# emPHAsis on the wrong syLABble in song **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 15, 2016, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/emphasis-on-the-wrong-sylabble-in-song/768622 "2016-10-15T18:22:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Banksiaman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banksiaman/32/3334_2.png) [@Banksiaman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banksiaman)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2016, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/emphasis-on-the-wrong-sylabble-in-song/768622/21 "2016-10-16T02:53:34Z")
‘Your scarf, it was AP-RI-cot’ Carly Simon, _You’re so vain_. [or am i just unaware that’s how some portion of the American public pronounces APE-RE-COT?] ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2016, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/emphasis-on-the-wrong-sylabble-in-song/768622/22 "2016-10-16T04:00:31Z")
> [@drad\_dog](#): > > isn’t this line just perfectly enunciated? Or is it me? Why the objection? I’d say one loves something TEND-er-lee not tend-er-LEE. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2016, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/emphasis-on-the-wrong-sylabble-in-song/768622/23 "2016-10-16T04:12:53Z")
In Red Rider’s “White Hot”, they somehow manage to pronounce “Somalian” like “summer lion”. It drives me crazy every time. ---
**Author:** ![drad\_dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@drad\_dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drad_dog)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2016, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/emphasis-on-the-wrong-sylabble-in-song/768622/24 "2016-10-16T04:28:35Z")
> [@Jack\_Batty](#): > > I’d say one loves something TEND-er-lee not tend-er-LEE. I don’t hear him as accenting the last syllable, or deemphasizing the first for that matter. It is a rise in pitch. You’re a tough crowd if you get bugged at that last syllable. ---
**Author:** ![fachverwirrt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/94ad74/32.png) [@fachverwirrt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fachverwirrt)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2016, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/emphasis-on-the-wrong-sylabble-in-song/768622/25 "2016-10-16T04:33:52Z")
Sure as Kilimanjaro rises like Olympus above the Serenge-TEEEEEEE. ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2016, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/emphasis-on-the-wrong-sylabble-in-song/768622/26 "2016-10-16T04:51:08Z")
> [@drad\_dog](#): > > I don’t hear him as accenting the last syllable, or deemphasizing the first for that matter. It is a rise in pitch. > > You’re a tough crowd if you get bugged at that last syllable. I don’t really want to argue about it, but isn’t a rise in pitch an emphasis? Let’s just agree to disa-GREEEE. ---
**Author:** ![gkster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gkster/32/14107_2.png) [@gkster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gkster)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2016, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/emphasis-on-the-wrong-sylabble-in-song/768622/27 "2016-10-16T05:30:29Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Not a song, but I was listening to a book on tape and the speaker was using an unusual emphasis. He was talking about the Himalaya Mountains. I’ve always heard it pronounced him-A-lay-A. But he was pronouncing it hi-MAL-a-ya (so it rhymed with regalia). > > Is this an acceptable alternative pronunciation? Or was this guy just off on his own? I’m not too good at IPA but looking at the pronunciations given on Wikipedia, I think that the second option here (/ˌhɪməˈleɪ.ə/ or /hɪˈmɑːləjə/) is the hi-MAL-a-ya pronunciation. That’s how I’ve heard my Indian friend pronounce it, and recently I read a memoir by Rumer Godden (who lived in India many years) and she refers to that pronunciation as well, as one used in India. Of course there are many foreign place names that most people speaking English pronounce in a standard "English’ way. Like Paris or Moscow–if I were to hear English speakers saying they’re going to Paree or Moskva I’d find that annoying. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2016, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/emphasis-on-the-wrong-sylabble-in-song/768622/28 "2016-10-16T12:56:53Z")
I’m **FtG** and I have [stress deafness](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stress_(linguistics)#Stress_.22deafness.22). So I have to ask rather than posit. Is the stress for “always” in the classic Whitney Houston version of _I Will Always Love You_ backwards? And if so, does this affect people’s reaction to the song? ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2016, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/emphasis-on-the-wrong-sylabble-in-song/768622/29 "2016-10-16T13:21:53Z")
> [@gkster](#): > > I’m not too good at IPA I’m not either: far too hoppy. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2016, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/emphasis-on-the-wrong-sylabble-in-song/768622/30 "2016-10-16T14:59:18Z")
> [@Banksiaman](#): > > ‘Your scarf, it was AP-RI-cot’ > > Carly Simon, _You’re so vain_. > > [or am i just unaware that’s how some portion of the American public pronounces APE-RE-COT?] APP-ricot and APE-ricot are both common pronunciations, in my experience; and the online dictionaries I checked give both pronunciations, in that order. > [@drad\_dog](#): > > I don’t hear him as accenting the last syllable, or deemphasizing the first for that matter. It is a rise in pitch. > > You’re a tough crowd if you get bugged at that last syllable. Yeah, that “tenderly” doesn’t sound at all wrong to me in that context. In fact, the OP’s example is the only one so far that I have a problem with (though some I’m not familiar with). ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2016, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/emphasis-on-the-wrong-sylabble-in-song/768622/31 "2016-10-16T16:00:23Z")
> [@whitetho](#): > > To be precise, the full phrase in Spanish is “que sera, que sera”, which is pronounced “KAY SAY-rah, KAY SAY-rah”. An example of the correct usage appears in [“Lost In Emotion”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=If8by9Df4wM) by Lisa Lisa [Velez] and Cult Jam. From the top: será, the Spanish Third Person Future Imperfect for “will be”, is pronounced with the tonic stress on the final syllable, hence the accent on the vowel. Doris’ _“Que será, será”_ (“what will be will be”) is phony Spanish (it should be "_Lo_ que será, será) but the “será” sounds close to normal. _“Qué será, qué será”_ (what will it be, what will it be – the interrogative “que” takes the diacrit) is more proper Spanish but in Lisa Lisa’s clip I hear her pronuncing the second “será” correctly with the tonic stress in the last syllable as well, it’s the \*first \*one that she has flattened to go along with the music. ---
**Author:** ![Channing\_Idaho\_Banks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/channing_idaho_banks/32/250_2.png) [@Channing\_Idaho\_Banks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Channing_Idaho_Banks)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2016, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/emphasis-on-the-wrong-sylabble-in-song/768622/32 "2016-10-16T16:01:18Z")
Not a song but I heard on NPR someone pronounced evolution as “evolYEWshun”. I will never forget that. ---
**Author:** ![joyfool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df788c/32.png) [@joyfool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joyfool)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2016, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/emphasis-on-the-wrong-sylabble-in-song/768622/33 "2016-10-16T16:18:38Z")
It always sounded to me like Billy Ocean was talking about a Caribou Queen. ---
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2016, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/emphasis-on-the-wrong-sylabble-in-song/768622/34 "2016-10-16T17:21:52Z")
> [@Wheelz](#): > > In U2’s “All Because of You,” Bono sings of an “intellectual tortoise,” whatever that means. Not only does he emphasize the second syllable of “tortoise,” he pronounces it to rhyme with “voice” and “choice.” > Tor-TOYCE. Ugh. That’s a fairly standard pronunciation in many parts of the UK and Ireland. ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2016, 7:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/emphasis-on-the-wrong-sylabble-in-song/768622/35 "2016-10-17T07:17:50Z")
The national fucking anthem. Which is a big part of why I hate it and wish they’d switch to “America the Beautiful” (which is also prettier in general and less obsessed with war). OK, I suppose a lot of it is more a problem of emphasis on the wrong syllable of a PHRASE and only intermittenly also the wrong syllable of a WORD but yeesh: **THUBBB** bombs bursting in air?? and the home **UVVVVTHUHHHHHH** brave??? Most folks are spared from having to hear the additional verses. It doesn’t get better: Where the foe’s haugh **TEEEEE** host… A home and a coun **TREEE** should leave us no more… ---
**Author:** ![Banksiaman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banksiaman/32/3334_2.png) [@Banksiaman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banksiaman)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2016, 9:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/emphasis-on-the-wrong-sylabble-in-song/768622/36 "2016-10-17T09:42:09Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > APP-ricot and APE-ricot are both common pronunciations, in my experience; and the online dictionaries I checked give both pronunciations, in that order. Thank you Mr Boink. I cheerfully withdraw any imputation that Carly Simon had a tin ear. Out of interest, is the APP-ricot pronunciation regional, or could his scarf just as easily been have been tomato, or tomato? ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2016, 12:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/emphasis-on-the-wrong-sylabble-in-song/768622/37 "2016-10-17T12:02:42Z")
I don’t have a problem with any of these emphases (?), at least the ones I am familiar with. I would invite those who do object to ‘hear’ their examples as they think they ought to be. I think you will usually find that, musically, the right choice was made. mmm ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2016, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/emphasis-on-the-wrong-sylabble-in-song/768622/38 "2016-10-17T13:31:00Z")
The title song from the Phantom of the Opera is actually sung “The PHANNNN-tom of the op-er-a.” And Memory from CATS is “mem-ry.” ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2016, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/emphasis-on-the-wrong-sylabble-in-song/768622/39 "2016-10-17T14:45:32Z")
> [@Fenris](#): > > Two oldies that did it intentionally–not to force the lyric, but to make a point: > > 1. “Sensitivity” from the musical “Once Upon A Matress” > > SENsetivity senseTIVity I think you got that backwards. She does the accent weird on the second time, due to what sounds like an irregular meter, so: sensiTIVity SENsitivity. > [@](#): > > 1. “Accentuate the Positive” > > You’ve got to AC-cent-uate the POS-itive > EE-liminate the negative This seems to be AC-CENT uate and EE-LIM-inate to me. All the rest you do seem to be the correctly accented syllable, even if they are accent(uat)ed more than usual. ---
**Author:** ![Totenfeier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/4bbf92/32.png) [@Totenfeier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Totenfeier)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2016, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/emphasis-on-the-wrong-sylabble-in-song/768622/40 "2016-10-17T15:37:19Z")
Christopher Cross: “I’ll Never Be the Same”: And I’ll Never be the same without you here ollie-VOO-lone (“I’ll live alone”) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/emphasis-on-the-wrong-sylabble-in-song/768622.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/emphasis-on-the-wrong-sylabble-in-song/768622.md?page=3)