Re: pronunciation of component

[Mark Sylvester <msylvest@XNET.IT>]

As a S.African/British English speaker I of course put the stress on the
second syllable. But I wanted to draw attention to another physics word
that I was surprised by. I had always pronounced what an electron does
between energy levels as a tran-zi-shun, without a second thought, until
some years ago when on an exchange in the US I found that my class seemed
amused by this. They said it should be tran-si-zhun. Or was it the other
way round? Anyway, in this case the dictionary said both were correct.
Perhaps it polled 50/50.

Mark

At 15:26 27/02/04 -0700, Larry Smith wrote:
> What is the correct pronunciation of "component" as in "vector component",
> i.e., which syllable is the most stressed?  I've heard both of the first
> two syllables receive the stress (from different pronouncers, or in
> different circumstances).  Short of any real authoritative reply (which can
> be almost impossible in questions of grammar and pronunciation), I'd be
> content with a poll of Phys-L'ers.
>
> Thanks,
> Larry

Mark Sylvester
UWCAd
Duino Trieste Italy