2 syllables: Mar, mot. Stress on Mar.
MAHR-maht
/ˈmɑɹmɑt/
Marmot is pronounced MAHR-maht (/ˈmɑɹmɑt/). It has two syllables (Mar-mot), with the stress on "Mar". Marmot is a medium-sized rodent of the genus Marmota, known for living in mountainous regions and hibernating through winter. In common usage, it refers to several species, including the groundhog. The word denotes a specific animal, typically found in European and North American alpine environments, and is often encountered in science, wildlife, and nature contexts.
nounMarmot is a medium-sized rodent of the genus Marmota, known for living in mountainous regions and hibernating through winter. In common usage, it refers to several species, including the groundhog. The word denotes a specific animal, typically found in European and North American alpine environments, and is often encountered in science, wildlife, and nature contexts.
- Do not add an extra vowel in the second syllable (avoid /ˈmɑːr.mɑː.t/ with schwa); keep /t/ as a true voiceless alveolar plosive, not a silent or elongated sound. - Avoid reducing the first syllable stress (you want strong, clear /ˈmɑːr/ rather than /ˈmɑːr/ with weak onset). - Don't substitute /ɒ/ for /ɑː/ in the second syllable depending on your accent; maintain the longer /ɑː/ or the shorter UK /ɒ/ as appropriate to your dialect.
"The marmot perched on the rock ledge and watched the valley below."
"Scientists studied how marmots store fat before hibernation."
"A marmot chirp echoed through the alpine meadow, signaling mates."
Marmot is pronounced with two syllables: /ˈmɑːr.mɑːt/ in US and AU, and /ˈmɑː.mɒt/ in UK. Stress is on the first syllable. Start with the open back unrounded vowel /ɑː/ as in 'father', then a clear /r/ (American rhotics or non-rhotic in some dialects, but this word keeps the /r/ sound where present). End with /t/ after an open, clipped final vowel. Listen closely to the second /mɑːt/ as a steady, non-diphthongated vowel.
Common errors include misplacing the stress (saying maR-mot), mispronouncing the second syllable as /oʊ/ or /ɒt/ instead of a pure /ɑːt/, and softening the final /t/ with a stop-released sound. To correct: keep primary stress on the first syllable, use /mɑː/ for the second syllable, and finish with a crisp /t/ without adding a vowel after it.
In US and AU, you typically hear /ˈmɑːr.mɑːt/ with a pronounced rhotic /r/ and a longer second /ɑː/. In UK English, you’ll hear /ˈmɑː.mɒt/ with a non-rhotic /r/ and a shorter, more centralized second vowel /ɒ/. The key difference is rhoticity and vowel height/quality in the second syllable, which changes the overall timbre of the word between dialects.
The difficulty lies in achieving two stable open back vowels in a two-syllable word and preserving a clean coda /t/ after the second vowel, plus managing the rhoticity (or lack thereof) depending on the accent. The sequence /ˈmɑːr/ or /ˈmɑː/ followed by /mɑːt/ requires careful tongue positioning to avoid vowel collapsing or wrong consonant release, which is a common pitfall for non-native speakers.
Focus on the second syllable: /mɑːt/ without adding a schwa or extra vowel. Keep your jaw steady and avoid turning the second syllable into a diphthong. A practical cue is to imagine the word ending abruptly at /t/: marmot should sound like mar-mot with a crisp stop at the end. Practicing with a quick mouth-close at the final /t/ helps finalize the pronunciation.
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- US/AU: keep rhotic /r/ and broad /ɑː/ in both syllables; emphasize the first syllable and ensure the second vowel remains stable, not a diphthong. Use /ˈmɑːr.mɑːt/; listen to native speakers for timing. - UK: non-rhotic /r/, shorter second vowel /ɒ/; maintain brief, clipped final /t/. Practice with /ˈmɑː.mɒt/. - Across all: keep mouth relaxed but focused on the second syllable’s throat height; use IPA guides for accuracy and rely on a slow whistle-like /r/ if applicable.
The term marmot comes from the French marmotte, which itself derives from the Alpine French dialects, ultimately tracing to the Late Latin marmotta, from Italian marmotta. The root forms spread through Occitan and other Romance languages, reflecting a long-standing knowledge of the animal in alpine Europe. In English, marmot first appeared in the 16th century, likely via French or Italian scientific and travel writing, to denote the alpine rodent. Over time, the word broadened to include several species within the genus Marmota, including the well-known groundhog (Eastern marmot) in North America. The name has retained its zoological sense and is now a common reference in biology, ecology, and wildlife observation. The semantic evolution tracks a shift from a regional mammal label to a general taxonomic and common-language designation, with the core sense of an alpine, hibernating rodent constant across centuries.
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Words that rhyme with "Marmot"
-me) sounds
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