[General] The pronuncuation of the word breakfast.

[clave2843]

Is there any logical explanation behind the change in pronunciation of compound words such as breakfast?

Why is it not correct to just join the pronunciations of the two original words? I mean, a reason beyond "because everyone says it that way"

 

[emsr2d2]

According to this site, "break" was originally pronounced "breck", not "brake" so actually "breckfast" does retain the pronunciation of the original words.

 

[Raymott]

But surely, ems, you've only shown that 'break' retains the original pronunciation; unless you are asserting also that 'fast' was pronounced 'f'st'.

PS: In any case, there are other words in which the original pronunciation changes:
handkerchief /ˈhæŋkərtʃɪf/, for example, loses the 'd' from 'hand'.

 

[clave2843]

Although the source could be more reputable, the explanation was just what I was looking for. I suppose that a similar explanation could be argued for other cases.

Thank you!

 

[Tdol]

I mean, a reason beyond "because everyone says it that way"

Many of the rules of grammar and pronunciation are based on the principle of following what other people do. It may not sound very scientific or satisfactory, but following other speakers in a speech community is a basic principle.

 

[bubbha]

But surely, ems, you've only shown that 'break' retains the original pronunciation; unless you are asserting also that 'fast' was pronounced 'f'st'.

The vowel of "fast" is reduced to a schwa as a result of being in an unstressed syllable. Compare it with the "man" in "chairman".

Compound words do indeed often take on a life of their own. Consider "boatswain", which is pronounced "bosun".