Is the ‘k’ in ‘asked’ silent or is it pronounced? Some years ago, I asked an Englisman the same question and he said that if you pronounce the ‘k’, it would be regarded as pretentious. When I listen to people on TV they don’t seem to pronounce it.
@Anglophile, @NearlyNapping, @Arinker, @Alan
Thanks in advance.
Merriam-Webster gives the pronunciation as “as(k)t”.
I definitely use a “k” sound but it is not emphasized. It’s more of a small catch while saying the “st” sound. (Obviously, I’m not a pronunciation expert.)
On the other hand, if you were to pronounce it as “assed”, your listener would probably hear it as the word “asked”.
On a tangent, a few days ago there was a post here questioning “lead life/un-lived life.” The speaker in the video used the phrase “aks the question” for “ask the question”. There is a discussion of this pronunciation here:
Thats correct because aks is the same axe, right? Thanks for your answer & the link. Here’s a link that may also interest you. How to pronounce ‘ask’ & ‘asked’. (pronunciationstudio.com)
Clearly you need to identify ‘k’ to avoid the word ‘asked’ being mistaken for ‘arsed’, which has nothing to with being pretentious.
Thanks for your reply, Alan.
The ‘a’ is different in BrE and AmE.
BrE vs AmE
I sometimes hear the British pronunciation in the US by non-Brits but it’s rare.
As for the K, it’s pronounced VERY lightly. It’s difficult to pronounce without making ask-ed two distinct syllables.
I think it is half-sounded as in asked\ ˈas(k)t, ˈäs(k)t as transcribed by Merriam Webster and as /ɑːskt/ by Oxford Learners.
It is an alveolar consonant which we can’t completely silence or ignore.
This reminds me of the singing nursery rhyme.
A tisket a tasket
A green and yellow basket
I wrote a letter to my love
And on my way I dropped it
I dropped it, I dropped it
And on my way I dropped it
A little boy he picked it up
And put it in his pocket
Tisket
Basket
Pocket
Dropped
Picked
These words all end with a ‘T’ sound. But the words ending in ‘ed’ are a single syllable and the words ending in ‘et’ are two syllables.
Then you have to add the word ‘it’ to make the rhyme and cadence work.
Basket
Dropped it
Picked it
Pocket
The word ‘ask’ is also hidden in there.
A green and yellow basket
Vs
He basked in the sun.
It’s a fun song for young children.
