How to pronounce own in American English
ohn
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Americans pronounce own as ohn (/oʊn/).
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"He broke his own personal record in the hundred-meter sprint."
hee BROHK hihz ohn PUR·suh·nuhl REH·kerd ihn dhuh HUHN·druhd MEE·der SPRIHNT
"He builds his own computers from individual components."
hee BIHLDZ hihz ohn kuhm·PYOO·derz fruhm ihn·duh·VIH·joo·uhl kuhm·POH·nuhnts
"He writes his own lyrics and composes the melody on his guitar."
hee RAHYTS hihz ohn LEER·uhks and kuhm·POH·zuhz dhuh MEH·luh·dee ahn hihz guh·TAR
"I enjoy visiting art museums to get inspiration for my own work."
ahy uhn·JOY VIH·zuh·tuhng ART myoo·ZEE·uhmz tuh GEHT ihn·spuh·RAY·shuhn fer mahy ohn WURK
"She cited this director as a major influence on her own work."
shee SAHY·duhd dhihs duh·REHK·ter uhz uh MAY·jer IHN·floo·uhns ahn her ohn WURK
"The autoimmune disease causes the body to attack its own tissues."
dhee ah·toh·ih·MYOON duh·ZEEZ KAH·zuhz dhuh BAH·dee tuh uh·TAK ihts ohn TIH·shooz
Questions
Questions people ask about this.
Is the American pronunciation of "own" different from British English?
American English uses different vowel shapes, a relaxed retroflex R, and connected-speech tricks like flap-T and glottal-stop T that British Received Pronunciation generally avoids. The respell "ohn" reflects the casual American form; British dictionaries typically print a citation form with crisper consonants and different vowel choices.
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