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

Berkshire

UK /ˈbɑːk.ʃə/ · US /ˈbɜɹk.ʃəɹ/ proper noun, noun

Forms Berks Brks. Berkshires

  1. proper noun An inland county of England, bounded by Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Hampshire, Surrey, Greater London and Wiltshire.
  2. proper noun A community in Sandy Hook, Newtown, Fairfield County, Connecticut.
  3. proper noun A town in Tioga County, New York.
  4. proper noun An unincorporated community and township in Delaware County, Ohio.
  5. proper noun A town in Franklin County, Vermont.
  6. noun A breed of pig from Berkshire county.
  7. noun (rail transport) A steam locomotive of the 2-8-4 wheel arrangement.

Etymology

From Middle English Barrokschire, Berchesire, Barrokshyre, Berrucsire, from Old English Bearrocsċīr. The first element is possibly from Proto-Brythonic *barrọg, perhaps meaning “hilly” (compare *barros (“hill, peak, top”)) + Old English sċīr (“shire, county”).

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