noun — a person who suffers or dies for a belief or cause — 'a martyr for the cause'
mouth shape
stressed /ɑːr/ — mouth opens wide and back — then an unstressed /tər/
martyr
/ˈmɑːrtər/
vowel length
plays as: “a martyr for the cause”
noun/verb — the unlawful killing of a person — 'commit murder' · 'he was murdered'
mouth shape
stressed /ɜːr/ — r-coloured central vowel, lips relaxed — then the same unstressed /dər/ ending
murder
/ˈmɜːrdər/
vowel length
plays as: “commit murder”
Key difference
martyr: stressed /ɑːr/, then a voiceless /t/ — 'mar-ter'.
murder: stressed /ɜːr/, then a voiced /d/ — 'mur-der'.
Same m—r...er frame on both ends — the stressed vowel and the middle consonant's voicing both change together.
Example sentences
martyr:“He became a martyr for the movement.”
murder:“The detective investigated the murder.”
Hear it in the wild
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martyr
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murder
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How teachers explain this
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Word families
martyr family ▸
murder family ▸
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