Pronunciation of "kilometer"

[GRobLewis]

What genius decreed that "kilometer" should be pronounced "kil-OM-eter" when every other metric starting with "kilo" would indicate it should be "KIL-o-meter"? (kilohertz, kilojoules, kilobytes, even kilobucks).

My dictionary says that "KIL-o-meter" is an acceptable alternate pronunciation, and that's the one I personally intend to use now and forever.

Won't you join me in attempting to rationalize this ridiculous aberration of English? I mean, "kil-OM-eter" even sounds ugly!

[Cisco]

My only guess is that it might be the three long vowels in a (relatively) short word. Kee-l-O-mee-ter. People probably just got lazy in their pronunciation.

[davesink]

I thoroughly respect your rationale re pronunciation of kilometer HOWEVER: You'll notice the words you cited kilobyte, kilogram, etc.) contain only three syllables. The additional syllable makes the shifted emphasis to the second syllable sound "righter ;)" to me.(notice therMOmeter, baROmeter)

[Ice Wolf]

Hey, GRobLewis, check out this site (www.bartleby.com/64/C007/0117.html)
and this:

Many people insist that this word should have its primary stress on the first syllable so that it will conform to the same stress pattern in millimeter and centimeter. Language, however, does not always operate as regularly or logically as we might wish. Despite objections to the pronunciation with stress on the second syllable, which originally came about by false analogy with barometer and thermometer, it continues to thrive in American English. In a recent ballot, 69 percent of the Usage Panel preferred the pronunciation with stress on the second syllable, 29 percent preferred the pronunciation with stress on the first syllable, and 10 percent said they use both. Most dictionaries have given both pronunciations since the middle of the 19th century.


Kil-OM-mutuhs Forever!

[Arjuna34]

You might want to check out this thread in the Comment on Cecil's Columns forum:

U.S. going metric? (http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=57916), which talks about this issue for a bit, before digressing ....

Arjuna34

[tomndebb]

Just say klick.

[bibliophage]

In the Système International d'Unités (SI), every two-syllable prefix has its stress on the first syllable. In a scientific forum, kilometer should always be pronounced with the accent on the first syllable. In a less formal setting, either pronunciation is acceptable.

Accent can be important in these matters. Micrometer means "a millionth of a meter" if the accent is on the first syllable, and "a device for measuring very short lengths" if the accent is on the second. But kilometer means the same thing no matter where the accent goes.

[Jman]

Ahh, bibliophage, but most people who need to use "micrometer" often in the measurement sense avoid the word completely and say "micron." Much easier, and just better.

Jman

(who says "Kil-OM-eter." I hate the way it sounds the other way)

[Race Bannon]

I'm with GRobLewis. It's KILometer. Whenever I hear kilOMeter, I imagine a device for measuring distance.

Speedometer, Barometer, Thermometer - all devices for measuring something (that has nothing to do with the SI unit meter, BTW).

Davesink said: The additional syllable makes the shifted emphasis to the second syllable sound "righter " to me.(notice therMOmeter, baROmeter)

So, do you say cen-TOM-eter? mil-IM-eter?

[ricepad]

kellymccauley's rationale is exactly my thinking, too. If we don't say "milLIMeter" and "cenTIMeter", we ought not say "kilOmeter".

[TheLoadedDog]

Originally posted by kellymccauley
I'm with GRobLewis. It's KILometer. Whenever I hear kilOMeter, I imagine a device for measuring distance.

Speedometer, Barometer, Thermometer - all devices for measuring something (that has nothing to do with the SI unit meter, BTW).




I'm with kellymccauley on this one. Here in Australia (a metric country), we use the "..metre" spelling. This saves us confusion between units of measurement (metre) and measuring devices (meter).

This slight advantage does not, however, save us from the ki-LOM-etre / KIL-o-metre problem. As far as I can tell, people here are evenly divided on these different ways of saying it.

Anyways, we usually shorten it to "K", as in, "It's fifty K's to Ballarat", or "no, officer, I was only doing 60 K's".

I have to say I'm firmly with the "KIL-o-metre" crowd. As the word is comprised of "kilo" and "metre" it seems that the "LOM" syllable in "ki-LOM-etre" is an orphan syllable.

[CalMeacham]

Rationality doesn't necessarily have anything to do with language. I know people hate it when I say this, but it's true -- usage determines what is correct. Of course there's an upside to this -- if you get enough people in America to pronounce it KILometer (rather than kilOMeter), then it will be the correct pronunciation.

Don't count on it, though. Language tends to wear in its own rut that resists conscious attempts to make it more logical. We still split our infinitives, despite years of coaching not to. It's fun! It sounds better.

As another example of whacko pronunciation, consider "chemotherapy". Why should it be pronounced "KEE-mo-therapy"? Every other compound word beginning with "chemo-" pronounces it with a short "e", and often without the accent. In a reasonable world it would be "KEMMO-therapy".