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Eva Easton's American English Pronunciation

Eva Easton's American English Pronunciation

American English Pronunciation

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wonder word: Catholic

Wednesday, January 25, 2017 by Eva Easton 2 Comments

I wonder how an American pronounces…
Catholic
/ˈkæθ-lɪk/

https://www.evaeaston.com/wp-content/uploads/word-Catholic-again.mp3

 

https://www.evaeaston.com/wp-content/uploads/word-Catholic-pix.mp3

We write:  Catholic
We say:  /ˈkæθ-lɪk/

The written word has 3 syllables:  cath-o-lic.
But in natural speech, we say it as 2 syllables.

We stress the first syllable:  /ˈkæθ-/
The second syllable is unstressed: /-lɪk/

Can you hear which written vowel is not pronounced?  /ˈkæθ-lɪk/

https://www.evaeaston.com/wp-content/uploads/word-Catholic-explain.mp3


The pictures above are:

1. a Catholic priest
2. a Catholic pope
3. a Catholic monastery
4. a Catholic cathedral

https://www.evaeaston.com/wp-content/uploads/word-Catholic-pix.mp3

Now it’s your turn.
Here’s your audio pronunciation quiz.

Which written vowel is not pronounced?

1. 

https://www.evaeaston.com/wp-content/uploads/silent-vwl-niagara.mp3Niagara Falls

2. 

https://www.evaeaston.com/wp-content/uploads/silent-vwl-average.mp3average

3. 

https://www.evaeaston.com/wp-content/uploads/silent-vwl-every.mp3every

4. 

https://www.evaeaston.com/wp-content/uploads/silent-vwl-catholic.mp3Catholic

5. 

https://www.evaeaston.com/wp-content/uploads/silent-vwl-several.mp3several

6. 

https://www.evaeaston.com/wp-content/uploads/silent-vwl-chocolate.mp3chocolate

7. 

https://www.evaeaston.com/wp-content/uploads/silent-vwl-opera.mp3opera

8. 

https://www.evaeaston.com/wp-content/uploads/silent-vwl-aspirin.mp3  aspirin

9. 

https://www.evaeaston.com/wp-content/uploads/silent-vwl-colonel.mp3colonel

10. 

https://www.evaeaston.com/wp-content/uploads/silent-vwl-different.mp3different

11. 

https://www.evaeaston.com/wp-content/uploads/silent-vwl-interested-in.mp3interested in

12. 

https://www.evaeaston.com/wp-content/uploads/silent-vwl-extraordinary.mp3extraordinary

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Eunjoo Shin says

    Monday, March 24, 2025 at 7:04 pm

    I didn’t know that the vowel pronunciation was unstressed and didn’t make a sound.

    Reply
  2. Eva Lopatkin Easton says

    Tuesday, March 25, 2025 at 3:19 am

    Good, I’m glad you learned something useful from my site.

    Eva

    Reply

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