Proper Pronunciation Guide

vineyard

[vɪn jɚd]

Tips:

  • Pronounce the letter “i” in the frist syllable as the short vowel
    /ɪ/ —like the vowel in the word “sit”—even though from the spelling it looks as if it should be pronounced like the name of the letter itself—
    /ɑ͜i/—like it is in the word “vine.”
  • Pronounce the letters “ar” in the second syllable as the weak R-Vowel
    /ɚ/ —and not as the R-Vowel diphthong
    /ɑ͜ɚ/.
  • Be sure to pronounce a very distinct initial consonant
    /v/— and not
    /w/ or a combination of
    /v/ and
    /w/.

Practice Sentences:

 While we were in California, we visited the vineyard that produces our favorite wine.
The vines in this vineyard are plentiful with grapes.

Definition:

  • (noun) A property of many acres, like a farm, where grapes are grown on vines to produce wine.

Notes:

The vowel reduction that occurs in both syllables of this word illustrate how a word changes over time as speakers become more and more familiar with it. At first “vineyard” may have been pronounced with the full vowels /ɑ͜i/ and /ɑ͜ɚ/ so that it sounded like a combination of “vine” and “yard,” which is exactly what it is. Then over a long period of time, like a stone being washed up on the shore over and over again for hundreds of years becomes smoother and smoother, the vowels weaken to /ɪ/  and /ɚ/ , which make the word easier to pronounce. See “breakfast” and “cupboard.”

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