Product Description

A Pronouncing Dictionary of American English is a unique guide to the pronunciation of American English that uses the alphabet of the International Phonetic Association. The text covers common words from contemporary American speech and writing, and includes proper names, historical names and literary names.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #163392 in Books
• Published on: 1953-06
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Dimensions: 1.14" h x 6.22" w x 8.68" l, 1.52 pounds
• Binding: Hardcover
• 542 pages

About the Author
John Samuel Kenyon (1874-1959) was an American linguist. He graduated from Hiram College in 1898 and taught there as a professor of English from 1916 to 1944, when he retired and became an emeritus professor until his death. Together with Thomas A. Knott, he wrote A Pronouncing Dictionary of American English (1944), still regarded as a classic guide to American English pronunciation. Kenyon had also earlier published American Pronunciation (1924) and served as the consulting editor of pronunciation to the second edition of Webster's New International Dictionary in his career as a pioneering expert on the study of American English, which earned him the epithet "the dean of American phoneticians".


Thomas Albert Knott was a professor at the University of Chicago.

For more than 150 years, in print and now online, Merriam-Webster has been America's leading and most-trusted provider of language information.

All Merriam-Webster products and services are backed by the largest team of professional dictionary editors and writers in America, and one of the largest in the world.

Customer Reviews

Most helpful customer reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful.
Standard Reference Tool for American English
By G. A. Bomar
I've used this as a required reference in over thirty years of teaching Voice and Phonetics on the college level. In all those years, I've found only three pronunciations that are incorrect and a handful of others that are a little more formal than are currently accepted in non-regional American English pronunciation.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful.
Great for teaching English
By Orange Blossom Meadow
This book is an excellent tool for an ESL tutor. The word pronunciation guide makes American English as clear as it can be.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful.
Not a dictionary of current American pronunciation
By LeBaut
I needed a dictionary of current American pronunciation for ESL teaching and I made the mistake of purchasing this item due to its high rating. If you're in the market for a dictionary which reflects current pronunciation stay clear of this one since it was published in 1943. No language is stagnant and thus a 60-some-year-old dictionary is not doing current American pronunciation justice. It's also lacking with regards to actual words listed (you won't find 'pizza' for example or any IT expressions obviously) and it's obviously not reflective of modern day predominant pronunciation. Contrary to what this dictionary will tell you, words such as cod, caught, bother, father, rock, and coffee (to name a few) are all today predominantly pronounced with the back vowel /a:/ in American English.