Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

davidkent · Joined: 14 Jul 2003 Posts: 11

How do you pronounce "genre," as in music genre?
I've read it often in a printed form but never heard it said.
Is it like JEN-RIE or JE-NARE...

obelix · Joined: 09 Feb 2003 Posts: 304

zhonruh.
The "n" is barely discernable when pronounced correctly.
The stress is on the first syllable.

davidkent · Joined: 14 Jul 2003 Posts: 11

bud · Joined: 09 Mar 2003 Posts: 2111 Location: New Jersey, US

It's a word that English has borrowed, probably from French. So it is not pronounced in an expected way. The "g" sounds like "zh," and the "re" sounds like "rah."

Here's a link to a talking dictionary where you can hear it pronounced:

http://beta.encarta.msn.com/encnet/features/dictionary/dictionaryhome.aspx

davidkent · Joined: 14 Jul 2003 Posts: 11

Thanks for the talking dictionary.
According to the wave file the word sounded like "Zhan"
It totally left out the "ruh" part.

bud · Joined: 09 Mar 2003 Posts: 2111 Location: New Jersey, US

No, the "ruh" is there, but it is such a short sound that your ear is not experienced enough to pick it up.

Try saying "zhan" a few times, and then listten to the file again. Maybe you can at least hear the "r" (if not the "uh") at the end that makes it a little different from what you had been repeating.