Question

How do you pronounce ‘ekphrastic’?

Answer 1

Hint: Try to say the word out loud. This will clear up the different pronunciations of the vowels. Make sure that all the possible pronunciations of the word are trialled. Then, choose the most appropriate one.

Complete answer: A transliteration doesn’t tell you anything about the meaning of the word at all, but it helps you to pronounce them. Transliteration changes the letters from one alphabet or language into the respective, similar-sounding letters of another alphabet. The only way to correctly guess the answer is to try and match the sound of the word to the spelling of the word.

However, the problem with the English language is that words in this language are not pronounced the way they are written all the time. The spellings are extremely deceiving, which means that there are multiple possible pronunciations of the word ‘ekphrastic’. The way to correctly identify the pronunciation that is required is to find out the origins of the word.

Let us understand what the word means and its origins. The origins of a word can also help to find the right pronunciations. The word ‘ekphrastic’ refers to ‘the use of detailed description of a work of visual art as a literary device’. The origin of the word is Greek. It comes from the Greek words ‘ek’ which refers to ‘out’ and ‘phrazein’ which means ‘tell’. What we know about Greek is that the vowels are closed if followed by the letter ‘k’. This gives us important information such as the way that the first syllable is pronounced. The latter part of the word is extremely anglicized. The first syllable is very Greek, although pronounced in an English manner.

The only way that the word can be correctly pronounced is ‘eck-frass-tick’.

Note: The way to write the answer is the transliteration of the given word. It should be written as it is pronounced. This is the only way to write the correct answer. The origins of the word can also be a big help.