Spelling pronunciation
A pronunciation shaped by a word’s written form, often replacing an older pronunciation that spelling no longer accurately represents.
Orthographic influence: The effect of a writing system on language use, including pronunciation, vocabulary, and grammar. Spelling pronunciation is a specific case of writing influencing spoken language.
Often: An English adverb meaning frequently, pronounced with or without an audible t. The increasingly common t pronunciation is often attributed to the written letter.
Spelling pronunciation (phonetics): The pronunciation of written symbols according to their usual sound values, rather than a word’s conventional pronunciation. This describes decoding letters aloud, while spelling pronunciation concerns forms that enter a word’s spoken usage.
Language change: The process by which a language’s sounds, forms, meanings, and usage change over time. A spelling pronunciation can spread through a speech community and become part of ongoing language change.
Phonological change: A change over time in the sound system or sound patterns of a language. Once adopted by speakers, spelling-driven sound changes can become ordinary phonological change.
February: The second month of the Gregorian calendar, whose English pronunciations vary in their treatment of the first r. Pronouncing the first r may reflect the spelling, despite its frequent omission in speech.
Hypercorrection: A nonstandard form produced by applying a perceived rule where it does not belong. Both can alter pronunciation, but hypercorrection stems from perceived prestige or rules rather than spelling alone.
Standard English: The socially established varieties of English used in formal writing, education, and public communication. Pronunciation guides and dictionaries record which spelling-influenced forms gain conventional acceptance.
Analogy (linguistics): The reshaping of linguistic forms to match patterns found in related forms. Readers may pronounce an irregular-looking word to match a familiar spelling pattern.
Arctic: A word for the region around the North Pole, traditionally pronounced without a c after r by some speakers. The c in the spelling has prompted a pronunciation that includes it.