The term is widely used in many non-English speaking countries as an approximate equivalent of middle class.
ð ə WORD_BOUNDARY t ɜː m WORD_BOUNDARY ɪ z WORD_BOUNDARY w aɪ d l i WORD_BOUNDARY j uː z d WORD_BOUNDARY ɪ n WORD_BOUNDARY m ɛ n i WORD_BOUNDARY n ɑ n ɪ ŋ ɡ l ɪ ʃ WORD_BOUNDARY s p iː k ɪ ŋ WORD_BOUNDARY k ʌ n t ɹ i z WORD_BOUNDARY æ z WORD_BOUNDARY ʌ n WORD_BOUNDARY ʌ p ɹ ɑ k s ɪ m ə t WORD_BOUNDARY ɪ k w ɪ v ə l ə n t WORD_BOUNDARY ʌ v WORD_BOUNDARY m ɪ d ə l WORD_BOUNDARY k l æ s WORD_BOUNDARY