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Pronunciation of y in American English | ||
Tags: Pronunciation | English | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Questions About Your Target Languages |  | |
| germito Newbie Joined 5043 days ago 5 posts - 5 votes | Message 1 of 8 03 September 2010 at 3:23am | IP Logged | |||||
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I know that most English speakers pronounce y as /j/, that's the pronunciation I've always heard, but the other day I listened to this song "nothin' on you" by American rapper B.O.B, and he pronounced the y in you almost as /ʝ/, i.e. fricative rather than approximant. It's the first time I've ever heard this pronunciation, and I don't know if it's common in American English or maybe it was just him singing in an affected way.
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| JPike1028 Triglot Senior Member United States piketransitions Joined 5193 days ago 297 posts - 337 votes  Speaks: English*, French, Italian Studies: German, Spanish, Russian, Arabic (Written), Swedish, Portuguese, Czech | Message 2 of 8 03 September 2010 at 3:32am | IP Logged | |||||
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In Western NY it is not common. I cannot speak for the rest of the country. I would imagine though that is just an affected way of production.
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| The Real CZ Senior Member United States Joined 5445 days ago 1069 posts - 1495 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Japanese, Korean | Message 3 of 8 03 September 2010 at 3:34am | IP Logged | |||||
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I pronounce y as y, not a j. Kidding aside, y is pronounced differently across the U.S.
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 newyorkeric Diglot Moderator Singapore Joined 6175 days ago 1598 posts - 2174 votes Speaks: English*, Italian Studies: Mandarin, Malay Personal Language Map | Message 4 of 8 03 September 2010 at 4:28am | IP Logged | |||||
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It seems to me to be a black pronunciation, not necessarily regional. Another example would be the interjection "yo mama" (your mother) which is sometimes pronounced "jo mama."
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| zekecoma Senior Member United StatesRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 5140 days ago 561 posts - 655 votes Speaks: English* Studies: German, Spanish | Message 5 of 8 03 September 2010 at 5:25pm | IP Logged | |||||
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Well I'd have to say it's rap pronunciation. Most of the stuff they say is rap slang. I
would avoid picking up that kind of slang and pronunication if any. Where I live, depending on the English word, it's pronounced as a /y/ as in why or /e/ bee. Edited by zekecoma on 03 September 2010 at 5:27pm 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| TerryW Senior Member United States Joined 6153 days ago 370 posts - 783 votes Speaks: English* | Message 6 of 8 05 September 2010 at 2:55am | IP Logged | |||||
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Wow, what a great song. I'm not big on rap, and I never heard this song before, but it's got an infectious melody, and the rap parts are sung like a good rhythm instrument player plays.
I agree. I mean, he also says "Nintendo sixty-FOE"
I agree again. You really don't want to go into a job interview saying things like: "I been around and I never seen another one" "...and you keep it real while them others stay plastic" "...and I'ma let this ride" Unless, of course, you're interviewing for a job in Rap music. Or if you just want to sound really cool. ;-) 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| IronFist Senior Member United States Joined 6233 days ago 663 posts - 941 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Japanese, Korean | Message 7 of 8 06 September 2010 at 3:25am | IP Logged | |||||
You cannot use a rapper's pronunciation as a guide for correctness. 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| furrykef Senior Member United States furrykef.com/ Joined 6268 days ago 681 posts - 862 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Spanish, Japanese, Latin, Italian | Message 8 of 8 27 September 2010 at 6:36am | IP Logged | |||||
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A rapper's speech is as "correct" as anybody's. If, however, you mean "standard", then fo' sho'. :)
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