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How to pronounce "Question"?

English Language & Usage Asked on February 6, 2021

/ˈkwestʃən/ or /ˈkwesʃən/ or both?
The dictionary says that it should be pronounced like "kwes+chun", but our teacher says "kwes-shun", and insists that both pronunciations are acceptable. He does the same for "suggestion". Is that really true?

2 Answers

I'm a native english speaker with a slight east London accent. I pronounce it kwes-chun, as do most people I work with.

I have only heard question pronounced kwes-shun after the speaker has consumed vast amounts of alcohol and is slurring their words. Additionally, posher accents are more clipped and it can sound like kwes-tee-un, same as kwes-chun but with less "ch".

Answered by Ariane Kh Anderson on February 6, 2021

In all standard dialects of English, question is pronounced /ˈkwɛs tʃən/.

The closest case to pronouncing question with the sh-sound rather than the ch would be how some speakers drop the t-sound in actual so it's pronounced /ˈæk ʃu əl/. This is simply one unvoiced stop (t) assimilating to another (k).

Speakers of AAVE (African American Vernacular English) often drop final-t in words like breakfast, so if quest is pronounced ques', then que-shun shouldn't be far behind.

Be that as it may, the standard pronunciation of question still obtains, regardless of what you're teacher says, and it isn't /ˈkwɛs ʃən/ or /ˈkwɛ ʃən/.

Answered by KarlG on February 6, 2021

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