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Q1) What is the meaning of the small h (superscript h) in the phonetic symbols of which shown in Collins?

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ʰwɪ̠tʃ

  1. the small h means 'complete silence' (= just ignore h)
  2. the small h means 'pronounce it but very weakly'
  3. the small h means 'pronounce it a little weakly'

Q2) Is there a similar case other than h? (a superscript alphabet in the phonetic symbols of a certain word)

I've searched knife but there is no superscript k in the phonetic symbols.

Andrew Leach
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imida k
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    In careful, correct English (British English, at least - see this), wh at the beginning of a word is pronounced like hw. I notice that the speaker in the audio doesn't actually do so - as most people don't unless, for example, they want to distinguish between Wales and whales. – Kate Bunting Mar 26 '22 at 08:27
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    @KateBunting in 71 years of speaking English (I'm 72 but most of us don't speak until we're 12 months old at least) I've never realised that the 'wh' sound is actually pronounced with the sounds the opposite way round. Isn't that odd? – BoldBen Mar 26 '22 at 08:46
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    I'm not sure there is anything to add to a comprehensive Wikipedia entry – Andrew Leach Mar 26 '22 at 09:19
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    Thank you, "Superscript IPA letters may be used to indicate secondary articulation, releases and other transitions, shades of sound, epenthetic and incompletely articulated sounds" – imida k Mar 26 '22 at 09:39
  • But, it is still vague at least for me. What is the ultimate meaning of superscript h..? – imida k Mar 26 '22 at 09:42
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    Most of the wh- question words come from Old English versions starting hw-, in this case where was hwelc and there a residue of this in the pronounciation – Henry Mar 26 '22 at 11:28
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    Read the dictionary's pronunciation guide and all your questions will be answered. https://blog.collinsdictionary.com/ipa-pronunciation-guide-cobuild/ – Stuart F Mar 26 '22 at 11:48
  • Thank you, in fact it was the first time I thought about pronunciation. Now I feel my question was not very good, – imida k Mar 28 '22 at 01:32

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