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Original poster

How many syllables in the word "world"?

167 replies

LaPerduta · 30/07/2023 10:21

Inspired by another thread, I'm interested in words which are pronounced differently in different accents by native English speakers in the UK and Ireland.

I only realised recently that some people pronounce "none" the same as "non", rather than "nun".

In Scotland some people pronounce "pattern" as "pattron". Iron is "eye-ron" rather than "eye-un".

There must be many more...

OP posts:
HunterHearstHelmsley · 30/07/2023 20:54

Boomboom22 · 30/07/2023 20:46

Done nun one and none all rhyme

To me -

Done and nun rhyme
One and none rhyme

But done doesn't rhyme with none.

Oldnproud · 30/07/2023 20:55

SwedishEdith · 30/07/2023 20:52

Not me, no. Gun = won.

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Same here, SwedishEdith

2Rebecca · 30/07/2023 20:56

Coin one syllable, coy-in sounds like unnecessary stringing out.

Interested in this thread?

Then you might like threads about this subject:

General education
Thighdentitycrisis · 30/07/2023 20:57

@WhenIWasAFieldMyself
Thank you. the voice of reason 😀

Thighdentitycrisis · 30/07/2023 21:01

@Boomboom22

Boomboom22 · Today 20:46

Done nun one and none all rhyme

i agree.

Do some people pronounce
wan and one the same ? ie, rhyming with shone?

MyMachineAndMe · 30/07/2023 21:06

WhenIWasAFieldMyself · 30/07/2023 16:12

There very probably aren't. They're just longer long vowels.

People are getting confused as to what syllables are.

@JockTamsonsBairns "towel" has 2 syllables because it has 2 vowel sounds. Not because you're Scottish. "world" still only has one, despite the R being pronounced in your accent and thus the word being lengthened.

Show quote history

There are. I say goal to sound like go-well; school sounds schoo-well etc.

Gone, none, non, one all rhyme with on.

Thisgooddog · 30/07/2023 21:07

Won rhymes with nun for me.
non, none, one and on all rhyme.

Thighdentitycrisis · 30/07/2023 21:09

I love this thread.

SillyBub · 30/07/2023 21:13

Let's take this to a new place. How many syllables in beer🍺? It's one for me but 2 for DH.

Thighdentitycrisis · 30/07/2023 21:14

1 1 was a racehorse
2 2 was 1, 2
1 1, 1 1 race
2 2 1 1 2

can anyone remember this rhyme?

Watercoloursky · 30/07/2023 21:16

I have a very generic southern accent, while my partner is from Liverpool, and I've just got us both to try...

For me, nun and none definitely rhyme, while for my OH they are different sounds (none rhymes with one).

That said, for him, furry and fairy rhyme (both 'air' sounds), whereas they are different vowels for me!

And that reminds me... back in the day, when we did lots of am-dram, we often had to do the following tongue twister as a warm up... and he had such an unfair advantage as he didn't have to change vowels half as often as I did:

One-one was a race horse.
Two-two was one too.
One-one won one race.
Two-two won one too.

SoupDragon · 30/07/2023 21:16

tabulahrasa · 30/07/2023 15:19

It’s not because they’re rhotic, it’s a svarabhakti vowel - it happens in some Scottish accents because they happen in Gaelic. I’m assuming Irish will be a similar crossover.

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Well, on every thread like this people say it's because their accent as a rhotic one 🤷🏻‍♀️

Thighdentitycrisis · 30/07/2023 21:17

@SillyBub
its one, but the inflection at the end elongates it, but it still only has one syllable

Q2C4 · 30/07/2023 21:18

dessicatedblackbird · 30/07/2023 10:30

I make it three...

Me too: wu-r-ld

Thighdentitycrisis · 30/07/2023 21:19

@Watercoloursky
cross post !

Watercoloursky · 30/07/2023 21:19

Thighdentitycrisis · 30/07/2023 21:14

1 1 was a racehorse
2 2 was 1, 2
1 1, 1 1 race
2 2 1 1 2

can anyone remember this rhyme?

Aha we have just crossed over!! My partner and I did that a lot at our am-dram group - he (Scouse) found it really easy, as he doesnt have to change vowels so much - much harder for me!

Q2C4 · 30/07/2023 21:21

Findyourneutralspace · 30/07/2023 10:58

One in world - just one vowel.

@ElectricToothbrush wait till you hear that some people say one to rhyme with won. There’s a lot of regional variation in the way words are pronounced.

How else do you say one? Or won?! Both are 'wun' where I come from. I've genuinely never heard an accent where their pronunciation differs.

Anoisagusaris · 30/07/2023 21:24

Findyourneutralspace · 30/07/2023 10:58

One in world - just one vowel.

@ElectricToothbrush wait till you hear that some people say one to rhyme with won. There’s a lot of regional variation in the way words are pronounced.

It doesn’t just rhyme with it, one and won are pronounced exactly the same in my accent. I can’t see how it could be any different.

Anoisagusaris · 30/07/2023 21:27

One, won, nun, none, run, sun - all the same
non and on rhyme with long and song.

UrsulaBelle · 30/07/2023 21:28

All these different pronunciations!

For me none, nun, ton and done rhyme. All with a short ‘u’ like uh.
Gone, won and one also rhyme but with a short ‘o’ like in of.

Weird and wonderful! Oh yes, wander and wonder rhyme for me too! 😂

Quoria · 30/07/2023 21:30

WhenIWasAFieldMyself · 30/07/2023 14:10

Funnily enough, I've just written a professional development workshop for tomorrow afternoon on this very topic.

"world" has one syllable whether you have a rhotic accent or not. Adding /r/ doesn't change that. Syllables have a vowel sound. "world" has one vowel sound = world has one syllable. "poem" has 2 vowel sounds = "poem" has two syllables. "coin" has two vowel letters but only one sound- a diphthong= "coin" has one syllable.

Are you a linguist or was this for another field, say linked to phonics or similar? It seems very focused on one accent or set of accents. World is always rhotic in Scotland, but in areas like the Borders generally has one syllable, whereas in others like the west it has two distinct syllables, each with a vowel sound. Syllables aren't to do with the spelling of a word. Coin definitely does have two syllables in some Scottish accents - coy-un. If you are a linguist, I'd be interested in your take on this.

Agreeing with the pp that there is no more a single Scottish accent than a single English one!

saraclara · 30/07/2023 21:32

Non and none are identical when I say them.
I'm aware that some people say nun, but I just assume that they're posh!

Quoria · 30/07/2023 21:33

Anoisagusaris · 30/07/2023 21:24

It doesn’t just rhyme with it, one and won are pronounced exactly the same in my accent. I can’t see how it could be any different.

Show quote history

Can you genuinely not imagine a slight difference in accent?
I say won to rhyme with gun, fun, run (Scottish/southern u not a northern u though, ie not the u in put).
I say one as w-on.

Q2C4 · 30/07/2023 21:45

JaneJeffer · 30/07/2023 11:13

I pronounce one differently depending on what I'm saying 

Give me wan o' them
How many?
Won

Note: I also say them instead of those

You would have a field day with my accent @LaPerduta Grin

Worrim anyone?

'Them' instead of 'those' isn't an accent thing though? They are grammatically different. Them is an object pronoun (third person plural), those is the plural of that.

tabulahrasa · 30/07/2023 21:53

SoupDragon · 30/07/2023 21:16

Well, on every thread like this people say it's because their accent as a rhotic one 🤷🏻‍♀️

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It’s two separate language features.

Rhotic r’s are pronounced, so for example a Ford Ka doesn’t sound like a Ford car in a rhotic accent (don’t know if it was actually supposed to be a play on words or not) because car has a pronounced r sound at the end. Murder having rolling rs is rhoticity.

The svarabhakti vowel sound isn’t in all rhotic accents, it’s not even in all Scottish accents, just some.. world becomes wurruld, film is fillum, farm is farram and Carl is now called carol 😐😂. It’s not just rs and it’s a whole extra vowel being added between the last two condiments.