I have been confident with my pronunciation of the word presentation, which is /prɛz(ə)nˈteɪʃ(ə)n/ or /ˌprez.ən'teɪ.ʃən/.
In the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary, the pronunciation of this word is as above in both AmE and BrE. I also listen to the human pronunciation given by the dictionary and decide that it must be /ˌprez.ən'teɪ.ʃən/. Also, on http://dictionary.cambridge.org, both AmE and BrE versions are pronounced as /prez.ən'teɪ.ʃən/.
However, on the Oxford Learner's Dictionaries (http://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com), this word is pronounced as BrE /ˌpreznˈteɪʃn/, AmE /ˌpriːzenˈteɪʃn/ with the human pronunciation being clearly different.
So my questions:
- Why do the two 'reliable' dictionaries give different versions of pronunciation of
presentation? - Are both right? Which is more common?
Best Answer
Some answers to your questions:
Who told you that these were "the two 'reliable' dictionaries"? These are both British dictionaries, and both seem to treat American pronunciations more or less as a side issue; they don't always get them correct. They are very reliable for the definitions of the words (at least the British English definitions, which are the same for most words as the American definitions) and the British pronunciations.
Two of the American dictionaries I checked (Merriam-Webster and American Heritage), say that both /ˌprezənˈteɪʃən/ and /ˌpriːzənˈteɪʃən/ are acceptable pronunciations. I hear both. So for this particular word, these American dictionaries are batting 1000, while the British dictionaries are not. Unfortunately, neither of them gives pronunciations in IPA.
Which is more common? That may depend on which region of the U.S. that you live in, and I wouldn't want to guess the answer without access to a nation-wide survey.