tran-SMISH-uhn
/tɹænˈsmɪʃən/
transmission is pronounced tran-SMISH-uhn (/tɹænˈsmɪʃən/). A noun or noun phrase referring to the act or process of transmitting something (such as data, signals, or disease) or the mechanism by which something is transmitted. It can also denote the system or route that conveys signals, information, or energy from one place to another. The term is used across technical, medical, and communications contexts.
A noun or noun phrase referring to the act or process of transmitting something (such as data, signals, or disease) or the mechanism by which something is transmitted. It can also denote the system or route that conveys signals, information, or energy from one place to another. The term is used across technical, medical, and communications contexts.
"The radio system's transmission quality improved after installing new amplifiers."
"Hospitals track the transmission of infections to prevent outbreaks."
"The data transmission rate dropped during peak hours, causing delays."
Pronounce it as trænzˈmɪʃən in US and UK accents, with primary stress on the second syllable. Break it into two chunks: tran-s-MI-sion. Start with 'tran' as /træn/ (t as in top, r with a light alveolar grip, a-schwa-like sound in some faster speech), then 's' blending into 'mi' /mɪ/, and finish with 'sion' /ʃən/ where the 'sh' is clear and the final vowel is a reduced schwa. Listen for a brief secondary tilt on 'mi' in fast speech, and avoid over-enunciating the final '-sion'.
Common errors include turning the second syllable into a hard 'meh' or misplacing the stress on the first syllable: trænˈsmɪʃən is often mispronounced as /ˈtrænsˌmɪʃən/ or /trænsˈmɪʃən/ with the emphasis off. Another frequent slip is softening the 't' into a 'd' or dropping the /n/ between 'trans' and 'mi'. Correct by stressing the second syllable and keeping a crisp /t/ and /n/ consolidation: /trænsˈmɪʃən/. Practice keeping the 't' released and the 'n' nasal followed by the 'm' onset.
In US and UK, the stress remains on the second syllable /trænsˈmɪʃən/. US rhoticity does not affect 'trans' or 'mi' much, but US speakers may link the /n/ to the following /m/ slightly differently in rapid speech. Australian speakers share /ɪ/ in 'mi' and have a tendency to reduce vowels more in fast speech, causing a softer /ɪ/; they may also display slight vowel height differences. Overall, variations are minor; the main differences come in intonation and speed, with non-rhotic UK accents often reducing the vowel length before /ʃən/.
The challenge lies in the consonant cluster transition from /tr/ to /ns/ and the /mɪʃ/ sequence before /ən/. You must maintain a clean /t/ release, prevent an intrusive vowel between /t/ and /r/ in rapid speech, and produce the /ʃ/ quickly after /m/. The 'tion' ending /ən/ can reduce; ensure you keep a light, unstressed schwa, with the /ʃ/ clearly audible. Focus on keeping the second syllable prominent while not elongating the third.
Yes: the suffix '-sion' is pronounced /ʃən/. That means even though the spelling shows 'sio' or 'sion,' listeners hear a 'shun' sound. Don’t vocalize the 'i' as a separate syllable; keep it as part of the /ʃən/. This can be tricky if you’re thinking of it as 'trans-mid-shun'; it’s really 'trans-mish-ən' with the 'mish' blending quickly into /ʃən/.
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Transmission comes from late Latin transmissio, from translitterated form of trans- ‘across’ + mittere ‘to send’. The root mittere yields many related words in English: transmit, transmitte d, remission, mission, emission, permission, and commission. In Latin, transmissio described the act of sending across or across the boundary, often used in legal or military contexts. The English adoption began by the 15th century in senses related to sending or conveying something from one place to another, evolving to include disease spread in the medical sense, and later to technology and data signals. The suffix -ion marks a noun of action. The word has expanded in modern times with specialized senses: data transmission (telecommunications), transmission of disease (epidemiology), mechanical transmission (gear or vehicle systems), and broadcast transmission (radio/TV). Historical usage often tied to the idea of crossing a boundary or barrier, whether that boundary is physical, communicative, or energetic. First known uses appear in technical and medical texts as science and industry advanced, with standardization in the 19th and 20th centuries alongside electrical engineering and telecommunications.
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Words that rhyme with "transmission"
-ion sounds
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