Friday, December 7, 2012

To-may-toes, To-mah-toes: A Pronunciation Guide for the Supreme Court of the United States

The other day, another reference librarian and I were checking some recent twitter posts from colleagues and we came across this Pronouncing Dictionary for the Supreme Court of the United States. Since we found this little gem, I've found myself playing around on it merely for the sake of playing around. So, I decided that it would be a great tool to share.

The pronouncing dictionary is compiled by students from both the Yale Law School and the Yale Linguistics Department. The purpose of the dictionary is to "help conscientious lawyers, judges, teachers, students, and journalists correctly pronounce often-perplexing case names." The list is sorted alphabetically by case name and includes both an audiofile of the difficult name as well as the phonetic symbols. When possible, the students ascertained and followed the litigant's preferred pronunication. The dictionary is not complete but is a fantastic tool whether preparing for an oral argument or just looking to pass some time and impress your friends!

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