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To: stylin19a

“why does the word “one” have a “w” sound but no “W”, yet the word “two” has a “W” but no “w” sound ?”
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Same reason that you park in the “Driveway” and drive on the “Parkway”


2,886 posted on 12/16/2020 7:10:08 AM PST by HippyLoggerBiker (Always carry a flagon of whiskey in case of snakebite and furthermore always carry a small snake. )
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To: HippyLoggerBiker

This is my favorite subject! Why are words pronounced as they are? Remember I have no authority really for any of this.
There is a limitation in English spelling. We don’t have a way to indicate that two letters are simultaneous. The two letters -n and -e are simultaneous. Think -nnnnn. The -n means to put the tongue on the roof of your mouth and the vowel means to phonate. Long -o since the great vowel shift is now a diphthong, an -uh sound moving to an -ooo sound. If you say all three sounds quickly -uh -oo -nnnn you will feel the -w as your lips move. As you speak in normal conversation the individual letters do not appear and people hear the same sound as the pronunciation of the word “won”.

“Two” is a little harder to see. The double you sound is actually two -u sounds a long -oo and a short -uh one after another. I don’t know which is first. Either way as you move your lips through those two sounds and then to the next vowel you will feel the -w sound in your lips. “Twain” got chopped to “twa” and now the -oo sound from the double -u dominates. Say this rapidly as if you had a dutch NY accent: tuh -oo -ah eggs. As the two elides into the eh of eggs you will hear the -w disappear and the -oo takes over. In scottish they still say twa.

You might want to read a reddit/etymology about this:
There is a lot of guessing and don’t bother if you need authoritative answers but I like it.
https://www.reddit.com/r/etymology/comments/7hjx13/why_do_we_pronounce_the_w_in_twice_but_not_two/


2,887 posted on 12/16/2020 8:18:15 AM PST by BDParrish (God called, He said He'd take you back!)
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