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Q: pronunciation ( No Answer,   3 Comments )
Question  
Subject: pronunciation
Category: Miscellaneous
Asked by: muhung-ga
List Price: $2.00
Posted: 20 Aug 2004 12:48 PDT
Expires: 19 Sep 2004 12:48 PDT
Question ID: 390531
Is there any rule to pronounce "proper noun" exactly, such as
piroctone olamine, Genuporoxin, ..etc? or any software can help me to
solve this problem?It is very difficult for me to speak new words, especially
those I can not find out in dictionary.
Answer  
There is no answer at this time.

Comments  
Subject: Re: pronunciation
From: ipfan-ga on 20 Aug 2004 13:07 PDT
 
This is a great question!  This is a huge pet peeve of mine (as a
native English speaker): not knowing how to pronounce new words I see
in print or on the Internet.  Pharmaceuticals are an excellent
example.  I have found that all I can do is watch for commercials and
new reports and see if perhaps there is a consensus about how the word
is pronounced.  Sometimes a web site will have a video (that is in the
nature of a press release or a commercial) that features "official"
pronunciation.   Here's an example--there's a new drug out called
Wellbutrin.  I saw the name in print first and in my mind pronounced
it "well-BU-trin."  But when I saw the ads, they pronounce it as
"WELL-butrin."  It's a subtle difference, but it bothered me that the
correct pronunciation was not intuitively obvious just based on the
rules for standard English.

I hope someone posts a good answer to this.
Subject: Re: pronunciation
From: pinkfreud-ga on 20 Aug 2004 13:12 PDT
 
This is a good place to look up the names of drugs. However, it gives
pronunication guidelines only for generic names, not trade names:

http://www.umm.edu/altmed/ConsLookups/Drugs.html
Subject: Re: pronunciation
From: claudietta-ga on 21 Aug 2004 14:53 PDT
 
As you may or may not know, English (especially of the American
variety) is very idiomatic both in pronunciation and usage, therefore,
even if there do exist general guidelines for pronunciation, the right
pronunciation is that which is dominant, i.e. that which the majority
of the population adopts.  American pronunciation varies by region,
and one can only know if one is correct in pronouciation by absorbing
it in everyday life.

If I were you, I would listen to the news from Chicago or Los Angeles,
which tends to be within the norm.  I would specifically exclude
Texas, New York, New Jersey, New Orleans, the South in general, and
teens, for guidance.

I hope this helps,
Claudietta

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