[General] Pronunciation of "says" in the kid song

[EngFan]

Dear all,

The following song is called "Annie Apple", but I don't know why the singer pronounces "says" as seɪs, not sez, do you think it is an incorrect pronunciation?


Download Says - MP3 Ringtone Says by Says - Free Music Hosting


EngFan

 

[Tdol]

You will hear some speakers using that pronunciation.
It sounds a bit odd to me- music often makes for strange pronunciation, but there's no reason here that I can see for it. She might be over-emphasising a bit to try to sound clearer.

 

[jack4321]

This word would be in a musical way.....

 

[EngFan]

You will hear some speakers using that pronunciation.
It sounds a bit odd to me- music often makes for strange pronunciation, but there's no reason here that I can see for it. She might be over-emphasising a bit to try to sound clearer.

This song comes from the well-known educational publisher, it teaches young children to learn phonics, it should be accurate in all pronunciations, so I feel so strange how come she pronounces the Says sound like this, I don't know if I should play this CD to my baby daughter, please advise.

 

[BobK]

This song comes from the well-known education publisher, it teaches young children to learn phonics, it should be accurate[STRIKE]d[/STRIKE] in all pronunciations, so I feel so strange how come she pronounces the Says sound like this, I don't know if I should play this CD to my baby daughter, please advise.

You cant say 'should'; English doesn't work like that. An educational publisher may have various aims at various times. On this occasion, their aim seems to be to show how some speakers actually speak. It would be impossible, anyway, to be 'accurate in all pronunciations'; one speaker can only produce one pronunciation.

I don't know, as I never visit sites that have 'free' and 'ringtone' in their name, but this may be an example of a song preserving an old sound to produce a rhyme - that is, it was pronounced [seɪz] in the dialect of the first singer and has stayed that way in the context of the song.*

My advice is to use the CD if the music is good. There will be plenty of opportunities for your daughter to learn the right sound from other sources.

b

*PS I can't think of an example from a song, but here's one from a poem:

There was a little girl
Who had a little curl
Right in the middle of her forehead.
When she was good she was very very good
But when she was bad she was horrid.

The rhyme depends on a pronunciation of 'forehead' (/'fɔrɪd/) which is dying out - my grandfather used it but my children don't. My own usage varies

 

[Tdol]

And not all people pronounce the same word the same way. It sounded harmless enough to me, though I know next to nothing about small children. ;-)

 

[5jj]

I know next to nothing about small children. ;-)

Avoid them, if at all possible. They are loathesome animals.