4 syllables: e, mi, gra, tion. Stress on gra.
/ˌɛmɪˈɡɹeɪʃən/
Say it backEmigration is the act of leaving one’s country to live in another, typically for long-term residence. It denotes the movement away from a homeland, often for economic, political, or social reasons, and can contrast with immigration, which is entering a new country. The term emphasizes the departure rather than arrival.
- You miss the strong secondary stress on the third syllable by rushing the /ɡreɪ/ part. Practice separating /ˌɛmɪ/ from /ˈɡreɪʃn̩/ and keep the pause natural. - The /eɪ/ diphthong should glide from /e/ to /ɪ/ or /ɪə/ lightly; avoid flattening to a single vowel. - Final syllabic /n̩/ is light and nasal; avoid adding a full /ən/ after it. - People often insert an extra syllable between /ɡreɪ/ and /ʃn̩/; keep /ɡreɪ/ tight, then quickly move to /ʃn̩/.
"She documented her emigration from Ireland to Canada during the 1990s."
"Policy shifts encouraged emigration to reduce domestic unemployment."
"The refugee upheaval increased long-distance emigration in the region."
You say emigration as /ˌɛmɪˈɡreɪʃn̩/. The stress falls on the third syllable: e-mi-GRAY-tion. Start with a short “eh” sound, then a quick “mih” followed by the stressed “GRAY” with an unfixed vowel, then a light “shn” syllable and a syllabic n. Mouth positions: lips neutral to slightly spread, tongue for the second syllable high-mid, and the final schwa-less nasal train. Listen for the subtle /ɡr/ cluster before the /eɪ/ diphthong and the final syllabic nasal /n̩/.
Common errors: misplacing stress (saying /ˌɛmɪˈɡreɪʃən/ with stress on the wrong syllable); mispronouncing the /eɪ/ as a pure /e/ or /aɪ/ (you want the /eɪ/ diphthong in GRAY); neutralizing the final /n̩/ to a full syllable /ən/ (the final syllabic n is faster and lighter). To correct: emphasize the /ˈɡreɪ/ portion, keep the /t/ sound absent, and end with a quick, vowel-reduced /n̩/ rather than /ən/; practice by isolating /ɡreɪ/ and then attaching the trailing /ʃn̩/.
In US English, place primary stress on the third syllable: /ˌɛmɪˈɡreɪʃn̩/. UK English mirrors this but with slightly crisper consonants and less rhoticity in connected speech for some speakers; the /r/ in /ɡreɪ/ is not rhotically emphasized. Australian English keeps a similar rhythm but often features a more centralized vowel in unstressed positions and a clearer separation between /æ/ and /ɪ/ in the first syllable, with the /t/ silent. Overall, stress and the quality of the /eɪ/ and /ɪ/ vowels are consistent, but vowel height and length can vary subtly.
Two main challenges: the multisyllabic rhythm and the /ɡreɪ/ cluster. The /ɡreɪ/ diphthong demands a precise glide into a high front vowel and tight articulation of the /r/ before the vowel, then a rapid transition into /ʃ/ that precedes the final /n̩/. The final syllable is a syllabic nasal, so you must keep the tongue in a high, relaxed position without adding a schwa. Practicing the sequence in slow tempo helps stabilize the coarticulation.
Is the 'g' in emigration pronounced as a hard /g/ as in 'go', or is it softened due to the following /r/ and /eɪ/? Answer: it is a hard /ɡ/ as in 'go', followed by the /r/ sequence in /ɡreɪ/; the /g/ remains a hard stop before the /r/ and the vowel, not a softened /dʒ/ or /tʃ/ sound. Keep the /ɡ/ clearly released and immediately followed by /r/ to preserve the natural rhythm.
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- US: pronounce /ˌɛmɪˈɡreɪʃn̩/ with a clear /ɡ/ and rapid /ʃn̩/ cluster; maintain rhoticity in connected speech elsewhere but not within this word. - UK: similar structure, often crisper consonants and slightly shorter vowels; n-syllable is kept light. - AU: tends toward a slightly broader vowel at /ɪ/ in /ɪmɪ/ and a clean /ɡreɪ/; syllabic /n̩/ remains compact. Reference IPA transcriptions and note that stress stays on the third syllable; focus on the /ɡr/ transition and the final /n̩/.
Emigration comes from the Late Latin emigratio, from the verb emigrare meaning to move away, leave, or depart. The Latin prefix e- (out) combined with migrare (to move, to wander) yields emigrare, and the noun emigratio denotes a going out from one country or homeland. In English, emigration entered usage in the medieval and early modern periods as a term primarily used in the context of population movement across borders. Its semantic field grew to contrast with immigration (an arrival) and internal migration. The root migra- is found in other related terms like migrate, migratory, and migration, all tracing to Latin migrare. Over time, emigration has taken on both broad and specific senses, including voluntary departure for better opportunities and forced displacement, though in contemporary usage it most often carries a voluntary, destination-specific nuance. First known use in English appears in the 16th–17th centuries, with evolving social and political contexts—colonial expansion, economic migration, and global diaspora movements—shaping its prominence in demographic discourse.
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Words that rhyme with "emigration"
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