The word senile is pronounced the same in American and British English — the "i" in the second syllable was a long "i" in Latin, as opposed to the short "i" in missile and mobile.

I believe native speakers still use the traditional terms long and short, but the truth is that it has nothing to do with length (it did centuries ago). IPA for English is easy.. British dictionaries use it all the time instead of the odd Merriam Webster transcription.

Hi Phil... good news re the research findings. So, I guess I should learn another language. Actually, it stands to reason that any brain-engaging activity such as learning a language or doing crosswords or any number of other similar brain exercising activities would/could/might very well delay the onset of diminishing brain function. Question is, "What should I do about my enlarged prostate?" ... can't really understand my reason for that reference... my poor attempt at jocularity. The again, as Rosanna Rosanna Danna would say 'never mind!'... just kidding (more or less)... Of course, I can't speak for all the Canadians, all 6,000 of us :), but I would pronounce (and I believe most others would also pronounce 'mobile' as: 'mo bill' as in phone (short i), and 'mo bile' (long i) as related to movement. Missile would be 'miss sill' (short i). Sorry, I never learned the IPA. I think we're dating ourselves talking about long and short vowels. It's my understanding that they are not referred to in that way any longer, but I may be wrong.

Good one, Richard... I believe some Canadian researchers have recently shown that bilingualism cuts your risk of senility in half, and learning a third language provides further significant benefits. Btw, what about the Canadian pronunciation of "mobile" and "missile?"

In Canada, we pronounce it as 'see nile'. I'd like to explain further, but I just can't seem to remember all the possibilities. The good news is, I was able to find my way home yesterday :), and I can still remember my phone number :)