Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

ska

/skɑː/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.05 in modern English

Syllables: ska
IPA: /skɑː/

7

Scrabble Score

3

Letters

1

Syllables

3

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A style of Jamaican dance music originating in the late 1950s, combining elements of Caribbean calypso and mento with American jazz and rhythm and blues; it was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae.

Uncountable

noun

Initialism of Square Kilometer Array.

Example Sentences

"Musical Hairsplitting: The act of classifying music and musicians into pathologically picayune categories: “The Vienna Franks are a good example of urban white acid folk revivalism crossed with ska.”"
"Everyone who loves ska has their own story to tell—the first time they heard the Specials back in the '70s, the first time they danced onstage at a Toasters show in the '80s, the first time they saw the Skatalites perform in the '90s."

Etymology

Origin uncertain. Probably imitative of the crisp guitar sound; other suggestions include a contraction of “skavoovie” (a word invented and used by musician Cluett Johnson), or of “speed polka”.

Usage

Uncountable

Inflected Forms

SKAs (plural)

Derived Forms

skacid skacore skank

Phrases

ska punk

Homonyms

scar (non-rhotic)

Rhymes With

la ya ma ah ha da raw pa na nah sa ha-ha

Questions

How do you pronounce ska?: The recorded pronunciation is /skɑː/.
What does ska mean?: A style of Jamaican dance music originating in the late 1950s, combining elements of Caribbean calypso and mento with American jazz and rhythm and blues; it was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae.
Where does ska come from?: Origin uncertain. Probably imitative of the crisp guitar sound; other suggestions include a contraction of “skavoovie” (a word invented and used by musician Cluett Johnson), or of “speed polka”.

How to pronounce ska

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “ska”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/skɑː/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “ska”.
Repeat and practice — Say “ska” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.