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To the best of my knowledge, both pronunciations are in wide use. I associate the one with initial stress (like centimeter) with non-US speakers, while the one one with stress on the second syllable (like thermometer) with US speakers.
The American Heritage ® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition states:
USAGE NOTE: Although the pronunciation of kilometer with stress on the second syllable, ... 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 ... /on the first syllable/ .
The special characters didn't transfer well, so I added the editorial note.
It's not easy to win bets on pronunciation of words, because there are so many acceptable regional variances. For example, nuclear pronounced as nucular, and jewelry pronounced as jewlery. Not all dictionaries include all the variants, making the settling of a bet that much harder. I'm surprised, though. Didn't any of your friends bet that it is correct to pronounce kilometer either way, not just one way or the other?
they think the way Hollywood pronounces it is the only way.
At best, Hollywood movies may offer only some acceptable variants, but why on earth would anyone think it would be the only way? After all, the pronunciations of words vary not only in different movies, but even within the same movie with different actors/characters. For example, actors portraying George Bush will pronounce nuclear nucular. And sometimes Hollywood actors pronounce words incorrectly, such as when Sylvester Stallone said "wreck havoc."
So, Mike, you didn't say what standard reference you relied on to make you think that "your" way of pronouncing kilometer was the only correct way? Do you rely on Bollywood movies?
Martha Barnette
Grant Barrett
Grant Barrett
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