Articulate vs Pronounce vs Enunciate
This had plagued my mind for many a bus journey and I thought to myself "What a wonderful opportunity to finally get to the bottom of this conundrum."
My original theory, simply based on the ideas in my own mind, was that enunciation was the making the sounds that made up a word clear, articulation was making the word itself clear, and pronunciation was the way a word "should" be said based on a specific region.
Reality had some other ideas.
Here's what I found:
To pronounce is, according to the Oxford dictionary, to make the sound of a word or part of a word typically in the correct or a particular way. Pronunciation of a word is then indeed the way a word sounds based on region or upbringing and, according to a specific time or place, has a "correct" version for that said time and place. That being said, one's pronunciation then can be correct or incorrect, but the verb can also be used to describe how you say a word generally. If that makes any sense..... (It actually starts to get much more complicated than this but enough for now.)
Moving on!
We now go to articulate vs enunciate. Enunciation is how clearly a person says a word as a whole and how clearly each of the sounds in the word are made. Often it is added that enunciation is for the sake of others being able to hear you clearly. So, based on the word selection here, I would say clarity is the name of the game.
Articulation, on the other hand, is the action of forming clear and distinct sounds in speech. While these two sound exactly the same, the distinction here comes from the idea that articulation is the making of sound through usage of speech organs and enunciation is about the word and the pieces that make up the word itself. So, if you can make the sound, you can make the word. Articulation can lead to enunciation.
To summarize: Pronounce is the manner in which you say the word. Enunciate is how clearly you say the words and its pieces. Articulate is the actual formation of the sounds.
This has been about as clear as mud for me so I hope someone else has the ability to explain it a bit better. But, for now, my mind is at a hesitant ease.
P.S. It has also been offered that pronunciation is the articulation of the vowel sounds, while enunciation is the articulation of the consonants sounds but that just got me more confused so do with that what you will.
Sources:
https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/
http://www.dictionary.com/browse/enunciate?s=t
https://english.stackexchange.com/questions/46319/whats-the-difference-between-pronunciation-and-enunciation
https://ilslearningcorner.com/2015-07-articulation-and-enunciation-the-mysteries-behind-your-childs-language-development/
http://www.differencebetween.com/difference-between-articulation-and-vs-pronunciation/