Audiences refers to groups of people who listen, watch, or read a performance, speech, or media presentation. It denotes the collective recipients of communicative content, typically considered in terms of size, composition, or reaction. The term focuses on those who observe, engage, or respond, rather than the producer or presenter.
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US: /ˈɔː.dɪ.ən.sɪz/ or /ˈɔː.djuː.ən.sɪz/ in some dialects, with a slightly feinted /ɹ/ or rhoticity; UK: /ˈɔː.dɪ.ən.sɪz/ with a strong /ɔː/ and shorter /ɪ/ in the second syllable; AU: /ˈɔː.dɪ.ən.sɪz/ with flat, clear final /ɪz/; notable tendencies: subtle vowel shifts, less rounded /ɔː/ in some regions. Include careful articulation of the central syllable /ən/ and the final /sɪz/.
"The comedian tailored jokes to his diverse audiences."
"Global audiences now expect captions and translations in live streams."
"The festival drew audiences from three continents."
"Researchers analyzed audience feedback to adjust the exhibit tour."
Audiences comes from the Old French audience, from the Latin audientia, from audire “to hear.” The Latin root aud- links to hearing and listening. In English, audience originally referred to a group gathered to hear a speaker, with the idea of listening collectively. The word traveled into Middle English and developed to denote both the people who listen and, by extension, the group’s dynamic in a performance or address. Over time, the plural form audiences consolidated its meaning as a classifiable group of listeners or onlookers as opposed to performers. The term’s semantic evolution mirrors broader shifts in rhetoric and media, where the audience is treated as a target or contingent group for communication strategies, demographic analysis, and feedback. First known use in English dates to the 15th–16th centuries, with records in dramatic and sermon contexts. The pluralization reflects plural groups assembled for public instruction, entertainment, or information, and has remained stable in contemporary usage across journalism, theater, academia, and broadcasting.
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Words that rhyme with "audiences"
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Pronounce it as /ˈɔː.di.əns.ɪz/ in US and UK usage, with the primary stress on the first syllable. Break it into three parts: AU-di-ən-siz, where the -s at the end is voiced as /z/. For smoother connected speech, you can link: /ˈɔː.di.ən.sɪz/. Mouth: start with an open back rounded vowel in the first syllable, move to a schwa-like middle (·di·ən), then a relaxed /sɪz/ at the end. Listening reference: try saying it slowly, then speeding up while keeping the /ɔː/ quality and the final /z/.”,
Common errors: misplacing the stress to a later syllable or saying /ˈɔː.di .ɛn.sɪz/ with a flat second syllable; dropping the /ə/ in the middle (saying /ˈɔː.di.an.sɪz/); or finalizing with a voiced /z/ that’s too strong. Correction: keep the middle syllable as a short schwa /ə/ or /ɪ/ depending on speed, and ensure the final consonant is a clear /z/ without voicing that bleeds into the preceding vowel. Practice with slow tempo, then normalize.
US and UK share /ˈɔː.di.ən.sɪz/ but US might reduce /di/ to /də/ in fast speech, yielding /ˈɔː.dən.sɪz/. Australia tends to maintain the /ɔː/ quality, with slightly sharper /s/ before the final /ɪz/?V. In general, rhoticity is not the issue; the main differences are vowel length and quality in the first syllable, and the subtle vowel transitions in the middle syllable. Aim for consistent /ˈɔː.di.ən.sɪz/ as a neutral target; adjust to your accent’s vowel shifts in practice.
The difficulty lies in the sequence of three syllables with a stressed first syllable and a fast, weak middle syllable /di.ən/. The /iə/ diphthong in the middle of some variants and the final cluster /nsɪz/ can trap the tongue. Also, the liaison opportunities in connected speech can blur boundaries if you don’t keep the /ən/ vs /ə/ distinct. Focusing on clear middle /ən/ and final /sɪz/ helps.
A unique feature is the transition from a stressed open vowel to a reduced schwa before the /n/ in many accents, creating a brief /di.ən/ sequence before the final /sɪz/. The /ɔː/ vowel is long and tense in many dialects, which can influence neighboring vowels. Paying attention to the mid syllable’s vowel reduction and the final /z/ is key.
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