Klryz
Pronunciation guide: IPA symbols, stress and word endings

Vowels

iːseeɪsite / ɛbedæcat
ɑːfatherɒhot (UK)ɔːlawʊput
uːtooʌcupɜːbirdəabout
eɪdayaɪmyɔɪboyaʊnow
əʊ / oʊgo (UK / US)ɪəneareəhairʊətour

Consonants that look unusual

θthinðthisʃsheʒmeasure
tʃchurchdʒjudgeŋsingjyes

p b t d k g f v s z h m n l r w sound as in ordinary English spelling.

Marks

  • ˈ main stress, before the stressed syllable: /ˈwɔːtə/ water · ˌ lighter (secondary) stress: /ˌʌndəˈstænd/ understand
  • ː a long vowel · (r) an r said only in accents that pronounce it (most American, Scottish, Irish)

Common word endings

  • -s / -es (plurals; he/she form of verbs): /s/ after voiceless sounds (cats), /z/ after voiced (dogs), /ɪz/ after s, z, sh, ch, j sounds (buses, watches). Spelling: -es after s, x, z, ch, sh; consonant + y → -ies (city → cities).
  • -ed (past): /t/ after voiceless sounds (walked), /d/ after voiced (played), /ɪd/ after t or d (wanted). Spelling: love → loved, stop → stopped, carry → carried.
  • -ing: make → making, run → running, see → seeing.
  • Irregular: go, went, gone · be, was, been · see, saw, seen · man → men · child → children · mouse → mice.
  • Older (King James) forms: -eth = -s (he loveth = he loves) · -est with “thou” (thou lovest) · spake = spoke.

English Dictionary · 107,383 entries · Sources & licences

jaywalker

UK /ˈd͡ʒeɪwɔːkə/ · US /ˈd͡ʒeɪ.wɔkɚ/ noun

Forms jaywalkers

  1. noun (US) A person who violates pedestrian traffic regulations by crossing a street away from a designated crossing or who walks on the part of the street intended for vehicles instead of the part designated for pedestrians.

Etymology

From jay (“a stupid person”) + walker; jay walker (“a pedestrian who doesn't pay attention to the road, endangering themselves and obstructing horses, carts, and automobiles”). First use appears c. 1917 in Harper's Magazine. Coined in analogy to the older turn-of-the-20th-century term jay driver (“a driver who doesn't pay attention to the road, endangering horses, carts, bicyclists, and pedestrians”). Promoted by driving enthusiasts and automotive concerns to clear the roads of obstructive pedestrians by making it illegal to walk in the middle of roads.

Sources: Wiktionary — from the Wiktionary entry “jaywalker”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details