Pronunciation

{{Short description|The way a word or a language is said}}

Pronunciation {{Pronunciation|En-us-pronunciation.ogg|Pronunciation|(}} is the way in which a word or a language is spoken. This may refer to generally agreed-upon sequences of sounds used in speaking a given word or language in a specific dialect—"correct" or "standard" pronunciation—or simply the way a particular individual speaks a word or language.{{Cite web |title=Pronunciation in English {{!}} How to better pronounce in English |url=https://www.english-efl.com/courses/pronunciation/ |access-date=2024-09-29 |website=English EFL |language=en-US}}

Words' pronunciations can be found in reference works such as dictionaries. General-purpose dictionaries typically only include standard pronunciations, but regional or dialectal pronunciations may be found in more specific works.The Oxford Handbook of Lexicography, 2016, page 303 Orthoepy is the study of the pronunciation of a language.{{Cite web |title=Definition of ORTHOEPY |url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/orthoepy |access-date=2024-09-29 |website=www.merriam-webster.com |language=en}}

A word can be spoken in different ways by various individuals or groups, depending on many factors, such as: the duration of the cultural exposure of their childhood, the location of their current residence, speech or voice disorders,{{cite book |last1=Beech |first1=John R. |last2=Harding |first2=Leonora |last3=Hilton-Jones |first3=Diana |title=Assessment in Speech and Language Therapy |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tMQ9AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA55 |chapter=Assessment of Articulation and Phonology |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tMQ9AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA55 |editor-last=Grunwell |editor-first=Pam |year=1993 |publisher=CUP Archive |isbn=0-415-07882-2 |page=55 }} their ethnic group, their social class, or their education.{{cite book |title=Sociolinguistics: The Essential Readings |last1=Paulston |first1=Christina Bratt |last2=Tucker |first2=G. Richard |publisher=Wiley-Blackwell |date=February 14, 2003 |isbn=0-631-22717-2 |chapter=Some Sociolinguistic Principles |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bVG5XCa1DkkC |editor-last=Labov |editor-first=William |pages=234–250}}