Difference between revisions of "Whore"
From Hull AWE
PeterWilson (Talk | contribs) |
|||
| Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
| − | This is one of the few words in English in which the '''_wh_ ''' [[phoneme]] is realised with the sound ' | + | This is one of the few words in English in which the '''_wh_ ''' [[phoneme]] is realised, in all [[Accent and dialect|accents]] with the sound '-h-'. (Most are sounded with the '''-w-'''. See [[W - Wh]].) '''whore''' sounds like 'haw', {{IPA|hɔː<sup>r</sup>}}, or in the North-east of England, Scotland and other places as 'hoor' {{IPA|huː<sup>ə</sup>r}}. |
The word was common in Shakespeare's times to mean a prostitute. Nowadays, in colloquial speech, it is an insult used about a woman, usually with a connotation of sexual looseness. | The word was common in Shakespeare's times to mean a prostitute. Nowadays, in colloquial speech, it is an insult used about a woman, usually with a connotation of sexual looseness. | ||
[[category:pronunciation]] | [[category:pronunciation]] | ||
Revision as of 14:53, 23 August 2014
This is one of the few words in English in which the _wh_ phoneme is realised, in all accents with the sound '-h-'. (Most are sounded with the -w-. See W - Wh.) whore sounds like 'haw', IPA: /hɔːr/, or in the North-east of England, Scotland and other places as 'hoor' IPA: /huːər/.
The word was common in Shakespeare's times to mean a prostitute. Nowadays, in colloquial speech, it is an insult used about a woman, usually with a connotation of sexual looseness.