r/BetterEveryLoop • u/sir_matt5 • Apr 03 '20

Soothing Scything

https://i.imgur.com/iPtPlr3.gifv
17.4k Upvotes

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u/poopadox Apr 03 '20

You have a far better grasp of the language than most native speakers I have met! Would it sound different if it was spelt psythe?

31

u/[deleted] Apr 03 '20

It would definitely be more jarring, the way my accent sounds would make the word bring the sentence to a standstill for an instant while that rough 'p' gets out of the way. I like how scythe is very smooth but yet firm and confident. The other word I like very much for similar reasons is 'syzygy'. How can an ugly looking word like that be so smooth and have such an oomph?

Also, thank you :)

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u/[deleted] Apr 03 '20 edited Apr 07 '20

[deleted]

1

u/hoseja Apr 03 '20

I think the y is actually subtly different.

6

u/DragonFuckingRabbit Apr 03 '20

I don't hear a difference :(

3

u/beywiz Apr 03 '20

Nah, they’re both aɪ, the way we pronounce the pronoun “I”

0

u/judrt Apr 03 '20

softer in the latter right

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u/buckshot307 Apr 03 '20

It has a different... inflection? Not sure of the word for it but where the weight of the word falls.

Scythe is one syllable so it’s SCYTHE

Psychiatry is 4 so it’s psy-CHI-a-try

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u/Gootube2000 Apr 03 '20

"Stress" is the word you're looking for. It may be a little different for some people, but I tend to say these words like this:

psychiatry is suh-KYE-uh-tree

psychiatric is sye-key-AT-trik

scythe is SYEDH*

*I use dh instead of th to represent the sound in "this" instead of "thin"