Hi,
What is the pronunciation of “mobile” in “mobile phone”?
Is it true that in British English it is: /ˈməubaɪl fəun/
and in American English it is: ˈ/moubəl foun/ or /ˈmoubiːl foun/
By the way, what’s the difference between the two pronunciations /foun/ and /fəun/?
Many thanks
Nessie
Most British people say [mɛʊbaɪl], but some say [mɛʊbəl].
Most Americans say [moʊbəl], but a few say [moʊbaɪl]. I’ve never, ever heard an American say [ˈmoubiːl foun]. It seems impossible. (Anyway, Americans usually say cellphone.)
The two pronunciations of “phone” are just regional variations on the pronunciation of the vowel /o/, so I just don’t understand your question. You’ll find people in both countries who use either pronunciation.
By the way, in the US, the word “mobile” means “moveable” when pronounced [moʊbəl], but when pronounced [moʊbiːl], it means a hanging sculpture.
a decoration made of small objects tied to wires or string which is hung up so that the objects move when air blows around them
For me, /ˈməubaɪlf_əun/.
Then you’re not linking correctly.
In whose variant?
In my variant, it would come out like this:
/ˈməubaɪlfəun/.
Don’t even worry about it.
In the standard British and American variants, /ˈməubaɪlf_əun/ would be wrong, because the /f/ has to begin the syllable of the next word, not end the first word and leave the second word vowel-initial without a consonantal syllable onset. This is universal in native-speaker English. Either you pronounce it wrong or your transcription is buggy.
Then there’s:
snowmobile
Which variants would you class as “native-speaker”? And why should one follow only native-speaker prescription? There’s a world of Englishes out there and all doing just fine.
I pronounce it as one word: /ˈməubaɪlfəun/
I suspect that my browser needs an update, as I can only see little boxes where symbols should be.
I tend to hear “mo-” with a stress and the vowel of “go”, and “bile” with the vowel of “while”.
MrP
Oh, there you go again, beating that same dead horse.
Dead for whom?