Conduit

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A conduit is a channel (or pipe) by which water may be led to a different part. The word is sometimes used for eletricity, and for intermediaries: "The merchant acted as a conduit for the money to pay the army." (See also the noun conduct.) There is dispute about howq tro pronounce the word.


The older pronunciation gives this word two syllables, with a slight stress on the first: 'CONNED-it' IPA: /ˈkɒndɪt/, sometimes with the same first vowel as 'run': 'CUNNED-it' {{IPA|ˈkʌndɪt}. (This pronunciation can still be heard in academic circles). The newer habit is to give the word three syllables 'conned-oo-it', with fairly even stress: IPA: /kɒnduɪt/. (This pronunciation can also be heard in academic circles.)

LPD (2000) gives three major pronunciations in the UK: 'CON-due-it' IPA: /ˈkɒndjuɪt/ (varying to 'CONNED-jew-it' IPA: /ˈkɒndʒuɪt/), 'CONNED-it' IPA: /ˈkɒndɪt/ and 'CUNNED-it' IPA: /ˈkʌndɪt/. (Some writers say that this last pronounciation is 'old-fashioned'.) OED only records two syllables, albeit with two versions, having different vowels: IPA: /kʌndɪt/ and IPA: /kɒndɪt/. In America, LPD only records the pronunciation 'CONN-doo-it' IPA: /ˈkɒnduɪt/.

The variation in pronunciation, even in the educated community, is a further illustration that a guide such as AWE, which aims to help you use the language better, is doomed to failure. 'Good' English is often a matter of taste in choosing between different permitted options.