Our

In everyday speech, does "our" usually feel like one or two syllables to you?

  • One

    Votes: 4 57.1%
  • Two

    Votes: 3 42.9%

  • Total voters
    7

Pacifica

grammaticissima

  • Aedilis

Location:
Belgium
I know it's traditionally considered one syllable. What I'm asking is how it actually feels like to you in practice.
 

Issacus Divus

H₃rḗǵs h₁n̥dʰéri diwsú

  • Civis Illustris

Location:
Gæmleflodland
Feels like "ouwer", sometimes.
 

Pacifica

grammaticissima

  • Aedilis

Location:
Belgium
Feels like "ouwer", sometimes.
It often sounds that way to me. I use it as one syllable in poetry because that's what's usually done, and I can pronounce it in such a way that it's reduced if I want to, but otherwise it often feels like two syllables. Same goes with words like "fire", "hour", etc.
 

Issacus Divus

H₃rḗǵs h₁n̥dʰéri diwsú

  • Civis Illustris

Location:
Gæmleflodland
Interesting to note. What do you call those words? Words with acceptable pronouncing in monosyllabic and bisyllabic manners?
 

Pacifica

grammaticissima

  • Aedilis

Location:
Belgium
If there's a technical term for it, I don't know it.
 

Iohannes Aurum

Technicus Auxiliarius

  • Technicus Auxiliarius

Location:
Torontum, Ontario, Canada
One syllable in music, poetry, and rapid speech, two in all other instances.
 

Pacifica

grammaticissima

  • Aedilis

Location:
Belgium
I wonder about the history of this word's pronunciation and that of other similar R words like "fire" etc.

"Our" is traditionally treated as one syllable in poetry, but I'm thinking that may be a survival from a time when the R wasn't syllabic. It could be that things have changed and the change hasn't been officially acknowledged yet.
 
B

Bitmap

Guest

I find it hard to pronounce it as a single syllable with the diphthong in there ... same with "fire". I'd speculate that the monosyllabic pronunciation comes from a time when 'our' still was pronounced with one long syllable (u: ), same for fire (i: ).
 
D

Deleted member 13757

Guest

You can go both ways in poetry:

1: And in | our dreams | and in | our hopes

u - | u - | u - | u -

...

2:

For o | ur na | tion and | our flag

u - | u - | u - | u -
 

Pacifica

grammaticissima

  • Aedilis

Location:
Belgium
I know, but it's much more common as one syllable.
 

Pacifica

grammaticissima

  • Aedilis

Location:
Belgium
I may have seen a disyllabic "our" once or twice in Shakespeare already. (Vs. countless monosyllabic instances, of course.) There are more instances of "fire" and "hour" being disyllabic, though they're still oftener monosyllabic.
 
D

Deleted member 13757

Guest

Yeah but Shakespeare is not the source of truth for modern English.

I know, but it's much more common as one syllable.
I don't know if common is the right word here. I would examine where the stress falls first. I would say that if the stress falls on "our", it would sound as a double. If on the other hand the stress is on the sibling word it would be mono. Needs more study.
 

Pacifica

grammaticissima

  • Aedilis

Location:
Belgium
Yeah but Shakespeare is not the source of truth for modern English.
No, but he's kind of the standard for "traditional poetry".
I don't know if common is the right word here. I would examine where the stress falls first. I would say that if the stress falls on "our", it would sound as a double. If on the other hand the stress is on the sibling word it would be mono. Needs more study.
That sounds possible.
 
Top