The pronunciation of the word "bowed"

[Sergey Vakshul]

Hello, everyone!
I encountered with this word in the following sentence:

I would merely beg you not to be much bowed down by grief.

I know that bow has two meanings(Does it have to be comma in here?) that are pronounced differently.
But how does bowed have to be pronounced in this sentence?

Thank you

[nikita]

Hello Sergey!

Nice to hear from you. The meaning here is obviously idiomatic, but I do believe it must be pronounced as /bau/ here. Any objections?

Best regards,

Nikita Kovalyov
http://www.eclecticenglish.com/

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[Sergey Vakshul]

Hi, Nikita!

Any objections?

I wouldn't say objections, I would say doubts.

Just have a look at what Lingvo suggests:
http://www.lingvo.ru/lingvo/Link.asp?Ln ... d;52;75;29

I have no doubts about the meaning, but I can't make up my mind about the pronunciation.

Nikita, I also have doubts about the comma(my first posting).
Is it a D or ND sentence?

[nikita]

Hi there!

Just have a look at what Lingvo suggests

I must admit that I failed to find "bowed" adj /boud/ in Longman. Now I understand what you mean and I have some doubts myself.

I think that we will have to check this with a native speaker. I will ask Paul if I see him online today.

But I still believe that most probably it is pronounced as /baud/. Here is one more reason to support this point:

http://www.longmanwebdict.com/

bow down /bau/ phrasal verb
1
to bend your body forward, especially when you are already kneeling, in order to show respect
bow down before/to etc
Maria entered the room and bowed down before the statue.
Come, let us bow down in worship .
2
bow down to somebody
literary to let someone give you orders or tell you what to do - used to show disapproval

There is no such phrasal verb with bow /bou/.

Still I may be wrong.

About the comma in your sentence. Sorry for forgetting to answer this question. I see that you forgot than defining vs non-defining relative clauses stuff a bit.

You can never have "that" in a non-defining relative clause, only "which". Therefore you cannot have a comma there.


Best regards,

Nikita Kovalyov
http://www.eclecticenglish.com/

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[Sergey Vakshul]

Thank you Nikita!

I see that you forgot than defining vs non-defining relative clauses stuff a bit

I haven't forgotten :)

You can never have "that" in a non-defining relative clause, only "which". Therefore you cannot have a comma there.

This is indisputable, but which sentence seems you more appropriate?:

I know that bow has two meanings that are pronounced differently
or
I know that bow has two meanings, which are pronounced differently

I just can't make up my mind which one is proper in context I used it.

[nikita]

Hi!

Here is what Paul told me:

it would sound like bow, as in bow /bau/ your head

I solemnly promise to answer the D/ND relative clauses question tomorrow. Now my eyes are killing me.

CU

Nikita Kovalyov
http://www.eclecticenglish.com/

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[Sergey Vakshul]

Nikita, thank you and Paul a lot!

[nikita]

Hello!

I am sorry for the delay with answering the defining & non-defining relative clauses question. I thought that I could publish the answer as a new thread since it has nothing with the pronunciation of "bow".

The answer can be found on the following page:
http://eclecticenglish.com/board/viewtopic.php?t=26

Nikita Kovalyov
http://www.eclecticenglish.com/

...

[Paul]

I would merely beg you not to be too much bowed down by grief.

This is NOT an idiom, but formal English spoken from approximately 1660-1870. To be "bowed with grief" was a common expression. To bow (pronounced bau), to bend your torso forward from the waist, was an expression of courtesy, especially in times of disease and quarantine. People from East Asia still bow in deference to shaking hands. The lower the bow the more honor you give to the recipient.

So, the meaning of the sentence in "modern English" would be:

Please don't suffer so for your loss or I just don't want you to feel bad in this time of sorrow.

Paul