Proper Pronunciation Guide

data

[de͜i ə]

Tips:

  • It is best to pronounce the vowel in the first syllable like the name of the letter “a”—
    /e͜i/.
  • Pronounce the letter “t” as a lightly tapped
    /d/ in quick speech.

Practice Sentences:

The data was collected by his assistants.
We really don't have good data on this.

Notes:

  • Some pronounce this word as [dæ tə].
  • Although this word (from Latin) is the plural of “datum,” it is now almost always used as a mass noun, taking a singular verb—as in the first sentence above—except in some scientific papers, where datum and data are used as countable singular and plural nouns.
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    Pronunciation Key for phonetic symbols

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