UMbrella
UMbrella
My husband has a (very southern) habit of putting the accent on the first syllable of words like GUItar, THANKSgiving, and THEater. It seems to me like this happens when words seem "special" or foreign in some way, but I can't think of specific examples. Someone else mentioned "INsurance." Has anyone else got examples?
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- Grand Panjandrum
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Examples
I have a "Southern" habit of saying PERmit, to mean a license, and perMIT to mean I will allow you to do something. Actually, I thought that was just using English correctly, but here in Pennsylvania, everybody (especially my husband) says perMIT to mean go get your perMIT to drive. Also they say adDRESS to mean where you live, but I would say ADdress, unless I meant to adDRESS a crowd with a speech of some kind.
- Dr. Goodword
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Initial accent
The tendency for accent to retract to the initial syllable in Southern dialects (INsurance, POlice, etc.) should not be confused with an interesting aspect of English grammar in general. Usually when we derive a noun from a verb we add a suffix, as in state : state-ment, educate : educat-ion, insure : insur-ance.
However, in a large class of English verbs, the noun is formed by simply shifing the accent from the last syllable to the first:
to surVEY : a SURvey
to reJECT : a REject
to conFINE : CONfines
It applies to all verbs with the prefix re-:
to reWRITE : a REwrite
to reRUN : a RErun
to reFUND : a REfund
There are thousands of pairs like this. This means of derivation is so unusual that many speakers confuse the two forms.
However, in a large class of English verbs, the noun is formed by simply shifing the accent from the last syllable to the first:
to surVEY : a SURvey
to reJECT : a REject
to conFINE : CONfines
It applies to all verbs with the prefix re-:
to reWRITE : a REwrite
to reRUN : a RErun
to reFUND : a REfund
There are thousands of pairs like this. This means of derivation is so unusual that many speakers confuse the two forms.
• The Good Dr. Goodword
VE' hikkle, said by every single law enforcement officer, it's actually closer to VE' HICK' le with two emphases, as though they can't quite decide if it has the first or second syllable. And Tee'vee instead of tee VEE'. The classic is of course, the PO' lease
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- Grand Panjandrum
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I was watching an American sitcom the other day and somebody pronounced TOR-ment as a verb and I immediately remembered Tim. See, Tim? We think about ya all the time.However, in a large class of English verbs, the noun is formed by simply shifing the accent from the last syllable to the first:
Brazilian dude
Languages rule!
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- Grand Panjandrum
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Re: Examples
That's odd, I grew up in PA too and everybody said PERmit as the thing you drove with and perMIT as the verb. As for address, I think both ways were heard with maybe a slight favour to adDRESS.I have a "Southern" habit of saying PERmit, to mean a license, and perMIT to mean I will allow you to do something. Actually, I thought that was just using English correctly, but here in Pennsylvania, everybody (especially my husband) says perMIT to mean go get your perMIT to drive. Also they say adDRESS to mean where you live, but I would say ADdress, unless I meant to adDRESS a crowd with a speech of some kind.
Of course as we know, PA is at least two different states.
My brother, who was in a certain youth organisation, would always be irked when our grandmother referred to said organisation as "the boy SCOUTS".
Stop! Murder us not, tonsured rumpots! Knife no one, fink!
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- Grand Panjandrum
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Re: THEater
Methinks you mean the emphasis as in the-AY-ter...?I thought of my THEater mistake as soon as I posted it. There's no problem with emphasis, but rather that the a is pronounced like the a in lake instead of the a in about.
Stop! Murder us not, tonsured rumpots! Knife no one, fink!
Wow... I missed this thread the first time through. And I'm not so sure I like the idea (I-dee) that my name is associated with torment.I was watching an American sitcom the other day and somebody pronounced TOR-ment as a verb and I immediately remembered Tim. See, Tim? We think about ya all the time.However, in a large class of English verbs, the noun is formed by simply shifing the accent from the last syllable to the first:
Brazilian dude
-Tim
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