Kilometer

This one has always struck me as rather odd. The word "kilometer" (or "kilometre") is generally pronounced "KIL-oh-mee-ter", but here in the U.S., most say "kih-LAH-meh-ter". (Sorry, I don't know IPA or X-SAMPA or anything.) But, really, this pronunciation makes little sense. We do say "thermometer" as ther-MAH-meh-ter and "speedometer" as speh-DAH-meh-ter, but those are measuring devices, not units of measure. We don't pronounce "centimeter" as sen-TIM-eh-ter, or "millimeter" as mil-LIM-eh-etr, nor is a "kilogram" a kih-LAH-gruhm.

I'm usually not a prescriptivist, but I do find this particular case unfortunate, as it's a strange and gratuitous irregularity. So I strongly prefer KIL-oh-mee-ter, even though I do sometimes slip and say kih-LAH-meh-ter when I'm not thinking.

I wonder how many people outside the U.S. say kih-LAH-meh-ter, and how many inside it say KIL-oh-mee-ter? I'd imagine that both are common in Canada, but that's only a guess...

- Kef

The pronunciation that comes naturally to me is ["k_hIl@%mi:4@`], or "KIL-a-mee-ter". And inconsistent stressing of "-meter" words is something that I had noticed as well: compare "altimeter" [{5"t_hIm@4@`] and "centimeter" ["sEnt@%mi:4@`]. I wonder how this came to be in English.

In Latin, all of the "-metrum" words would be stressed on the antepenultimate syllable, because this penultimate syllable is "light" according to the rules of Latin stress (the "e" is short, and "tr" is treated as one consonant). This stress pattern is evident in Spanish, which has "centímetro" and "altímetro". So the English stressing of measuring devices is a "regular" derivation from Latin, whereas the stressing of the "-meter" units of measure (that is, putting the stress on the prefix rather than on the linking vowel "o" or "i") is an innovation. Thus the pronunciation of "kilometer" with antepenultimate stress is an irregularity within the English paradigm for "-meter" units of measure, but it's irregular in that it's been "re-regularized" in line with the measuring devices.

The stressing of "kilogram" isn't relevant here because the (neo-)Latin word would be "kilogramma", in which the penultimate syllable is heavy and thus gets the stress. (Compare Spanish "kilogramo" - penultimate stress - with the earlier examples.) In light of this, the English pronunciation of "kilogram" - with a completely unstressed penultimate syllable - is basically the only one possible, and it wouldn't be affected by how we choose to pronounce "-meter" words.

the US pronunciation of kilometer is [k@'lAm@t@r] (with voiced t instead of t)


As for UK kilometre, Longman Pronunciation Dictionary says:
''British English poll panel preference: 'kilometre (52%), ki'lometre (48%)''

I myself have [k_h1"M\A~:mI4R=:] for "kilometer", ["sE~4~@~:%mi4R=:] for "centimeter", and [QU"t_hI~:mI4R=:] for "altimeter".

I think I use [k_hIlAmI4@R], but I may have left out something. Either way, it's KIL-AH-MEDER in casual speech, with the "D" representing the alveolor tap that is common in most American dialects.

>>I think I use [k_hIlAmI4@R], but I may have left out something. Either way, it's KIL-AH-MEDER in casual speech, with the "D" representing the alveolor tap that is common in most American dialects.<<

On a bit of a tangent, at least for myself, "d" does not imply the right pronunciation for me, as "meder" implies ["mi:4R=:] rather than the ["mi4R=:] in use here. Consequently, I find it rather weird when people use "d" to represent the alveolar flap/tap sound in English, as /d/ and /t/ are still distinctive here in such positions even though they are themselves realized as [4].

Of course, though, such could probably be ignored, as vowel length here does not always agree with orthography; for instance, the last name "Pedersen" is pronounced as homophonous with "Peterson", that is, as ["p_hi4R=sn=] rather than the ["p_hi:4R=sn=] one would expect from the orthography. Likewise the company name (and last name) "Pabst" is pronounced as ["p_hE{pst] rather than the ["p_hE{:pst] one would expect from the spelling in English (even though this could also be German influence upon last name pronunciation as well at work) while, in comparison, "lobster" is the expected ["M\A:pstR=:].

"KILL-o-metuh" is the standard UK pronunciation, with the stress on the first syllable, alrthough some people use the "Kill-OM-eetuh" version, stressing the second. Back home in Scotland the R is generally rolled, just for good measure! KILL-o-meterrrrr.

Wow wonders never cease. I 'd never have imagined that many of the people of North America would pronounce 'Kilometre' as Kill- ah-metre. Sorry you lot, I always pegged the more popular pronunciation of Kil-lom-metre as a bit of an 'Americanism'. Blimey, how wrong can a person be!!

The strange thing is, I do remember reading on the net somewhere that 'kil-lom-metre' is basically the only pronunciation used in North America. I have to admit that I can't remember ever hearing an American or a Canadian pronouncing it as kill-ah-metre though. But then I have not really been taking notice. So, which one is the most popular pronunciation in N America ??

For the record I pronounce it as kill-ah-metre, but most people in my area (South East England) definitely say Kil-lom-metre.

I usually say /kɪˈlɒmɪtər/

From the American Heritage Book of English Usage:

"Although the pronunciation of kilometer with stress on the second syllable, /kɪˈlɒmɪtər/, is often censured because it does not conform to the stress pattern in millimeter and centimeter (it originally came about by false analogy with barometer and thermometer), it continues to thrive in American English. In a recent survey, 69 percent of the Usage Panel preferred this pronunciation, while 29 percent preferred the pronunciation /ˈkɪləˌmitər/, and 10 percent said they use both. Most dictionaries have given both pronunciations since the middle of the 19th century."

And while we're on this, I think there may be a similar issue with the pronunciation of the final "o" in the word "spectrophotometer." So how do you usually say this word? That is, if you say it at all... ;)

For that word, the pronunciation that comes naturally to me is [%spEktr\7Uf7U"t_hQ:m@4@`], because it's a measuring device. This pronunciation (adjusted for dialect) is the only one listed at dictionary.com.

I say /ˌspɛktroʊfoʊˈtɒmɪtər/ myself.

And it just about drove me crazy when someone else in my lab started consistently pronouncing the final "o" as /oʊ/ instead of /ɒ/ and then substituting /mitər/ for /mɪtər/.

I had nearly forgotten about it until this thread reminded me and made me start wondering whether or not something similar had happened with this word as well.

Anyone else?

<<On a bit of a tangent, at least for myself, "d" does not imply the right pronunciation for me, as "meder" implies ["mi:4R=:] rather than the ["mi4R=:] in use here. Consequently, I find it rather weird when people use "d" to represent the alveolar flap/tap sound in English, as /d/ and /t/ are still distinctive here in such positions even though they are themselves realized as [4].>>

At least for me, "utter" and "udder" for instance have the same vowel length and are exact homophones. I've seen many people write "shutter" when they clearly meant "shudder". I've seen people write about a cheese "grader".

"kilometer" for me is [klAm@t=r\].

<<Consequently, I find it rather weird when people use "d" to represent the alveolar flap/tap sound in English>>

It's not weird. That's exactly what it sounds like -- a D.



I say kil-LOM-eder. Haven't said KILL-o-meder since I was a little kid.

>>At least for me, "utter" and "udder" for instance have the same vowel length and are exact homophones. I've seen many people write "shutter" when they clearly meant "shudder". I've seen people write about a cheese "grader".<<

I've seen people write such things, and they just don't seem right to me at all - and it's not that the consonants themselves seem wrong, but rather that the vowels don't seem right if I actually try to read them aloud (thanks to vowel length).