What's the difference between pronunciation and enunciation?
What's the difference between pronunciation and enunciation? I learned this a long time ago in English class but forgot what it was.
Clarification
For example, Wikipedia says:
Good enunciation is the act of speaking clearly and concisely. The opposite of good enunciation is mumbling or slurring. See also pronunciation which is a component of enunciation. Pronunciation is to pronounce sounds of words correctly
I can't tell from this what the specific difference is. When is it correct to say someone's pronunciation is off versus when their enunciation is off?
Merriam Webster's definition defines enunciate as :
- articulate, pronounce
That would seem to say it's the same as to pronounce.
Is there a specific example of incorrect pronunciation verses enunciation?
Solution 1:
Say the following aloud, being very careful to say each syllable very clearly and precisely: feb - you - air - eee.
Now do the same for this: feb - rue - air - eee.
Your enunciation was good with both, though your pronunciation was only correct for the second.
Solution 2:
Pronunciation is the act of properly clustering each group of letters to make the correct sounds.
Enunciation is the act of clearly speaking in order to allow someone to understand.
What is the difference?
You can mumble a word and pronounce it correctly, but you are not enunciating it.
If you properly enunciate a word, but cluster the letters wrong you are not pronouncing it properly.
Real world examples of proper pronunciation and enunciation are your average TV announcers in England and the US.
Poor examples are anyone on reality TV...
Solution 3:
I would say that pronunciation is making the sound in the correct (or at least accepted way) while enunciation is how you say it.
So I could very clearly enunciate de Broglie (a French physicist who has annoyed 200 years worth of English speakers) perfectly clearly in the best Shakespearean actor voice - but pronounce his name completely wrongly.
I could also slur it so that nobody could hear - but get the C18 French pronunciation correct.
Solution 4:
Take this word, for example: aminophylline /am·i·noph·yl·line/ (am″ĭ-nof´ĭ-lin) a salt of theophylline, used as a bronchodilator and as an antidote to dipyridamole toxicity.
The correct pronunciation is written above in parenthesis.
An example of an incorrect pronunciation of aminophylline would be: (uh-meen-o-fill-in)
Enunciation is merely saying both the correct version and the incorrect version slowly and clearly, so that the person hearing you speak can tell how you are pronouncing each syllable, where you are putting the "stresses" and whether or not you are using long "o", short "o", etc.
Now, if I wanted to say Amino (as in Amino Acid), then "uh-meen-o" would be the correct way to pronounce "Amino". Pronouncing it as "am″ĭ-no" would be incorrect, no matter how loudly and slowly you spoke (aka enunciated) the syllables and/or vowels.