Pronunciation Tips

When you are working with medical terms, you can use some general tips to ensure correct pronunciation. These tips include the following.

1. The emphasis in pronunciation shifts to the syllable containing the combining vowel.
   • Example: proctoscopy
   • In this word, the “to” is emphasized.
2. The letter y can function as a combining vowel.
   • Example: bradypnea
3. The letters g and c have a soft sound before e, i, or y.
   • Example: laryngitis, cervical
4. The letters g and c have a hard sound before all other letters.
   • Example: acromegaly, cardiac, gastric
5. The letter p is silent when paired with s or n.
   • Example: -pnea, psoriasis
6. The letters ae or oe are pronounced with a long e sound.
   • Example: amoeba