96
Chapter XIV. The Mixed Vowels
Strong form |
Weak form | |
| a | ei | ə |
| am | æm | əm (also m) |
| an | æn | ən (occasionally n) |
| and | ænd | ənd (also nd) |
| are | ɑː (ɑːr before vowels) | ə (ər occasionally also r[1], before vowels)
|
| as | æz | əz |
| at | æt | ət |
| but | bʌt | bət |
| by | bai | *bə (before consonants only[2])
|
can (auxiliary verb) |
kæn | kən (also kn, kŋ)
|
| could | kud | kəd |
| do (auxiliary) | duː | də (also d[3]) |
| does (auxiliary) | dʌz | dəz |
| for | fɔː (fɔːr or fɔr before vowels) |
fə (rarely fo) (fər or for before vowels)
|
| from | frɔm | frəm |
had (auxiliary) |
hæd | həd (also d) |
| has (auxiliary) | hæz | həz (also z) |
| have (auxiliary) | hæv | həv (also v) |
| her | həː (həːr before vowels) |
hə (hər before vowels)
|
| ma’am | mæm | məm (also m) |
| many | meni | *məni[4] |
| must | mʌst | məst |
| of | ɔv | əv (occasionally ə)
|
| or | ɔː (ɔːr before vowels) |
*ə (rarely o) (ər or or before vowels)
|
| per | pəː[5] (pəːr before vowels) |
pə (pər before vowels)[6]
|
| saint | seint | sent (or snt[7]) |
- ↑ Example the shops are all shut ðə´ʃɔps´rəːlʃʌt.
- ↑ Some use a weak form bi before vowels; bi may also he heard occasionally before consonants, particularly in arithmetic when by is used in the sense of “divided by”, e. g. three by two ´θriːbi´tuː (the fraction 3/2).
- ↑ An example of do reduced to d is the first do in how do you do ´haudju´duː.
- ↑ Thus how many more (normally ´haumeni´mɔː) is sometimes reduced to ´hauməni´mɔː or even ´haumni´mɔː.
- ↑ As in per contra ´pəː´kɔntrei.
- ↑ As in five per cent per annum ´faivpə´sentpə´rænəm.
- ↑ As in Saint John sənt´dʒɔn. Some use a weak form sint.
in this list. See § 504. Not has of course a weak form nt, but there is no form nət in Southern English.
