7 ms·

English doesn't tolerate word-final -mb. It's always pronounced as -m, and the -b isn't pronounced when a suffix is added either. Other examples: dumb, tomb, c

English doesn't tolerate word-final -mb. It's always pronounced as -m, and the -b isn't pronounced when a suffix is added either. Other examples: dumb, tomb, comb, womb, numb, thumb, catacomb, Coulomb. All of these have a silent B.

hypertele-Xii 5y ago
In most of these cases the final B is itself silent but elongates the previous wovel for me. "dumb" is pronounced longer than "dum", and it's the U that gets elongated. The difference is subtle, but my native tongue has "long wovels" so I'm trained to detect the difference.
- CRConrad 5y ago
  Paljon suomalaisia täällä?
  - hypertele-Xii 5y ago
    Empiirisesti ehkä muutama tuhannesta.
- julesnp 5y ago
  That's true for the -omb words, but I've never heard anyone elongate the 'u' in any of the -umb words, at least not in Canadian English.
ghc 5y ago
Wait, what? None of those have a silent B, at least in my region. Are there places that pronounce the same as womb as "woom"?
- deleted 5y ago
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- kmm 5y ago
  Can I ask what region you live in? Pronouncing <womb> as /wuːm/ is the dominant pronunciation in every English speaking country, so much so that I can't recall ever hearing it differently, and I'm surprised you've never heard it. It's not a recent change either, the /b/ disappeared somewhere before the 14th century.
  - ghc 5y ago
    New England. I've never paid enough attention when traveling to notice (those words aren't exactly the most common to hear), but when I say "woom" my lips end closed, and when I say "womb" my lips end opened after closing. The b isn't "voiced", per se, but it does change the way the word sounds to me. And to be fair, I am aware New England English is its own distinct thing so I might have grown up in a bubble: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_England_English https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_England_English
  - selimthegrim 5y ago
    NE Ohio and I always pronounced the b too (akin to New England I guess)
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]

hypertele-Xii 5y ago

In most of these cases the final B is itself silent but elongates the previous wovel for me. "dumb" is pronounced longer than "dum", and it's the U that gets elongated. The difference is subtle, but my native tongue has "long wovels" so I'm trained to detect the difference.

CRConrad 5y ago
Paljon suomalaisia täällä?
- hypertele-Xii 5y ago
  Empiirisesti ehkä muutama tuhannesta.
julesnp 5y ago
That's true for the -omb words, but I've never heard anyone elongate the 'u' in any of the -umb words, at least not in Canadian English.

ghc 5y ago

Wait, what? None of those have a silent B, at least in my region. Are there places that pronounce the same as womb as "woom"?

deleted 5y ago
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kmm 5y ago
Can I ask what region you live in? Pronouncing <womb> as /wuːm/ is the dominant pronunciation in every English speaking country, so much so that I can't recall ever hearing it differently, and I'm surprised you've never heard it. It's not a recent change either, the /b/ disappeared somewhere before the 14th century.
- ghc 5y ago
  New England. I've never paid enough attention when traveling to notice (those words aren't exactly the most common to hear), but when I say "woom" my lips end closed, and when I say "womb" my lips end opened after closing. The b isn't "voiced", per se, but it does change the way the word sounds to me. And to be fair, I am aware New England English is its own distinct thing so I might have grown up in a bubble: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_England_English https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_England_English
- selimthegrim 5y ago
  NE Ohio and I always pronounced the b too (akin to New England I guess)
deleted 5y ago
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