Pronounce "default"

[E-DUB]

And how about “gone”? Rhyming with Don or fawn.

[BobBitchin]

For me, default gets pronounced both ways depending on context, just like “the”.

Sometimes dee-fault
others duh-fault

thee/the:D

[Pleonast]

@markn_1

It’s common in English for a two syllable word to have the accent on the first syllable when it is used as a noun and on the second when it is used as a verb; for example, “permit”, “record”, “addict”, “refill”, “recoil”, etc. (Long list on Wikipedia). So it would be expected that “default” would have a first syllable accent as a noun (“That procedure is the default”), and a second syllable accent when used as a verb (“He is going to default on his loan.”). To me the ambiguous cases are when it is used as an adjective, and in such cases neither pronunciation seems wrong to me.

Yep for me. If a noun or adjective, stress on first syllable. If verb, on second.

[elfkin477]

@E-DUB

And how about “gone”? Rhyming with Don or fawn.

Um…all three of those rhyme with each other, and also with dawn, spawn, and Sean/Shawn.

[Alessan]

@E-DUB

And how about “gone”? Rhyming with Don or fawn.

Different meaning of “accent”.

[Penfeather]

@Crafter_Man

I am not a linguist, but I have noticed there are some words where those born in the U.S. will put the stress on the first syllable, while a European will put the stress on the second syllable. The example I hear most often is

research

Here in the U.S., most people say REE-search. In Europe most people pronounce it ri-SEARCH.

Stress on the first syllable when it’s a noun, stress on the second when it’s a verb: I’m going to the library to research it; I may have to do a a lot of research. Same pattern with default: he defaulted on his student loan, which is his default behaviour. It’s a common pattern in English when the same word is used as both noun and verb.

eta: or, on preview, exactly what markn+ said above.

[Penfeather]

@Wheelz

Oddly enough, I’ve been considering starting a thread to collect examples of this, for no other reason than I think it’s kind of a cool linguistic curiosity. Should have figured Wikipedia already did it for me!

It’s not just a curiosity, it becomes necessary when you’re teaching ESL: see my link above.

[DavidwithanR]

@markn_1

It’s common in English for a two syllable word to have the accent on the first syllable when it is used as a noun and on the second when it is used as a verb; for example, “permit”, “record”, “addict”, “refill”, “recoil”, etc. (Long list on Wikipedia). So it would be expected that “default” would have a first syllable accent as a noun (“That procedure is the default”), and a second syllable accent when used as a verb (“He is going to default on his loan.”). To me the ambiguous cases are when it is used as an adjective, and in such cases neither pronunciation seems wrong to me.

Some people make this distinction all the time (or try to), others do so only for certain words. I think that might explain the differences of opinion regarding this particular word.

I would bet big money that the verb “li-CENSE” is 2nd-syllable accented by only a tiny minority, if anyone at all.

[Happy_Lendervedder]

I’ve never thought about it until this thread, but after trying out DEE-fault in several contexts, I can definitively say I never say DEE-fault. Always de-fault.

[PatrickLondon]

From this side of the Atlantic, it’s always “dee” rather than “duh”, but the stress will vary. I’m not entirely certain whether it’s simply a matter of euphony in relation to the rhythm of the phrase or sentence it"s used in, or to do with whether it’s being used as an adjective (“the DEE-fault position”) or verb ("he’s dee-FAULT-ed).

It may just be that that like “research”, “harass” and “exquisite”", it’s one of those words where the stress has simply wandered over time for reasons unknown.

[Smapti]

“Throatwarbler mangrove”.

[burpo_the_wonder_mutt]

^ What a super woody sort of phrase.