[Jim McDougall]

Originally Posted by RobT

Hi fernando,
In some parts of Texas "help" is pronounced as almost two syllables (hailp) and in New England "stop" is also almost two syllables (sto-op). Boston's beloved Sox have a similar sound. To accurately spell these sounds without a host of diacritical marks and other notations would be impossible and even if it were possible, the Texas pronunciations differ markedly from those in New England. Go to my native Manhattan and these three words are pronounced entirely differently again. Imagine what it would be like for a native of India, not well versed in English, to come to the United States and try to figure out the correct pronunciation of "help", "stop", and "Sox". Especially after having traveled around the country. Further imagine what it would be like for him to try to spell those words in his native language. There are some that might argue there is a standard American English pronunciation. To them I say in my best Manhattan, "ooz steandid? I would imagine that a word like tulwar that has passed into many languages has a raft of pronunciation variants.
Sincerely,
RobT

Very interesting question Fernando.

Extremely nicely explained Rob ! Thank you so much

All the best,
Jim