On a related note, I wish the crew could nominate "standing in front of the jacket store" in Shenmue for best moment or sequence.

I could not stop laughing (and yes, I realise that had NOTHING to do with the game itself).

Thigh er

Depends on the pronunciation. One is probably more common, but some people certainly pronounce it with two.

The way Frolo sang it, I always assumed so.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-NP-RsRGzVo

I think it depends on context, at least for me. "Fi-re-fight-er" has a certain cadence to it that just sounds right when "fire" has two syllables, but "ready... aim... fire!" sounds better with one.

Listen to Arthur Brown and tell me it's not two syllables.

Isn't it both?

Change "language" to "English". There are a crapload of other languages that don't have this problem.

Dan Ryckert can't be wrong!

It's 2, unless you say fye as in "that shits fye(good)" then it is one.

Billy Joel would probably say that it's two - in addition to insisting he didn't start it.

Okay I see what you did there.

I feel like it's one. When I say it, it feels like I am only saying one syllable. But I'm a New Englander and say things funny sometimes. LIke, for instance, when I say the sentence, "Look for the candy in the drawer." it sounds like "Look for the candy in the draw." and my husband makes fun of me for dropping that last syllable.

So it depends on who is saying it. Language is fluid and how I talk is different from how other people talk. So I would say you need a third option for "both" on the poll. :D

WHAT IS HAPPENING!!!! How is it that syllables are now defined by phonetical "preference"!! I feel like being in content with Dan related content is making me question reality. I'm I losing my mind here? I feel like I understand nothing...

Edit: Apparently syllables are counted differently in english sometimes....Not to spoil anything. Welp, learned something new. As usual, it only took a person questioning the obvious.

I love questions, like this one, that make me start screaming in my mind.

3.

Fuh-I-erh

@gnomeonfire:

4.

Fuh-I-reh-ay

But really, I'm still saying the word over and over in my mind trying to comprehend how you can squash it down into one syllable...

Being from the Southeastern US, I hear people pronounce it "far" pretty often.

@gnomeonfire: President Kennedy?

The way I say it, it sounds like two. Fye-er.

Could be one or two, depends how you say it.

There are many other words like this and they're all a part of what makes English so beautiful!

or a dumpster fire :D

General American: ˈfaɪ̯.ɚ

Received Pronounciation: ˈfaɪ̯ə(ɹ)

Those are just two accents, of course.

How many syllables in "orange fire"?

Dan thinks Nuclear is 3 syllables. Stop caring what he thinks.

Yes it is.

Michael Stipe can stretch it to eight.

It is as many syllables as you pronounce it as. For me it is two.

Depends on the phase of the Moon.

"Dont you wanna know how we keep starting fi-res?"

Two syllables.

I LOVE this site.

When you say it quickly, or with passion, it does "sound" like it may only have one syllable, but it's still two. FI-ER.

is Flyer 2 syllables?

It.......... it is.............................................................

How is that NOT 3 syllables? I can't imagine how that one would even be up for debate. Nu-cle-ar.

He must be talking about Dan pronouncing nuclear nuke-you-lure, which, yes, is incorrect, but the correct pronunciation of nuclear is alsothree syllables.

I think that if you ask a dictionary, it'll tell you one, but everyone says it with two syllables.

Is 1.5 syllables a thing? Because I vote for 1.5

He pronounces it Nuke-q-ler though.

2

Sound it out yo

Both are still 3 syllables though. He may pronounce it wrong, but it's basically impossible to pronounce that word with only 2 syllables unless you're having a stroke in the process.

2. In grade school when learning about syllables you'd tap on your desk or clap to figure out how many it had when you spoke. Of course, it depends on your regional dialect but I say "fye-err" and there's a distinct break for me.

Both, depending on speaker.

I'd be more likely to say it with 2.

@beachthunder:

This thread is for English not Canadian. Get with the program-ay! ;)

Micheal Stipe has proven, with science, that "fire" is like four syllables long.

2. No question.

Is water two syllables? If yes, than so is fire.

@zeik Some people probably pronounce it like "new-clear".

I am outraged that yes has the majority vote D:

You heathens.

It is both physical and mental anguish trying to pronounce it like that.

Dan makes me question so many stupid things and now I don't know how many syllables fucking FIRE is!