One syllable: Borne.
bawrn
/bɔɹn/
Borne is pronounced bawrn (/bɔɹn/). It has one syllable (Borne), with the stress on "Borne". Borne is a past participle adjective meaning carried, worn, or endured. In everyday use, it describes something that has been carried or endured to a certain extent, often implying merit or burden. When used before a noun, it conveys the sense of having been carried or produced (as in “borne by us”) or existing in a state resulting from carrying or bearing.
adjectiveBorne is a past participle adjective meaning carried, worn, or endured. In everyday use, it describes something that has been carried or endured to a certain extent, often implying merit or burden. When used before a noun, it conveys the sense of having been carried or produced (as in “borne by us”) or existing in a state resulting from carrying or bearing.
- You often mispronounce /ɔː/ as /ɑː/ or /oʊ/; focus on a rounded, mid-back vowel with slight lip rounding. - You may shorten or drop the /r/ in non-rhotic contexts, making it sound like /bon/; practice attaching the rhotic or ensuring a perceptible /ɹ/ color where appropriate. - You may blur the final /ən/ into a nasal vowel; keep the /n/ clear and avoid schwa-like endings. - In rapid speech, you can compress the vowel into a shorter sound; slow it down to build muscle memory before speeding up. “
How to Pronounce Borne
"The decades of hardship borne by the community taught resilience."
"A monument borne on the shoulders of its scouts stood tall at the parade."
"Her duties were borne with quiet grace despite the pressure."
You pronounce it as /bɔːrn/ in US and UK, rhyming with ‘borne’ and ‘storm’ without the final d. The mouth opens for an open-mid back rounded vowel, with the r-colored quality in rhotic accents. The final consonant is a single rhotic /ɹ/ in US and UK varieties that retain rhoticity; Australian English often matches /ɔː/ for the vowel and a light approximant /n/? depending on the speaker, but generally follows /bɔːn/. In careful speech, stress is on the single syllable. Audio references: listen to dictionaries like Cambridge or Forvo entries for “borne.”
Common errors: 1) Lengthening or misplacing vowel quality; ensure the vowel is the pure /ɔː/ rather than /ɑː/. 2) Dropping the final /r/ in rhotic accents (or overpronouncing it). 3) Confusing with ‘born’ in birth sense. Corrections: keep a tense, rounded mid-back vowel, avoid vowel reduction; produce a clear rhotic /r/ for US/CA and a lightly rhotic or non-rhotic variant in some UK accents if applicable; know the difference between ‘borne’ (carried) and ‘born’ (birth).
In US English, /bɔːrn/ with a rhotic /ɹ/, the vowel is open-mid back and rounded. In many UK accents, /bɔːn/ without a strongly pronounced /r/ (non-rhotic), producing a longer vowel with a non-rhotic ending. In Australian English, /bɔːn/ tends to be similar to UK but with variable rhotics; many speakers approximate /bɔːn/ with a non-rhotic or weakly rhotic approach and a broad, rounded quality. IPA references: US /bɔːɹn/, UK /bɔːn/, AU /bɔːn/.
The difficulty lies in the vowel quality and rhoticity: the /ɔː/ needs to be a precise open-mid back rounded vowel, not /ɑː/ or /ɔ/. The final /n/ can blend in some accents, while the /r/ quality in rhotic varieties affects clarity. For non-rhotic speakers, the absence of a strong /r/ can make it sound like /bon/ or /bɔn/; for rhotic speakers, the /ɹ/ adds a vocalic coloring. Mastery comes from maintaining a stable vowel height and a clear, post-alveolar /ɹ/ (or corresponding non-rhotic equivalent).
No, 'borne' is not silent-letter heavy; the vowel is the long /ɔː/ and the final consonant is /n/ with optional /ɹ/ in rhotic speech. The jota challenge is sustaining consistent length and quality of /ɔː/ and ensuring the /r/ is realized if you’re in a rhotic variety. The key nuance is the difference from ‘born’ (birth) and ensuring the speaker keeps the past-participle sense with a strong, single-syllable vowel. IPA cues and listening to native speakers help solidify it.
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- US: Ensure a clear rhotic /ɹ/, with the tongue curling slightly toward the palate; keep /ɔː/ stable, avoid rounding changes. - UK: Often non-rhotic; the ending may be lighter with a longer /ɔː/; the /ɹ/ may be silent in many dialects, so the vowel length is emphasized. - AU: Similar to UK, with a broader vowel and variable rhoticity; aim for a mid-back rounded vowel with a gentle following nasal /n/. Use IPA /bɔːn/ for transcriptions; pay attention to lip rounding and the depth of the tongue.
Borne derives from the past participle of bear, from Old English beran (to carry, bear) and Germanic roots. The word entered Middle English with the sense of carried or endured, often used in legal, heraldic, or financial contexts (as in “borne by the claimant”). The spelling aligns with the archaic past participle bearer-of things and later settled into adjective usage. It shares lineage with the German boren/bärn family that reflects bearing weight or responsibility. Over time, “borne” broadened beyond physical carrying to abstract burdens, responsibilities, or outcomes, ultimately becoming common in formal prose as a descriptor of something that has been produced, sustained, or carried through by forces or actors. First known written use appears in Middle English texts, with the form consistent in legal charters and poetic usage before the modern era standardized spelling. In modern English, borne is often paired with phrases like “borne by” or used after a noun to indicate a result or responsibility carried by someone or something, while “born” remains the homophone for birth-origin. The semantic shift from literal carrying to figurative burden is a hallmark of its historical development.
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Words that rhyme with "Borne"
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