Dear Nobuyo, dear Brian (and Info-CHILDES),<br><br>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.<br>
<br>Best wishes,<br>Gisela<br><br><br><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Sun, Nov 6, 2011 at 5:54 PM, Brian MacWhinney <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:macw@cmu.edu">macw@cmu.edu</a>></span> wrote:<br><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex;">
<div style="word-wrap:break-word">Dear Nobuyo (and Info-CHILDES),<div><br><div> 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".</div>
<div> 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.</div>
<div> 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.</div>
<div><br></div><div>-- Brian MacWhinney</div><div><br><div><div>On Nov 6, 2011, at 4:29 AM, Nobuyo Fukaya wrote:</div><br><blockquote type="cite"><span style="border-collapse:separate;font-family:Helvetica;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;font-weight:normal;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:normal;text-align:-webkit-auto;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;word-spacing:0px;font-size:medium"><div link="blue" vlink="purple" lang="JA">
<div><div style="margin-top:0mm;margin-right:0mm;margin-left:0mm;margin-bottom:0.0001pt;text-align:justify;font-size:10.5pt;font-family:Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size:10pt" lang="EN-US">Dear Prof. MacWhinney,<u></u><u></u></span></div>
<div style="margin-top:0mm;margin-right:0mm;margin-left:0mm;margin-bottom:0.0001pt;text-align:justify;font-size:10.5pt;font-family:Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size:10pt" lang="EN-US"><u></u> <u></u></span></div><div style="margin-top:0mm;margin-right:0mm;margin-left:0mm;margin-bottom:0.0001pt;text-align:justify;font-size:10.5pt;font-family:Arial, sans-serif">
<span style="font-size:10pt" lang="EN-US">I am Nobuyo Fukaya and a member of IASCL.<u></u><u></u></span></div><div style="margin-top:0mm;margin-right:0mm;margin-left:0mm;margin-bottom:0.0001pt;text-align:justify;font-size:10.5pt;font-family:Arial, sans-serif">
<span style="font-size:10pt" lang="EN-US"><u></u> <u></u></span></div><div style="margin-top:0mm;margin-right:0mm;margin-left:0mm;margin-bottom:0.0001pt;text-align:justify;font-size:10.5pt;font-family:Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size:10pt" lang="EN-US">I would like to ask a trivial but important question.<u></u><u></u></span></div>
<div style="margin-top:0mm;margin-right:0mm;margin-left:0mm;margin-bottom:0.0001pt;text-align:justify;font-size:10.5pt;font-family:Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size:10pt" lang="EN-US">I’m wondering how to pronounce the name “CHILDES”.<u></u><u></u></span></div>
<div style="margin-top:0mm;margin-right:0mm;margin-left:0mm;margin-bottom:0.0001pt;text-align:justify;font-size:10.5pt;font-family:Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size:10pt" lang="EN-US">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’.<u></u><u></u></span></div>
<div style="margin-top:0mm;margin-right:0mm;margin-left:0mm;margin-bottom:0.0001pt;text-align:justify;font-size:10.5pt;font-family:Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size:10pt" lang="EN-US">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.<u></u><u></u></span></div>
<div style="margin-top:0mm;margin-right:0mm;margin-left:0mm;margin-bottom:0.0001pt;text-align:justify;font-size:10.5pt;font-family:Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size:10pt" lang="EN-US">I would be happy, if you let me know the fixed pronunciation.<u></u><u></u></span></div>
<div style="margin-top:0mm;margin-right:0mm;margin-left:0mm;margin-bottom:0.0001pt;text-align:justify;font-size:10.5pt;font-family:Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size:10pt" lang="EN-US"><u></u> <u></u></span></div><div style="margin-top:0mm;margin-right:0mm;margin-left:0mm;margin-bottom:0.0001pt;text-align:justify;font-size:10.5pt;font-family:Arial, sans-serif">
<span style="font-size:10pt" lang="EN-US"><u></u> <u></u></span></div><div style="margin-top:0mm;margin-right:0mm;margin-left:0mm;margin-bottom:0.0001pt;text-align:justify;font-size:10.5pt;font-family:Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size:10pt" lang="EN-US">Sincerely yours,<u></u><u></u></span></div>
<div style="margin-top:0mm;margin-right:0mm;margin-left:0mm;margin-bottom:0.0001pt;text-align:justify;font-size:10.5pt;font-family:Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size:10pt" lang="EN-US"><u></u> <u></u></span></div><div style="margin-top:0mm;margin-right:0mm;margin-left:0mm;margin-bottom:0.0001pt;text-align:justify;font-size:10.5pt;font-family:Arial, sans-serif">
<span style="font-size:10pt" lang="EN-US">Nobuyo Fukaya<u></u><u></u></span></div><div style="margin-top:0mm;margin-right:0mm;margin-left:0mm;margin-bottom:0.0001pt;text-align:justify;font-size:10.5pt;font-family:Arial, sans-serif">
<span style="font-size:10pt" lang="EN-US">nobuyo96@<a href="mailto:green@ocn.ne.jp" style="color:blue;text-decoration:underline" target="_blank">green@ocn.ne.jp</a><u></u><u></u></span></div></div></div></span></blockquote>
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