I was talking to my boyfriend about this but I wanted to get some more opinions.
"Comparable" can be pronounced as:
- COMP-er-uh-bul (which is how I usually pronounce it)
- Com-PAIR-ah-bul (which usually makes me blink and tilt my head)
Is there a specific case where one pronunciation is used over another? I tend to think that version 1 deals more with similarity than version 2. Version 2, to me, feels like it's more about the fact that two elements can be compared.
Also: can both words/pronunciations be used interchangeably (granted that my guesses toward the meanings are correct)?
Best Answer
The two pronunciations in question are (in IPA):
Pronunciations for this word are given in dictionaries in four ways, as far as I can tell:
Webster’s New World
Merriam-Webster, Random House,
Cambridge Advanced Learner’s, Wiktionary
American Heritage, Collins, Macmillan, New Oxford American
No dictionary I looked in lists pronunciation #2 first. Nor does any support different meanings for different pronunciations. Generally speaking, #1 is the traditional and unimpeachably correct pronunciation. #2 is commonly used, but if you use it, you should not be surprised if you are criticized or corrected.
Addendum: the user-provided pronunciation site Forvo has seven pronunciations for comparable. The two pronunciations which are pronounced like #2 are rated –3. The rest, which are pronounced like #1, are rated 0, 1, or 2.