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It's common practice in Ireland (and the US as far as I know) to pronounce the x in the middle of sixth: six-th [sɪksθ]. However, I've noticed from visits to England as well as watching British television, that a lot of English people pronounce it as 'sicth' [sɪkθ]. Why is this, and is it an accepted usage?

tchrist
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Ronan
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  • Yes, it's accepted usage. Also common among non- newscasters and actors in AmE. – Mitch Mar 12 '14 at 12:05
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    This isn't the 'th' sound though. It's 'k' or 'ks'? – Ronan Mar 12 '14 at 13:17
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    Ronan Murphy, it's not always pronounced as sikth, in the UK. There are British people who pronounce it as siksth. – Tristan r Mar 12 '14 at 14:15
  • @Tristanr I'd imagine there are many who pronounce it the original way alright. I'm just wondering why the other came about. – Ronan Mar 12 '14 at 14:57
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    Other discussions of this phenomenon here and here. – John Lawler Mar 12 '14 at 15:33
  • Ronan Murphy, that's probably because it can be difficult to pronounce, especially for people who like to speak in a hurry. – Tristan r Mar 12 '14 at 16:04
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    Even us fast speakers from the US (Chicago-area) pronounce it correctly as siksth. (as a personal aside...I find it fascinating that people from so far away can make assumptions about people with whom they don't actually interact frequently enough to make the assumption.) – Kristina Lopez Mar 12 '14 at 16:26
  • I've replied to this specific question here where I give examples of English people saying sicth etc: http://english.stackexchange.com/questions/144927/is-the-th-sound-usually-reduced-in-spoken-english/311506#311506 – Baz Mar 04 '16 at 12:49

1 Answers1

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If I am not mistaken, the usual Irish-English pronunciation of “sixth” is [sɪkst] with the famous shift of [θ] to [t]. In England this word is pronounced as [sɪksθ], but I can imagine that some speakers of Irish English might have difficulty distinguishing [sθ] from [θ], as these sounds do not occur in their own dialect.

fdb
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    I think the OP states the opposite - in Ireland he observes the pronunciation [sɪksθ], and during his visits to England he heard a lot of [sɪkθ], and thus wonders if this is widely acceptable. – Vilmar Mar 12 '14 at 12:14
  • This is correct. [sɪksθ] is how I pronounce it myself. – Ronan Mar 12 '14 at 12:38
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    Here is what I guess is happening: The word sixth ends with a consonant cluster which is quite difficult to pronounce, so lots of people simplify it. In Ireland, if [sɪksθ] is simplified, it gets simplified to [sɪkst] (which the OP doesn't notice because he's used to it). In England, it gets simplified to [sɪkθ], which the OP notices because it's unusual for him. – Peter Shor Mar 12 '14 at 12:39
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    @Peter: In US movies I've always noticed many (Afro-) Americans pronouncing *ask* as *aks. But lately I keep hearing that reduced to (even simpler?) ats*. – FumbleFingers Mar 12 '14 at 13:08
  • @FumbleFingers - the South Wales accent also pronounces ask as "aks." – Greybeard Feb 16 '23 at 14:16
  • @Greybeard: I'm in Sussex, but I had a girlfriend in Cardiff for 15 years, so I spent quite a bit of time listening to people from South Wales over the years. I don't recall ever hearing *aks* instead of *ask* - except from one woman who'd originally come from the West Indies anyway. – FumbleFingers Feb 16 '23 at 17:36
  • @FumbleFingers My Welsh girlfriend was from Swansea... – Greybeard Feb 17 '23 at 09:13
  • @Greybeard: And she says *aks*? Is she a native Anglophone? – FumbleFingers Feb 17 '23 at 12:57
  • Yes. She is a retired teacher. It is not the same as the West Indian aks, which seems to have a longish "a" - this was a short vowel. – Greybeard Feb 17 '23 at 16:30