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How is the word 'recursion' pronounced?

Oxford learner's dictionary lists it with /rɪˈkɜː(r)ʃn/ but Google serach shows /rəˈkərZHən/. never heard the later one anywhere else.

darshanz
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    What do you mean with "Google search shows"? When I type the word in Google, it gives me /rɪˈkəːʃ(ə)n/ – oerkelens Jun 04 '18 at 16:44
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    In my experience, the "sh" and "zh" sounds in the two pronunciations of the "-sion" in "recursion" are very similar--almost indistinguishable in normal relaxed speech. The "zh" pronunciation is more common in the US. – tautophile Jun 04 '18 at 16:44
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    I would personally pronounce it with /ʃ/ in BrE, but with /ʒ/ in AmE. Not sure if that’s just me, or if that’s generally true. – Janus Bahs Jacquet Jun 04 '18 at 17:01
  • /z/ being the voiced version of /ʃ/, the former is easier to pronounce. But both are correct. Specialized context : https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/recursion 2:48 https://youtu.be/WPSeyjX1-4s https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/recursion?q=recursion http://assets.press.princeton.edu/chapters/s9424.pdf – Aluna Jun 04 '18 at 17:52

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Words ending in -rsion tend to be pronounced with /ʒ/ in American English for some reason, but they can also be pronounced with /ʃ/, and that seems to be the standard pronunciation in other parts of the world.

Teflpedia says

Several words are pronounced either with /ʒ/ or with /ʃ/. In most cases the difference is regional, with General American preferring /ʒ/ and Received Pronunciation preferring /ʃ/. [...]

/ʃ/,BrE /ʒ/ or /ʃ/AmE

  • cashmere, coercion
  • ending in "rsion": aversion, conversion, dispersion, excursion, immersion, perversion, version

I hadn't known before that some American English speakers apparently use /ʒ/ in "cashmere" and "coercion".

herisson
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  • Thanks, As Oxford Learners Dictionary showed with /ʃ/ for both BrE and AmE. So I was confused. Apparently, pronunciation with /ʃ/ sounds more common. – darshanz Jun 05 '18 at 13:09