In last week's seminar one of my young professionals pronounced the word hypothesis as /ˌhaɪpəʊˈθiːsɪs/. Nice try and I'm shore everyone will have understood her, but it's pronounced /haɪˈpɒθəsɪs/.
Here are some words with their main stress on the 1st syllable -
/ˈhaɪpə(ʊ)-/:
- hypocaust
- hyponym
- hypostyle
- hypotaxis
Next, words with the stress pattern
/haɪˈpɒ-/:
- hyponymy
- hypostasis
- hypotenuse
- hypothecate
- hypothesise
- hypothesis
- hypoxia
Some words have a secondary (or no) stress on the 1st syllable -
/ˌhaɪpə(ʊ)-/:
- hypochondria(c)
- hypodermic
- hypogeal
- hypotension
- hypothermal
- hypothetic(al)
Then, we encounter /
ˈhɪpə-/ as in
Or /
ˌhɪpə-/ with secondary or no stress in
And, last but not least (and with thanks to Alex), {hypo-} in GB and GA is pronounced /
hɪˈpɒ-/ and
/hɪˈpɑː-/ respectively in
The combining form (also called neo-classical prefix) {hypo-} is Greek in origin:
ὑπο-. Its senses are according to the OED: "under, beneath, down, from below; underhand, secretly; in a subordinate degree, slightly". The prefix was handed down to the English language via Latin and French. There are about 200 words with this combining form most of which start with /haɪpə-/, sometimes against etymology and historical development.
Update: There's now another blog post on <hypo-> by John Maidment to be found here (the blog post, not John).
Some notes:
ReplyDelete1) "hypogeal" normally has main stress on the third syllable when it's pronounced in isolation;
2) "hypotaxis" can also have main stress on the penultimate syllable;
3) "hypocrisy" normally has /hɪ-/ in GB, not /haɪ-/.
Thanks for them notes, Alex!
DeleteBitte sehr, Petr!
DeletePetr, Alex,
ReplyDeleteWith your permission I will soon pinch your observations for a EPTip. I will of course acknowledge you both.
Absolutely, John! Prego!
DeleteJohn, sorry for poaching on your preserves.
DeletePetr,
DeleteAs they used to say where I grew up (and maybe still do): dʊnə bi daft jɒθ. Translation available on request. They are certainly not my preserves and no apology is necessary.
Some more notes:
ReplyDelete1) /hɪˈpɒ-/ in "hypocrisy" is GB, not GA. GA is normally transcribed as /hɪˈpɑː-/.
2) "hypobole" ? = Do you mean "hyperbole", /haɪˈpɜːb(ə)li/, also sometimes /ˈhaɪpəbɒʊl/?
Some more comments:
Delete1) You're right: As I mention GA I should have added the GA pron as well. Now corrected.
2) No, I mean the rhetorical figure by which a person refutes objections that might be raised by an opponent.