How To Pronounce Torture

torture

Phonemic

/ˈtɔː.tʃə/

Phonetic

[ˈtʰʷɔːʴ.tʃəʴ]

Phonemic

/ˈtɔːr.tʃɚ/

In British English, torture is pronounced /ˈtɔː.tʃə/. The narrow phonetic transcription is [ˈtʰʷɔːʴ.tʃəʴ]. In American English, it is pronounced /ˈtɔːr.tʃɚ/.

Torture has two syllables, and the main stress falls on the first syllable. The British and American pronunciations are different, so listen to both.

Slashes / / show the phonemic transcription, the sounds that change meaning. Square brackets [ ] show the phonetic transcription, with the finer detail of how the sounds are actually made.

Syllables, Stress And Endings

Syllables And Stress

tɔːtʃə

Torture has two syllables in British English, and the main stress is on the first syllable, shown in colour above. Its stress pattern is Oo, where O is the stressed syllable.

torture + -s

-s (plural, possessive or singular verb) is /z/ after a voiced consonant or a vowel sound.

/ˈtɔː.tʃəz/

/ˈtɔːr.tʃɚz/

torture + -ed

-ed (past tense or past participle) is /d/ after a voiced consonant or a vowel sound.

/ˈtɔː.tʃəd/

/ˈtɔːr.tʃɚd/

torture + -ing

-ing is always /ɪŋ/. In UK English a linking /r/ is added because the spelling ends in -r.

/ˈtɔː.tʃə.rɪŋ/

/ˈtɔːr.tʃɚ.ɪŋ/

Questions About Torture

How do you pronounce torture in British English?

In British English, torture is pronounced /ˈtɔː.tʃə/. The narrow phonetic transcription is [ˈtʰʷɔːʴ.tʃəʴ].

How do you pronounce torture in American English?

In American English, torture is pronounced /ˈtɔːr.tʃɚ/.

How many syllables are in torture?

Torture has two syllables, /tɔː/ + /tʃə/.

Where is the stress in torture?

The main stress is on the first syllable, /tɔː/.

Do British and American English pronounce torture the same way?

No. British English has /ˈtɔː.tʃə/ and American English has /ˈtɔːr.tʃɚ/.

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Other Words With The Stress Pattern Oo

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