Update: 2004-03-30 06:47 AM -0500

TIL

Pronouncing the letters

ENGLISH PRONOUNCING DICTIONARY

Daniel Jones. Edited by Peter Roach, James Hartman and Jane Setter. Cambridge University Press, 2003.

Scanned by Maung Kan Tun and edited by U Kyaw Tun, M.S. (I.P.S.T., U.S.A.). Not for sale. Prepared for students of TIL Computing and Language Center, Yangon, MYANMAR .
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pronounce_l-m
L | LL | M | MN
N | NG
Myanmar {ma.}

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letter L

p304. In general, the consonant letter [ l ] is pronounced / l /, e.g.:

However, [ l ] is frequently silent, particularly when preceded by an [a], e.g.:

In the past tense form of modal verbs spelt [ould], [ l ] is also silent, e.g.:

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p318. In general, the consonant digraph [ ll ] is pronounced / l /, e.g.:

Where the [ ll ] is produced by adding the suffix -ly or -less to a word ending in a single [ l ], the pronunciation reflects this, e.g.:

In addition

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p325. The consonant letter [m] is always realised as /m/.

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letters MN

p347. The consonant digraph [mn] is word or morpheme final and usually realised as /m/, that is, the [n] is silent, e.g.:

UKT: Compare the pronunciation of <hymn> with:
• <him> (strong from) /hɪm/; (weak form) /ɪm/.
Note: The strong form is mainly used for contrastive purposes. e.g., "The gift is for him, not her." -- DJPD16 p253.

However, in some cases the [n] is pronounced, particularly (as in the case of <condemnation>) where the vowel following the [n] is in a stressed syllable, e.g.:

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Myanmar {ma.}

by UKT

Myanmar {ma.} is the bilabial nasal, and the corresponding bilabial plosives (or stops) are {pa.} (voiceless) and {ba.} (voiced). See IPA consonants.

It is the only Myanmar consonant that forms conjuncts with all the 4 conjunct formers: {ya.} {ra.} {wa.} {ha.}.

{ma.} + {ya.} —> —> {mya.}
{ma.} + {ra.} —> —> {mra.} (commonly pronounced as {mya.}
{ma.} + {wa.} —> —> {mwa.}
{ma.} + {ha.} —> —> {mha.}

None of these conjuncts have counterparts in English, and the only entry in DJPD16 is:
<Myanmar> /ˈmjæn.mɑːʳ/ (us) /mjɑːnˈmɑːr/.

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letter N

p358. The consonant letter [n] has two pronunciations: /n/ and /ŋ/. In most contexts, it is realised as /n/, e.g.:

Preceding the letters [k], [qu], [x] and [c] realised as /k/, [n] is pronounced /ŋ/, e.g.:

UKT: The problem met in the English-transliteration of Myanmar {nga.} is due to the absence of a letter corresponding to /ŋ/ in English. The digraph [ng] becomes cumbersome in words like {tin} which should be transliterated as *{tang}. (Note * indicates that transcription {ting} is considered wrong.} And I am forced to transliterate as {tin} dropping the [g].
{ta.} + {nga.} + {athut} —> {ta.} {ng} —> {tang} written as {tin}.
                                                                         Note that [ang] is changed to [in]
{ta.} + {na.} + {athut} —> {ta.} {n} —> {tan}
Compare the above discussion with the pronunciation of <bank> as /bæŋk/.

However, when [k] is silent, [n] is pronounced as /n/, e.g.:

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p365. The main realisation for the consonant digraph [ng] is /ŋ/, e.g.:

Other pronunciations are possible, one being /ŋg/, e.g.:

In addition

In many words spelt [nge], or where [ng] is followed by [i] or [y], the pronunciation is /nʤ/, e.g.:

UKT notes

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