Oxford BBC Guide to Pronunciation [Hardcover]

Catherine Sangster (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 26, 2006

The Oxford BBC Guide to Pronunciation is the ideal source for finding out how to pronounce controversial or difficult words and names. Expert guidance is given on how to pronounce 15,000+ difficult words and names, using both the Intenational Phonetic Alphabet and simpler respelled pronunciations. There are notes on individual entries where pronunciation has changed or is disputed, or where there is simply further interesting information. Special panels look at topics such as changes in pronunciation over time or the influence of dialect, and give top tips for pronouncing languages such as Arabic, Chinese, or Spanish. The entries chosen reflect the news and themes of today, and include newly researched material from the BBC's database. The unique combination of the BBC's worldwide expertise in pronunciation with OUP's experience in reference publishing provides a popular and accessible guide to this tricky but fascinating area.

Editorial Reviews

Review

It's widely available and very useful to anyone who wants to give the impression that they are educated. Catholic Herald Christmas Books

About the Author

Catherine Sangster is at BBC Pronunciation Unit. Lena Olausson is at BBC Pronunciation Unit.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 448 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press (October 26, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0192807102
• ISBN-13: 978-0192807106
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.7 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,644,479 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Say that again?, March 1, 2009

By 

Hande Z (Singapore) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Oxford BBC Guide to Pronunciation (Hardcover)

We could use a few different dictionaries, compact ones, medium-sized ones, reference-sized ones, and perhaps, from different publishers; but most of us would not likely have more than one guide book on pronunciation. The Oxford BBC Guide to Pronunciation is probably the choice guide. Its 432 pages are packed neatly in a compact 12cm x 18cm dimension. It is arranged in alphabetical order but it includes proper names of people and places. We find Rudyard Kipling and Kisangani (a city in Congo) on the same page. Each word has a brief but adequate description. "Eowyn" is described as "character from ' The Lord of the Rings'" (and pronounced as "ay-oh-win"; the emphasis on "ay" is marked in bold). It also has short, page-length descriptions and explanations concerning the pronunciation of major languages such as German, French, and Portuguese. There is also a section the use of "clicks" in certain languages. The pronunciation guide is easy to use and so this book is unlikely to mystify the reader as to what how to pronounce the guide words or how to read the pronunciation symbols. Any disappointments? Well, "Ralph Fiennes" was not in it. John Gielgud's there though.

5.0 out of 5 stars Very useful book, February 24, 2010

By 

K. H. Newman (Wellington, NZ) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Oxford BBC Guide to Pronunciation (Hardcover)

A useful and easy to use book. While the standard Oxford English Dictionary contains pronunciation in IPA it is neither as wide ranging or easy to use. One of the more useful things is the wide range of foreign pronunciation. Also its compact form means it is easy to keep at hand. A very good book for anyone who wants people to understand in professions where speech matters.