Spelling pronunciation: Encyclopedia II - Spelling pronunciation - Spelling pronunciation vs. analogical pronunciation

Spelling pronunciation - Spelling pronunciation vs. analogical pronunciation

In some cases, we cannot tell if a pronunciation is a true spelling pronunciation. The alternative is that a word is being pronounced analogically, in essence as the "sum of its parts". Thus, forehead is commonly pronounced as a sequence of fore plus head, instead of the historically earlier "forrid"; and waistcoat is commonly pronounced as a sequence of waist and coat, instead of the historically earlier "westkit".

Analogical pronunciations can arise even when not supported by spelling. For example, inmost comes from Old English innemest, which contained the ordinary superlative suffix -est. The later switch to in + most was an analogical pronunciation.

Many cases are ambiguous between spelling pronunciation and analogical pronunciation, and indeed may perhaps arise as a result of both factors operating simultaneously. The only unambiguous cases of spelling pronunciation are those in which the irregular spelling was introduced by idiosyncratic scribal practice, as in the "palm" example above.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Spelling pronunciation vs. analogical pronunciation", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki