my view, it gives concrete percentages (with graphs) for many words that have two or more possible pronunciations or stress patterns (e.g.

It indicates whether an alternative pronunciation is simply a possible form within RP, a non-RP form or whether it is derived by rule (e.g. all of them give both British and American pronunciation and provide transcriptions for inflectional endings), but of the three, Longman is easily the most comprehensive and sophisticated one. These dictionaries share many features (e.g. The Longman Pronouncing Dictionary is in competition with the 'Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary' and the 'Oxford Dictionary of Pronunciation for Current English'. There are also notes on typical features of English pronunication paying attention to the needs of learners of the language. In addition, there are authoritative statements on controversial words recording the preferences of a panel of specialists and special treatment of affixes and combining forms which reflect their pronunciation in different phonetic environments and their effects on stress. The pronunciation is divided into syllables and special attention is drawn to words which are, or are not, pronounced alike. Each word is shown with its recommended pronunciation, while alternative pronunciations in common use are given in lighter type. The alphabet of the International Phonetic Association is used. Pronunciation shown covers Received Pronunciation and General American assumes a modernized version of RP and also includes a number of British English near-RP forms. Both British and American varieties are covered. The words included cover not only ordinary and technical vocabulary, but also proper names, placenames, family names, personal names, names from literature and mythology and names of companies and commercial products. Short usage notes throughout the dictionary draw attention to possible pitfalls and to aspects of pronunciation which often present problems for learners of the language. In the introduction, the author discusses the general features of spoken English and discusses trends in speech. The 'Longman Pronunciation Dictionary' is designed to reflect English as it is spoken.

Longman pronunciation dictionary jc wells