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

totem

UK /ˈtəʊtəm/ · US /ˈtoʊtəm/ noun

Forms totems

  1. noun Any natural object or living creature that serves as an emblem of a tribe, clan or family; the representation of such an object or creature.
  2. noun The clan whose kinship is defined in reference to such an object or creature.
  3. noun (figuratively) A symbol or personification.
  4. noun An arbitrarily chosen object serving as a reminder to check whether one is awake or not, to aid in having lucid dreams.
  5. noun A tall object resembling a totem pole.

Etymology

Borrowed from Ojibwe (o)doodem(an).

Webster’s 1913

  1. noun A rude picture, as of a bird, beast, or the like, used by the Nord American Indians as a symbolic designation, as of a family or a clan.

Etymology [Massachusetts Indian wutohtimoin that to which a person or place belongs.]

Sources: Wiktionary · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “totem”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details