"En vakt"

Translation: A guard

[LingoLaura]

is it just me, or does 'vakt' sound different depending if she says it with 'en' or by itself?

[Arnauti]

I checked this with Ivona (the new voice that we're A/B testing right now) and you're right, she does say it differently as a separate word. It's because the grammar rules for the TTS are wrong. There is no word vakt that is pronounced like that, but there could have been if the word had worked like some other words. The pronunciation with en is the right one.

[Alessandro983922]

"I used to be an adventurer like you, then I took an arrow in the knee" ~en vakt

[LingoLaura]

have a lingot, for helping me use skyrim to remember this word

[SirKyrxon]

Me too haha

[EttaResel]

for Germans: it sounds similar to ein Wächter, etwas/jemanden bewachen (a guard, to guard something/someone). maybe that helps

[Sara789954]

Exactly and målvakt means Torwacht :)

[JohnKyla]

Does this also apply to the act of guarding, as in to guard?

[devalanteriel]

Close - that's vakta in the infinitive.

[JohnKyla]

Tack!

[BethanyEmilyAus]

Is this guard as in a security guard or as in a railway guard?

[devalanteriel]

Always a person.

[BethanyEmilyAus]

But which type of person?

[devalanteriel]

Any type of person being a guard, really. Sorry, I thought given your question that you meant a guard rail. Although a conductor is usually a tågvärd or (older) konduktör in Swedish.

[BethanyEmilyAus]

Ah no sorry, I meant the job of railway guard or conductor.

[KMcNichols]

It sounds like she is simultaneously pronouncing it "väkt" and "vakt." Almost sounds like an overdub of another voice saying "väkt" at the end of the pronunciation. Strange.

[Zmrzlina]

Really? I don't hear that, it sounds fine to me.

[Ronja3535]

I listened at least 10 times and kept hearing 'elakt', is it just me?

[devalanteriel]

Sounds good to me. :)

[deactivated user]

any etymology to remember Vakt?

[devalanteriel]

I think my reply to Warnum1 just now may cover your question as well, SchonBaume. :)

[Warnum7]

Is this word related to watch?

[devalanteriel]

It is, yes. Old English went through a sound change that made some hard k sounds into tch sounds. Another example is "leech" (an older word for "heal") and läka in modern Swedish.

In some cases, modern English actually retains both versions, often because either fell out and in of fashion or was regained from other languages. With "watch", we also have "awake" - they're both from the same Old English root, but have developed separately.