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laburnum

Flora
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 laburnum is a tree with hanging clusters of yellow flowers. It is often grown for its ornamental blossoms.

Detailed Definition
Laburnum is a specific flowering tree, not a general word for any tree. In poetry it can add a vivid seasonal or decorative detail because of its bright, drooping blooms. Here it names a childhood memory in the garden scene.
Example
Example in poetry:
D. H. Lawrence begins “The Laburnum Top,” “The Laburnum top is silent, quite still / In the afternoon yellow September sunlight”; The tree’s yellow blossoms and dark branches create a visual contrast often useful in nature imagery; “A gold laburnum trembles above the rain-black lane” uses the plant’s color to sharpen a scene; In Lawrence’s poem, a goldfinch’s arrival turns the apparently lifeless laburnum into “a machine / Starts up,” linking flora with hidden vitality
Additional Notes
The word "laburnum" in the quoted line names a specific tree that many readers may not recognize.; Found in the poem, I Remember, I Remember by Thomas Hood
Also Known As
golden chain laburnum tree golden rain flowering shrub
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