Pronunciation

How to pronounce “specialisation

“specialisation” is pronounced /ˌspɛʃələˈzeɪʃən/ (spesh-uh-luh-ZAY-shuhn) in American English and /ˌspɛʃəlaɪˈzeɪʃən/ in British English — 5 syllables, stressed on “at”.
The sound

Say “specialisation” in 5 beats

Say it like this

specialisation

/ˌspɛʃələˈzeɪʃən/

The voice you hear here is American; the British form is /ˌspɛʃəlaɪˈzeɪʃən/ (see the table below), and a British voice is available in the app's settings.

5 beats
  1. specspɛ
  2. ialʃə
  3. is
  4. atzeɪstress
  5. ionʃən
IPA (American)
/ˌspɛʃələˈzeɪʃən/
IPA (British)
/ˌspɛʃəlaɪˈzeɪʃən/
Respelling
spesh-uh-luh-ZAY-shuhn
Syllables
5 — spec-ial-is-AT-ion
Stress
Stress the fourth syllable: spec-ial-is-AT-ion. “at” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
Part of speech
noun
Difficulty
Legend — spelling and sound part company here
Accents

American and British are not the same here

American

/ˌspɛʃələˈzeɪʃən/

British

/ˌspɛʃəlaɪˈzeɪʃən/

No audio here: sayit’s voice is American, so a British button would play the American word. Read the transcription instead.

Watch out

Where “specialisation” goes wrong

  • Often heard

    SPESH-ul-ization

    the main stress is on ZAY, the fourth syllable

Meaning

What “specialisation” means

  1. noun

    (biology) the structural adaptation of some body part for a particular function

    cell differentiation in the developing embryo

  2. noun

    the act of specializing; making something suitable for a special purpose

  3. noun

    the special line of work you have adopted as your career

    his specialization is gastroenterology

Say it in a sentence

Her specialisation is the phonetics of second-language speech.
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

9 sounds, in the order you say them

Each sound has its own page: where the tongue goes, what it is usually confused with, and words to drill it on.

Questions

specialisation”, answered

How do you pronounce “specialisation”?

“specialisation” is pronounced /ˌspɛʃələˈzeɪʃən/ (spesh-uh-luh-ZAY-shuhn) in American English and /ˌspɛʃəlaɪˈzeɪʃən/ in British English — 5 syllables, stressed on “at”. Build it as spec-ial-is-AT-ion, then run the fourth syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “specialisation” have?

5: spec · ial · is · at · ion. The beat lands on the fourth, “at”.

Is “specialisation” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /ˌspɛʃələˈzeɪʃən/ (spesh-uh-luh-ZAY-shuhn); British English says /ˌspɛʃəlaɪˈzeɪʃən/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “specialisation” mean?

As a noun: (biology) the structural adaptation of some body part for a particular function For example: “cell differentiation in the developing embryo” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “specialisation”?

Stress the fourth syllable: spec-ial-is-AT-ion. “at” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.

Practise this word

Now say “specialisation” and see every sound

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