rik-AWR-dur
/ɹɪˈkɔɹdɚ/
recorder is pronounced rik-AWR-dur (/ɹɪˈkɔɹdɚ/). Recorder refers to a person or device that records sounds or images, or to a musical wind instrument in the recorder family. The term denotes the action or instrument used to capture audio or video data, or the hollow wooden/plastic flute-like instrument with finger holes. In common usage, it most often means the device for capturing audio, but the musical instrument sense is frequent in music education contexts.
Recorder refers to a person or device that records sounds or images, or to a musical wind instrument in the recorder family. The term denotes the action or instrument used to capture audio or video data, or the hollow wooden/plastic flute-like instrument with finger holes. In common usage, it most often means the device for capturing audio, but the musical instrument sense is frequent in music education contexts.
- You may default to RE-corder; remember the stress falls on COR in standard usage. - Some learners over-shortify the middle vowel, turning /ɔː/ into a lax /ɔ/; keep it long to match the stressed syllable. - Final '-der' sometimes becomes a hard /ər/ in non-rhotic accents; aim for /dər/ in American, /də/ in UK/AU depending on casual vs careful speech.
"The journalist used a handheld recorder to capture the interview."
"Children learn to play the recorder in music class."
"She kept a digital recorder by the desk to document her studies."
Say re-COR-der with the primary stress on the second syllable: /rɪˈkɔː.dər/ in US, /rɪˈkɔː.də/ in UK/AU. Start with a light ‘ri’-sound, then an open two-syllable flow, ending with a soft ‘der’ or ‘dər’ depending on accent. Audio references: [IPA helps], imagine ‘record’ plus -er, but with the stress shifted to -COR-. Mouth: keep lips relaxed, jaw lowered for /ɔː/, and touch the tip of the tongue to the lower teeth ridge for the /ɹ/ sound.” ,
Common errors: (1) placing stress on the first syllable as RE-corder, which softens the intended second-syllable accent; (2) pronouncing /ɔ/ as a short /ɒ/ as in ‘cot’ in UK; (3) adding an extra syllable or mispronouncing the final '-er' as a fully pronounced ‘er’ as in ‘her’ rather than a schwa-plus-r. Correction tips: emphasize -COR- with clear, longer vowel /ɔː/ or /ɔː/ depending on accent, keep final -der as /dər/ (US) or /də/ (UK/AU), and avoid turning the final syllable into a separate vowel.
US: /rɪˈkɔː.dər/ with rhotic /r/, final /ər/; UK/AU: /rɪˈkɔː.də/ often non-rhotic in some speakers and a shortened final /ə/; overall vowel in the stressed /ɔː/ remains long. The main difference is the rhoticity and the ending vowel quality. In some UK dialects, the final syllable may be reduced more strongly to /ə/; in AU, you’ll often hear /rɪˈkɔːd(ə)/ with a non-rhotic tendency in careful speech but with an audible final vowel in casual speech.
The difficulty lies in producing a precise central vowel shift and the stressed non-first syllable. The /ɔː/ vowel in -COR- is long and tense, requiring the jaw to drop and lips to spread slightly. In many dialects, the final -der is reduced to /dər/ or /də/, which can clash with the preceding /ɔː/ if not timed correctly. Also, the initial /r/ and the vowel following it can cause a slippery onset, especially when transitioning from a short /ɪ/ to a long /ɔː/. Practicing with minimal pairs helps smooth the transition.
A key nuance is the stress-alternation potential when the noun vs. verb form is used in related compounds. Though rarely used as a verb in English, many learners default to a stressed-RE-corder pattern when shifting to noun form in compounds (e.g., voice recorder, video recorder). Staying with the standard noun stress pattern re-COR-der avoids misplacement and ensures clarity across devices and instruments.
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- US: rhotic /r/ at the start, long /ɔː/ in the stressed syllable; final /ər/ more prominent in careful speech. - UK/AU: often non-rhotic; final /də/ or /də/ in many speakers; keep /ɔː/ long but avoid vowel reduction in formal contexts. - IPA guidance: US /rɪˈkɔː.dər/, UK /rɪˈkɔː.də/, AU /rɪˈkɔː.də/. - Key vowels: ensure /ɔː/ is not reduced to /ɒ/; keep lips rounded and jaw dropped slightly for authentic /ɔː/. - Practice with mouth positions: start with relaxed lips for the onset, then open jaw to allow /ɔː/ to settle before final /d/ + schwa.
Recorder comes from the verb record, with the agentive suffix -er indicating an entity that performs the action. The root record derives from Old French recorder and Latin recordare, from re- ‘again’ + cor ‘heart’ in a figurative sense of 'to remember' (though the exact Latin root for record is recordari). The instrument sense emerged in Middle English as a type of pipe or flute used for teaching and performing, and the verb spelling was reinforced by analogies to other -er instruments (singer, violinist). The modern sense converged in the 19th and 20th centuries with the advent of recording devices (tape, audio, video), where the device itself became the subject named by the verb to record. First known uses appear in the 14th–15th centuries for “to recall in writing,” with the musical and device senses solidifying by the 18th–19th centuries as technology and formalized music education expanded. The word now spans digital, analog, and musical contexts, retaining the core meaning of capturing data or performances for later playback.
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💡 These words have similar meanings to "recorder" and can often be used interchangeably.
🔄 These words have opposite meanings to "recorder" and show contrast in usage.
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Words that rhyme with "recorder"
-der sounds
Practice with these rhyming pairs to improve your pronunciation consistency:
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