Inquiry about CHILDES

[Alcock, Katie]

I pronounce it Child-es, but not to rhyme with Candace (which for me has a full /a/ in the second syllable) but rather as the plural of "child-e", where the final vowel is as in something like Spanish "triste". So being a plural of a word ending in a vowel, it ends in /z/ not /s/. I know English words can't end in that vowel, but it still sounds more natural to me.

From: Gisela Szagun <gisela.szagun at googlemail.com<mailto:gisela.szagun at googlemail.com>>
Reply-To: "info-childes at googlegroups.com<mailto:info-childes at googlegroups.com>" <info-childes at googlegroups.com<mailto:info-childes at googlegroups.com>>
Date: Sun, 6 Nov 2011 18:44:46 +0000
To: "info-childes at googlegroups.com<mailto:info-childes at googlegroups.com>" <info-childes at googlegroups.com<mailto:info-childes at googlegroups.com>>
Cc: Nobuyo Fukaya <nobuyo96 at green.ocn.ne.jp<mailto:nobuyo96 at green.ocn.ne.jp>>
Subject: Re: Inquiry about CHILDES

Dear Nobuyo, dear Brian (and Info-CHILDES),

Nobuyo, I am so glad you asked that question, and, Brian, I am so glad you gave such a comprehensive answer to it. I have been wondering for a long time how to pronounce CHILDES. It seems, initially, most people said CHILDS, but then in recent years, it seems to me that I have heard CHILDES more often - with a long "e". I don't like the latter version, but thought it might be the correct one - not being a native English speaker. I have occasionally asked native speakers, but mostly the answer was a shoulder shrug. And with English pronounciation and English spelling bearing what - to me - is an inscrutable relation, I just remained confused. Thanks to Brian's explanation, I can continue saying CHILDS now - which is the version I like much better.

Best wishes,
Gisela



On Sun, Nov 6, 2011 at 5:54 PM, Brian MacWhinney <macw at cmu.edu<mailto:macw at cmu.edu>> wrote:
Dear Nobuyo (and Info-CHILDES),

     Does CHILDES have one or two syllables?  This is a question I have often been asked.  For me, either pronunciation is really fine.  Personally, I always use the one-syllable version.  I like the sort of crazy idea that it is the children themselves that own the database.  I guess, in my mind, it is really CHILD'S and I am thinking of "child" as a generic for all children, as in "the layman's guide to X" or "the child's database".
     I try to further defend this somewhat idiosyncratic pronunciation through reference to the medieval term "childe" as in Childe Harold's Pilgrimage by Lord Byron where the final "e" is just silent.  That form meant "a young man who is a candidate for knighthood" and my understanding of Middle English pronunciation is very weak and it is possible that this final -e is not silent after all.
     The alternative two-syllable pronunciation might seem plausible to some.  Here, there are two options.  The form I have usually heard rhymes with "Candace".    For example, the name "Candace" has a final syllable of this type.  But the spelling of "Candace", "jaundice", or  "poultice" is so radically different from CHILDES, that I find the two-syllable pronunciation of a word ending -es a bit far-fetched.  I have also occasionally heard a two-syllabic pronunciation in which the final -es is intended to parallel the final syllable of "churches".  However, to my ear, that version tends to violated English morphophonotactics.  To my ear, the weak -es ending is only licensed when the stem ends in a sibilant or affricate.

-- Brian MacWhinney

On Nov 6, 2011, at 4:29 AM, Nobuyo Fukaya wrote:

Dear Prof. MacWhinney,

I am Nobuyo Fukaya and a member of IASCL.

I would like to ask a trivial but important question.
I’m wondering how to pronounce the name “CHILDES”.
An introductory book written in Japanese says that the pronunciation is childs (like a regular plural form), but I have heard some lecturers pronouncing it as ‘---des’.
Now I am working on the development of English wh-questions, and am making a presentation at the English Linguistic Society of Japan this month.
I would be happy, if you let me know the fixed pronunciation.


Sincerely yours,

Nobuyo Fukaya
nobuyo96 at green@ocn.ne.jp<mailto:green at ocn.ne.jp>


--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Info-CHILDES" group.
To post to this group, send email to info-childes at googlegroups.com<mailto:info-childes at googlegroups.com>.
To unsubscribe from this group, send email to info-childes+unsubscribe at googlegroups.com<mailto:info-childes%2Bunsubscribe at googlegroups.com>.
For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/info-childes?hl=en.



--
Prof Gisela Szagun PhD BSc

www.giselaszagun.com<http://www.giselaszagun.com>


Vertraulichkeitshinweis:
Diese Nachricht ist nur für Personen bestimmt, an die sie adressiert ist. Jede Veröffentlichung ist ausdrücklich untersagt.

Confidentiality:
This message is intended exclusively for the persons it is addressed to. Publication is prohibited.



--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Info-CHILDES" group.
To post to this group, send email to info-childes at googlegroups.com<mailto:info-childes at googlegroups.com>.
To unsubscribe from this group, send email to info-childes+unsubscribe at googlegroups.com<mailto:info-childes+unsubscribe at googlegroups.com>.
For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/info-childes?hl=en.

-- 
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Info-CHILDES" group.
To post to this group, send email to info-childes at googlegroups.com.
To unsubscribe from this group, send email to info-childes+unsubscribe at googlegroups.com.
For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/info-childes?hl=en.