Proper Pronunciation Guide
Mediterranean Sea, the
[ðə ˏmɛ də tə ˏre͜i ni
ən 
si]
Tips:
- Pronounce this phrase in eight syllables, giving minor stresses to the second [mɛ] and fifth [re͜i] syllables and the major stress to the final syllable, Sea.
- Notice the number of weak schwa vowels in this word: in the first, third, fourth, and seventh syllables—[ðə də tə ən].
- Use the y-like consonant glide /j/ to link from the sixth to the seventh syllable—from [ni] to [ən].
Practice Sentence:
| Crete is a very long Greek island in the Mediterranean Sea. |
Definition:
(noun) A body of water, 2,400 miles long, surrounded by southern Europe, the Middle East, and northern Africa and opening into the Atlantic Ocean at its western end. Literally, in the middle (medi) of the land (terranean).
Notes:
All seas must be preceeded by the definite article, the, and the word “sea” receives the most stress: The Red Sea, the Black Sea, the Caspian Sea. If “the Mediterranean” is used without “Sea,” as it often is because it is so well known, then the second minor stress [re͜i] becomes the major stress: [ðə ˏmɛ də təre͜i niən]