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aggregate plural

Concept
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

A plural construction representing a sum or collection of individual elements

Detailed Definition
Aggregate plural is a poetic grammatical construct where a collective noun or phrase is treated as plural to emphasize the multiplicity or individuality of its components rather than its unity; this usage disrupts conventional syntax to foreground diversity within a group—e.g., “the committee argue among themselves”—thereby injecting dynamism and internal conflict into what might otherwise appear monolithic.
Example
Example in poetry:
In collective nouns like “flock” or “herd,” the aggregate plural treats a group as a single plural entity; The phrase “the police are coming” uses aggregate plural despite “police” being grammatically singular in origin; In poetry, “the stars are watching” treats stars as an aggregate plural with collective agency; “The jury were divided” uses aggregate plural to emphasize individual members within a collective.
Additional Notes
aggregate plural: A plural construction indicating a collective whole rather than individual parts; useful in poetry to convey unity in multiplicity.
Also Known As
Plural total Collective plural Aggregate number
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