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ESL forum > Ask for help > Heart and hurt    

Heart and hurt



Adriportes
Brazil

Heart and hurt
 
Hi! I need some help! A student of mine asked me today about the pronunciation of "heart" because he heard somewhere that it was the same as "hurt". I guess it was a Slipknot song. I �ve always taught it like in "car". I listened to part of the song, I couldn �t listen to everything... :) and I was confused. Could anyone help me?
ThanksSmile
 

20 Jun 2009      





alien boy
Japan

STudents (& teachers) need to be careful if using songs or poems as models for pronunciation. Along with differences produced simply because one speaker has a different accent to another, sometimes the pronunciation is distorted/warped/ �fudged � in order to produce the desired rhyme, rhythmic effect or characterisation.

So - you are correct about the pronunciation for standard English. The student �s example may be due to the accent of the speaker/singer or as a device used in the song or poem.

Cheers,
AB

20 Jun 2009     



Adriportes
Brazil

Thank you, Alien Boy. That �s what I had thought too but I felt a little insecure. Students here in Brazil simply love songs in English. I totally agree with you that we should be careful about using them in class. Thanks a lot for your help!
 
Adri
 

20 Jun 2009     



libertybelle
United States

Americans on the west coast pronounce heart - like cart.
My British friends pronounce it closer to hot.

Americans use a retroflective R sound - the British R is more truncated.

20 Jun 2009     



alien boy
Japan

I take it that means closer to �hot� with a rounded sound as distinct from a shortened �o�?

Australians tend to talk more like British than Americans & we have a distinct difference between the sounds produced when saying �hot � and �heart�. The �eart� is pronounced the same as the word �art� - complete with truncated �r�. �hot� sounds more like �shot� than �hart�.

Some Irish folks I�ve met pronounce �heart� closer to �hurt� but that is consistent with other speech patterns within their dialect.

20 Jun 2009     



Adriportes
Brazil

Hi Libertybelle!
 
Thank you! I liked the words you used to compare the sound.
 
I don �t know about other non-native English teachers but sometimes the students hear things then they have doubts and ask questions. English is all around them. I always check things here: www.thefreedictionary.com, and if I don �t find the pronunciation they heard, I tell them that it must be a different accent or variation. 
 
Well, I never had a chance to say that before, but I love this site! Thank you all!
 
 

20 Jun 2009     



alien boy
Japan

You may also find the sites in the following post interesting (just click the link...)

Useful �sites for English pronunciation, accent and dialect examples.


Cheers

20 Jun 2009     



Zora
Canada

I would say...

Heart - like hart

Hurt - like hert

There you go easy peasy..
Smile

20 Jun 2009     



Cyn.
Argentina

I guess your doubt was clarified, but anyway, check out this online pronunciation site...

howjsay . com
         A free online Talking Dictionary of English Pronunciation  Just mouse over the pink words to hear them spoken   

20 Jun 2009     



Adriportes
Brazil

Great! Thanks for the tips!
I �ll check the links. Thumbs Up

20 Jun 2009