5 syllables: com, mu, ni, ca, ting. Stress on mu.
kuh-MYOO-nuh-kay-ting
/kəˈmjunəˌkeɪtɪŋ/
communicating is pronounced kuh-MYOO-nuh-kay-ting (/kəˈmjunəˌkeɪtɪŋ/). It has five syllables (com-mu-ni-ca-ting), with the stress on "mu". Communicating refers to the act of conveying or exchanging information, ideas, or feelings through speech, writing, or other expressive means. It involves encoding messages, transmitting them, and decoding responses, often requiring clarity, empathy, and context awareness to ensure mutual understanding.
Communicating refers to the act of conveying or exchanging information, ideas, or feelings through speech, writing, or other expressive means. It involves encoding messages, transmitting them, and decoding responses, often requiring clarity, empathy, and context awareness to ensure mutual understanding.
- You may drop the /j/ after /m/ and say /ˈmuː.nɪ.keɪ.tɪŋ/; fix: reproduce the /j/ as /mjuː/ to link syllables. - You might reduce the /nɪ/ to a reduced vowel or omit syllable boundary; fix: keep /nɪ/ as clear, short vowel before /keɪ/. - Final -ing often elides to /ɪn/ in fast speech; fix: keep /ɪŋ/ with a nasal release. - Misplacing stress (on /nɪ/ or /keɪ/); fix: hold primary stress on the /ˈmjuː/ and secondary /ˌkeɪ/ as you say the word.
"She is skilled at communicating complex ideas to non specialists."
"The workshop focused on communicating effectively across cultures."
"In a leadership role, you must be confident in communicating expectations to your team."
Phonetically: /kəˈmjuː.nɪˌkeɪ.tɪŋ/ (US/UK/AU share the same core). Stress falls on the second syllable: mu. Start with a schwa /kə/ as a light, unstressed onset, then /ˈmjuː/ as the stressed syllable with a palatal approximant /j/ after /m/. Follow with /nɪ/ (short, lax) and /ˌkeɪ/ (diphthong makes the /eɪ/ as in ‘cake’). End with /tɪŋ/ with a clear /t/ and a velar nasal /ŋ/. Mouth: keep lips relaxed for /k/ and /kə/; raise the tongue slightly for /j/; keep the /n/ alveolar; and finish with a light touch of /ŋ/. Audio references: you can compare with Cambridge/Dictionaries audio samples or Forvo for regional voices.
Common errors: 1) Misplacing stress on the first syllable (co‑mu‑nicate‑ing). Correction: keep /ˈmjuː/ as the emphasized unit. 2) Skipping the /j/ sound after /m/ (pronouncing /muː/ as in ‘mood’). Correction: insert the /j/ palatal approximant to form /mjuː/. 3) Reducing the /tɪŋ/ ending to a quick /tɪn/ or /tɪŋ/ without final release. Correction: allow full /t/ + /ɪŋ/ with a crisp onset and held nasal. 4) Tensing the /k/ too much or turning /k/ into a hard stop without aspiration. Correction: maintain a clean, unaspirated onset after schwa.
In US/UK/AU, /kəˈmjuː.nɪˌkeɪ.tɪŋ/ remains similar, but rhoticity matters: US tends to pronunce /r/ only in rhotic accents; here there is no /r/ in the cluster. Vowel length: US often substitutes a slightly longer /uː/ in /mjuː/; UK tends to a tighter /juː/ with less lip rounding; AU often merges /juː/ and /uː/ with a mid-central Quality. The diphthong in /keɪ/ can be purer in UK than US. The /t/ is usually a tapped or flapped in casual US speech before another vowel but not here; in careful speech /t/ remains a crisp alveolar plosive. Overall, maintain the same syllable structure with small vowel shifts.
The difficulty lies in the coordination of multisyllabic stress and the sequence /ˈmjuː.nɪˌkeɪ.tɪŋ/: you need a strong secondary stress on the /ˌkeɪ/ and a smooth glide from /m/ to /j/ to /n/. The combination of schwa at the start and the cluster /ˈmjuː/ can tempt vowel reduction or dropping the /j/. Additionally, the final /tɪŋ/ requires precise tongue placement and nasalization. Practice keeping each segment distinct while maintaining a natural pace.
Yes. The segment /kəˈmjuː-/ begins with a light, unstressed /kə/ leading into a strong /ˈmjuː/ with the initial /m/ and the palatal /j/ that creates a 'you' sound quality: the mouth transitions from the neutral schwa to a rounded, high front vowel. The /j/ approximant should not be silent; it links smoothly into the /nɪ/ of the next syllable. This connected flow is essential for natural pronunciation; lack of the /j/ results in a choppy, less fluent delivery.
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- US: rhotic accents may influence the alveolar plosive realization; keep /k/ crisp and do not add extraneous r-coloring. - UK: lean into the tighter /juː/ vowel in /mjuː/ and maintain non-rhoticity; - AU: a more relaxed jaw and slightly broader vowel shapes; maintain /ˈmjuː/ with a clear /j/ glide. IPA cues: US /kəˈmjuː.nɪˌkeɪ.tɪŋ/, UK /kəˈmjuː.nɪˌkeɪ.tɪŋ/, AU /kəˈmjuː.nɪˌkeɪ.tɪŋ/.
Communicating comes from the Middle French comunicier (to share, to impart) from Late Latin communicare (to share, make common). The Latin root communis means “common, shared.” The verb form in English emerged in the 16th century via French and Latin influences, originally tied to sharing information or feelings. Over time, its usage broadened from mere sharing to the broader act of exchanging messages through speech, writing, or signaling. The suffix -ing marks ongoing action, giving “communicating” a sense of process rather than a discrete event. First known uses appear in scholarly and legal contexts where clear transmission of information was essential, then expanding into general use as societies placed greater emphasis on dialogue, collaboration, and intercultural exchange. In contemporary English, communicating emphasizes the dynamic nature of interaction—encoding, transmitting, and decoding messages in real time—and is central to professional, digital, and social communication practices.
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Words that rhyme with "communicating"
-ing sounds
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