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Having

britdam007

britdam007

India

What will be the syllable division of the present participle ‘having’? is it ha-ving or hav-ing? Also I’d like to know the method of finding out the syllable division of the present participle words like, giving, eating,sleeping,thinking,talking and so on?


Best regards,


Abhishek

09:05 AM Dec 14 2015 |

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Teacher AmySuper Member!

United States

Hi,



You will probably hear some differences in regional accents. However, in general, present participles like ‘having’ will be divided between the base word and the ‘-ing’ ending, such as: hav-ing.



Typically, the stress with be on the first syllable in words that are similar to the examples you listed.



I hope that helps.



Best, 



Amy

06:01 PM Dec 15 2015 |

britdam007

britdam007

India

Thank you. The online dictionary that I refer to (Wordweb6.0) says having ,working and sleeping can be split into like ha-ving , wur-king and slee-ping respectively. Again if you consider the website  www.howmanysyllables.com, it says having, working and sleeping can be split into like hav-ing, wurk-ing and sleep-ing repectively. So I’m not sure which one to follow? So what do you suggest?Please advse?


Best regards,


Abhishek


08:41 AM Dec 16 2015 |

Teacher AmySuper Member!

United States

Hi, 



My first answer is the answer that I prefer for English language learning. However, I have heard linguists talk about questions like this for hours without a final answer. 



Often, there is some linguistic assimilation in these words, so you might hear something like: hav-ving or giv-ving. The sound /v/ is continuous (fricative), so it’s can blend into both syllables. Also, with “stop” sounds like /p/, /t/, /k/, you might hear the lips, tongue, or glottis close at the end of the first syllable and open at the beginning of the second. 



Of course, you will probably hear some variation in different regional and personal accents.



Best, 



Amy



04:24 PM Dec 17 2015 |

britdam007

britdam007

India

Thank you indeed for the clarification. How many syllables do you think are there in the words shabbier and shabbiest. For a fact I know that shabby is sha-bee, But the problem I am having is I am not able to find the pronunciation of any words in their comparative and superlarive form. For example, I know the pronuncation of the word ‘health’ but as far as I know no pronunciation dictionary gives the pronunciation of ‘healthier’ and ‘healthiest’.So can you mention or suggest any such dictionary to check out the phonetic transcription of the comparative and superlative forms of any words ? Please advise?



Best regards,


Abhishek

03:55 AM Dec 18 2015 |

Teacher AmySuper Member!

United States

Hi,



With adjectives that use -er and -est to form the comparative and superlative forms (1-syllable and some 2-syllable adjectives), these word endings add one more syllable. Therefore, both shab-bi-er and shab-bi-est are 3-syllable words. When 2-syllable adjectives follow this pattern, the stress is typically on the first syllable. 



With your examples of health-i-er and health-i-est, remember that the original adjective form is heal-thy, which has 2 syllables. Therefore, it follows the same pattern as shab-by. 



The online version of the Merriam-Webster dictionary often shows syllable division for these comparatives and superlatives. 



Best, 



Amy



07:49 PM Dec 18 2015 |

britdam007

britdam007

India

Thank you once again. For the word ‘bloated’; will the syllable division be like ˈbləʊtɪd or ˈbləʊtɪd? Is there any way or rule there to find out where exactly the partition or division between a word will happen? Since you are a native speaker of English, it’s an effortless task for you but for the non-native speakers, trust me it’s really an uphill task !



Best regards,


Abhishek

08:42 AM Dec 19 2015 |

Teacher AmySuper Member!

United States

Hi,



English has 3 basic pronunciations for the ed ending: /d/, /t/, and /ɪd/. The first two do not add a syllable, but the /ɪd/ pronunciation does add a syllable. Almost always, this extra /ɪd/ syllable happens at the end of verbs which end with the stop sounds /t/ or /d/.



A verb like bloat may have some linguistic assimilation when you add -ed (similar to that with some present participles.) In other words, you may hear the lips, tongue, or glottis close at the end of the first syllable and open at the beginning of the second. In general, most people will teach this type of pronunciation as /bləʊtɪd/, but you might hear the stop sound release at the beginning of the second syllable. You might also hear some speakers reduce the /t/ sound to a “tap.” In this case, you might not hear /t/ at all. 



Again, these are regional and personal variations. I understand how huge the task of learning these variations is, so my advice is to focus on the basics first. Then later, expand, and study more variations. 



My Best,



Amy  

11:34 PM Dec 21 2015 |

britdam007

britdam007

India

So according to you bləʊ-tɪd  is not a standard pronunciation? Also I didn’t understand the meaning of the word ‘tap’ you used in the context. Is it the flapped ‘t’ in American accent?



Best regards,


Abhishek

07:41 AM Dec 22 2015 |

britdam007

britdam007

India

In your correspondence with me you advised me to learn the basics of English pronunciation first and then expand which is absolutely right. My request to you is could you please teach me the basics of English Phonetics and pronunciation? Since it’s a complicated subject, I would need a one-on-one private tutor whiich could definitely be you. What do you suggest? I don’t like to take no for an answer. So please??



Best regards,


Abhishek

07:56 AM Dec 22 2015 |

Teacher AmySuper Member!

United States

Hi, 



Yes, in an ESL class, I would teach /bləʊt-ɪd/ as the “standard” form, but I would also recognize the natural variation that students will probably hear. 



You are correct. A “tap” and a “flap” are basically the same.



Also, thank you again for the complement of requesting me as a private tutor. Unfortunately, English, baby! does not have a private tutoring service right now, and my personal schedule is too busy. You may want to post a request on Craigslist, asking for a tutor who has training in English phonetics and accent reduction. 



Best,



Amy 


07:57 PM Dec 22 2015 |