/kwoʊˈteɪʃən/
Say it backQuotation refers to a group of words taken from a text or speech and repeated by someone other than the original author, often with quotation marks. It also denotes an instance of citing or quoting something. In broader use, it can describe a cited passage offered as evidence or authority in support of a claim. The term carries formal, literary, or informational connotations depending on context.
- Common phonetic challenges: 1) Weak /t/ in /teɪ/ leading to /ˌkwəˈeɪ.ʃən/ or /ˌkwɪˈteɪ.ən/. Fix: press the tongue to the alveolar ridge for a crisp /t/ before the /eɪ/ vowel. 2) Inadequate vowel length and lip rounding in /kwə/; ensure a reduced but clear schwa /ə/ with rounded lips transitioning to /eɪ/. 3) Mispronouncing /ʃ/ as /s/ or /tʃ/; keep the palato-alveolar /ʃ/ and avoid /ʃn̩/ blends that blur the /ʃ/. Practice with targeted drills and slow speech.
"She opened her essay with a famous quotation from Einstein."
"During the meeting, he quoted the official guidelines word for word."
"The librarian noted the quotation in its proper punctuation style."
Pronounce as /ˌkwəˈteɪʃən/ in US and UK. Primary stress on the third syllable: kwe-TAY-shən; the initial /ˌkwə/ is a light, quick syllable with the 'qu' as /kw/ and the unstressed schwa /ə/. The second syllable carries the main vowel /eɪ/ as in 'say', followed by /ʃən/ with the 'tion' pronounced as -tion /ʃən/. For clarity: /ˌkwəˈteɪ.ʃən/ (US). Audio reference: consult Cambridge or Oxford online dictionaries for native-speaker pronunciation samples.
Common errors: 1) Misplacing stress to the first or second syllable (e.g., /ˈkwəteɪʃən/). Correct it by ensuring the primary stress is on the third syllable: /ˌkwəˈteɪ.ʃən/. 2) Slurring /kw/ into /k/ or mispronouncing /ɪə/ as /eɪ/ in /eɪ/ diphthong. 3) Not fully pronouncing the /t/ in /teɪ/ leading to a softer /teɪ/ or conflating /t/ with /d/. Practice the mid-stress vowel and keep the /ʃ/ clear before /ən/.
US tends to reduce the first syllable with a quick schwa and emphasize the /teɪ/ in the second syllable: /ˌkwəˈteɪ.ʃən/. UK often similar, but with slightly crisper /t/ and less vowel reduction in rapid speech: /ˌkwəˈteɪ.ʃn̩/ in fast connected speech. Australian English often features a clear /ɪə/ or /eɪ/ depending on speaker, but generally maintains /ˌkwəˈteɪ.ʃən/ with subtle vowel quality differences (less rhoticity; vowel durations may vary). All share the /kw/ onset and /ʃən/ coda when final.
The difficulty lies in the triplet onset /kwə/ with a quick unstressed syllable, the mid-stressed /teɪ/ diphthong, and the final /ʃən/ cluster where the tongue rapidly moves from alveolar to palato-alveolar. Keeping stress on the middle-to-late syllable while enunciating /t/ and /ʃ/ crisply requires precise timing and muscular control. Practice with focused minimal pairs to stabilize the syllable nuclei and consonant transitions.
A unique question for quotation is: 'Do I pronounce the /t/ as a true /t/ or as a flap in rapid speech?' Answer: In careful speech you’ll use a crisp /t/: /ˈt/ or /t/ following the /eɪ/. In rapid, connected speech some speakers may realize /t/ as a softer alveolar stop or even elide slightly toward /ʃən/, but standard reference pronunciations keep /t/ clear and the primary stress on the second syllable: /ˌkwəˈteɪ.ʃən/.
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- US: /ˌkwəˈteɪ.ʃən/ with rhoticity not affecting this word; keep /ə/ in first syllable, /eɪ/ in second, /ʃən/ final. - UK: similar, slight vowel sharpening; non-rhotic so post-vocalic /r/ absent; /t/ crisp. - AU: /ˌkwəˈteɪ.ʃən/, sometimes a marginally higher vowel in /eɪ/ and a slightly longer /ə/; reflect the broad affix with a clear /t/. Use IPA-based cues to tune vowel length and consonant precision.
Quotation comes from Old French quotation, derived from Latin quotatio, quotāre meaning “to quote, to cite,” itself based on quot (“how many, several,” from quotus “which, what number”). The-English sense of marking speech as someone else’s began to coalesce in Middle English as scholars, editors, and writers adopted the term to describe cited passages. The root quot- originates from Latin quotus and quotient ideas of “that which is stated” or “that which is said.” Over time, quotation narrowed to refer specifically to a phrase or passage repeated from another author, often enclosed in quotation marks to indicate its status as a cited source. First known uses appeared in Latin scholarly writings, later entering English in legal, literary, and journalistic texts as printing and citation practices formalized. By the modern era, quotation had both a technical meaning in documentation and a broader literary one, encompassing famous lines, quoted speech in journalism, and meta-citation of sources in academic discourse.
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💡 These words have similar meanings to "quotation" and can often be used interchangeably.
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Words that rhyme with "quotation"
-ion sounds
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