I am an American and I always pronounce “inquiry” with second syllable stress. After hearing more and more Americans say it with first syllable stres, along with British people saying it the way I do, I though I was pronouncing it the British way. But when I consulted wiktionary and all the American dictionaries, I realized that they prefer the second syllable stress, or “British way”. Does anyone know why people pronounce it with first syllable stress and why it is so widespread among educated Americans when no American dictionary prefers it?
Learn English – Pronunciation of “inquiry” with first syllable stress
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Best Answer
Now that we are beginning an impeachment inquiry, this is coming up every hour of every day and most are saying it the “British” way (accent second syllable). My theory is this: it’s not actually a common word here except in philosophical circles, and politicians do not want to sound “over educated” (which the first-syllable stress version may appear to be) so they make the noun sound more in harmony with the more common verb “inquire.” No American pol EVER wants to come across as too fancy! Ironically, though, sounding more like the “people” ends up approximating the British pronunciation.