Inquiry about CHILDES

[Gisela Szagun]

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> 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****
>
>
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-- 
Prof Gisela Szagun PhD BSc

www.giselaszagun.com


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