Thread: Pronunciation guide: Alum

Hi Gents,
So in talking with some friends and old-timers, I've come to note that there is two distinct camps for the pronunciation of the alum bar:
1) Al 'uhm (like aluminum)
2)A 'lum (like alumni)


Which do you use?

Mark

from australia here,

i say 'a-loom' as such

From England, i pronounce it with the U sounding a bit more like an A. Can't spell it phonetically! Out of the two options it sounds very like the second, but not quite.

Edit: I'm not saying that's how the English pronounce it, I have no real idea, that's just me.

I pronounce it Alum like alumni. But I use styptic, which I pronounce stip (rhymes with sip) tic.

James.

I'm not sure Aluminum is the right word to compare with ( thoug I can't think of another)

We pronounce it: uh loo man um

While I hear the BBC pronounce it: al loo min ium

It's neither supposedly-

alum definition | Dictionary.com

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/alum

You can click the little icon to hear the pronunciation there. I did this at a couple different online dictionaries and it came up the same- Al (as in the name) ' em or... Al ' um (sounds like it to me).

well ya cant argue with websters now can ya? i pronounce it like al-um, english has always been my worst subject though

-dan-

Originally Posted by ben.mid

From England, i pronounce it with the U sounding a bit more like an A. Can't spell it phonetically! Out of the two options it sounds very like the second, but not quite.

Edit: I'm not saying that's how the English pronounce it, I have no real idea, that's just me.

Like "alarm" without the R? That's how I pronounce it.

actually it's AL-uhm, with the accent on the first syllable. Don't you have a dictionary?

X

Originally Posted by Philadelph

It's neither supposedly-

alum definition | Dictionary.com

alum - Definition from the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary

You can click the little icon to hear the pronunciation there. I did this at a couple different online dictionaries and it came up the same- Al (as in the name) ' em or... Al ' um (sounds like it to me).

That's how I've always pronounced it