How do you pronounce absurd?

[WhyDidIEatThat]

With s or z?

S

S

With an s. I'm American, if that makes a difference.

S

S

S

I suspect the Z peeps also pronounce sexual as seck-s'you--ulll.

No no I’m a z preferring person but I don’t say sexual like that!

S

S

Z

Or maybe I do

Z

And I don't know how I pronounce sexual but I think I'll just be avoiding it from now on

Z

And I pronounce sexual like Marvin Gaye does

I always defer to Marvin on sexual matters!

That's an S right there in the word.

Those who pronounce that S as a Z, do you also manage to use a T when you say 'else'?

S

There’s also an s in absorb but many people prefer a z pronunciation

I use z in absurd.
But not in sexual I can't even imagine how that sounds

🎵Zekzual... Healing... 🎶

@WhyDidIEatThat that's an extremely good point. Fair play

S. Elton John bugs me when he sings it with a Z.

And now you've started me getting twitchy about people pronouncing "ask" as "aks"... [shudder]

I've never heard anyone pronounce it with a Z before. Is it a geographical thing maybe? I'm in the South of the UK. You Z-ers, where are you?

East Anglia, educated in (independent) English schools but grew up around USAFE bases. I might just be rubbish at saying things!

With a "z", because the "b" is voiced, whereas the "s" is voiceless. It's perfectly natural for that feature to spread to the next consonant.

On a related note, I said the word a couple of times before I posted. I tried to make it an "s" but that made the "b" more of a "p". Again, down to the voicing.

(I believe there is an actual linguist on this board, and not just me, who took it twenty years ago. Maybe she/he can explain it better.)

I do not live where I grew up, and my accent is like neither of those places. I pronounce many words as my father pronounced them. He was public school educated.