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English Pronunciation Guide

English pronunciation can be a problem. Read on!

Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Quay or Key


Slowly but surely the new website is evolving! What we want to do is have some fun with English Pronunciation which, it must be admitted is definitely an object of fun!

One favourite that everybody loves to complain about is the word "quay", which, as everybody knows, is pronounced as the same as "Key" which makes sense, doesn't it? Just as "Quake" is not pronounced "Keek" but more like "Cake", which is rather the other way round.

So a quay is a place on land where boats and ships tie up. Like a harbour-side, dock, pier or wharf. It would, indeed, be interesting to know the differences between all these. Maybe a dock is bigger than a wharf which is not so jutting out into the sea as a pier and not so all encompassing as a harbour.

Probably no one will ever know (unless you Google for "quay pier wharf" and then there seem to be a surprisingly large number of authorities!)


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