2 syllables: men, tion. Stress on men.
MEN-shuhn
/ˈmɛnʃən/
mention is pronounced MEN-shuhn (/ˈmɛnʃən/). It has two syllables (men-tion), with the stress on "men". Mention means to refer to something briefly or to name someone or something in speech or writing. It conveys a casual notification rather than a detailed discussion, and can introduce a topic without making it the main focus. The term is often used in both formal and informal contexts to cue awareness or acknowledgement.
Mention means to refer to something briefly or to name someone or something in speech or writing. It conveys a casual notification rather than a detailed discussion, and can introduce a topic without making it the main focus. The term is often used in both formal and informal contexts to cue awareness or acknowledgement.
"- During the meeting, she mentioned the quarterly results but didn’t go into detail."
"- You forgot to mention that the deadline was moved up."
"- He mentioned your name in conversation, which surprised you."
Say MEN-shən with the primary stress on the first syllable: /ˈmɛn.ʃən/. The t is soft, often realized as a gentle alveolar stop; in fast speech it may be lightly released or reduced to a dental-flap in some varieties, sounding like /ˈmɛn.ʃən/ or /ˈmɛn.ʃn̩/. Mouth posture: lips relaxed, tongue high-mid for /ɛ/, tip of tongue near the alveolar ridge for /n/ and /ʃ/ follows just behind the teeth ridge. You’ll hear a brief, light /t/ or a glottal stop in some accents. Audio resources: listen to Cambridge or Forvo entries and mimic the N-to-ʃ transition smoothly.
Two frequent errors are over-pronouncing the second syllable as /iː/ or fully articulating /tj/ as in /ˈmɛn.tjən/. To correct: keep the second syllable as a reduced /-ən/ or /-ən/ with a relaxed tip-tap for /t/ if present, and ensure /ʃ/ is a single palatal fricative /ʃ/ rather than an /s/ + /j/ sequence. Practice with minimal pairs like 'men' + 'shun' vs 'men-tween' to feel the /ʃən/ boundary. Finally, avoid inserting extra vowel between /n/ and /ʃ/; it should glide directly into /ʃ/.
In US English, the first syllable is clearly stressed: /ˈmɛn.ʃən/ with a rhotic, if present in the surrounding context. UK English also /ˈmen.ʃən/ but the /ɜː/ is not present; rhotics are usually non-rhotic, so the /r/ isn’t pronounced unless followed by a vowel. Australian English follows /ˈmen.ʃən/ with a softer /ɪ/ or /e/ depending on the speaker; the /t/ may be flapped or glottalized in rapid speech. The main differences are vowel quality in /ɛ/ vs /e/ and the degree of rhoticity, plus the tendency to reduce the second syllable more in UK/AU under connected speech.
The difficulty often lies in the /-ən/ ending after /ʃ/, which can reduce quickly in fluent speech, making it easy to mispronounce as /-ɛn/ or /-ion/. The /ˈmɛn/ onset must stay stable while the /ʃ/ blends with a soft, barely audible /ən/. Some speakers insert a subtle intermediate /j/ or /t/ sound, turning it into /mɛnˈtjən/. Mastery comes from practicing the transition between /n/ and /ʃ/ and maintaining clean, quick alveolar contact for the /t/ or its absence.
A distinctive feature is the terminal /ən/ cluster after /ʃ/, which in connected speech frequently reduces to a syllabic nasal /n̩/ or even elides in very fast speech. Paying attention to the exact placement of the /n/ before /ʃ/ helps avoid blending it into a longer /ən/ or misplacing the /t/ altogether. Emphasize the sequence MEN - SHN (where the /n/ lightly accompanies /ʃ/), rather than trying to force a separate strong /t/ sound in casual speech.
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Mention originates from the Old French mesnion or mesnager, derived from late Latin mencio, from Latin mentio, meaning 'mention, reference, hint'. The root ment- relates to mind or memory, via Latin mens, mentis, indicating something brought to mind. In Middle English, mention appeared as mesnion/menacion, reflecting a semantic shift from the act of naming to a brief reference. Over time, the pronunciation and spelling aligned with the modern form 'mention' by the 16th century, with the rst syllable stressed and a reduced second syllable, following English phonotactics. The word has maintained its core sense—calling attention to something in a non-exhaustive way—while expanding to include written and spoken cues in professional discourse, journalism, and everyday talk. By the 19th and 20th centuries, mention became commonplace in academic writing and business communication, often paired with qualifiers like “to briefly mention” or “as mentioned earlier.” Today, it’s a staple term in rhetoric, etiquette, and information retrieval, supporting content cues without derailing main arguments. The evolution mirrors a broader trend toward concise reference in both spoken and written English.
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Words that rhyme with "mention"
-ion sounds
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