Complete Pronunciation Shift

[5ezeudjs]

Why does the pronunciation of 'representative' in American English change in the plural form?

I noticed that in American English, the word 'representative' is pronounced differently depending on whether it's singular or plural. In the singular, it's usually:

reh-pruh-zen-tuh-tiv,

but in the plural, it shifts to something like:

reh-PRUH-zen-tuh-tiv-z≠reh-pree-zen-tuh-tiv-z - with the stressed syllable and vowel sound changing.

In contrast, in British/Commonwealth English, the pronunciation doesn't shift like this - both singular and plural are pronounced as reh-pruh-ZEN-tuh-tiv(s), with only the plural -s added.

Is this shift in American English standard, and if so, why does it happen? Is this common with other words too, or is representative an exception?

 

[5jj]

In every source that I have been able to track down, the plural form of the word in both BrE and AmE is the same - except for the addition of the /z/ sound in the plural form.

 

[jutfrank]

but in the plural, it shifts to something like:

reh-PRUH-zen-tuh-tiv-z≠reh-pree-zen-tuh-tiv-z - with the stressed syllable and vowel sound changing.

Actually, that's not right. Both singular and plural forms place primary stress on ZEN in all varieties of English. Stress on PRUH would be completely wrong. Secondary stress is on REH, like this:

re pre sen ta tive(s)

Is this shift in American English standard, and if so, why does it happen? Is this common with other words too, or is representative an exception?

There are many examples where different varieties place stress in different places, but 'represent' (and all of its family members too) is not one such case.

 

[5ezeudjs]

I've been trying to learn the correct pronunciation of the noun representative using tools like Google and Merriam-Webster. However, I noticed that Google clearly pronounces the word as "pree," as in reh-PREE-zen-tuh-tivz, which contradicts what you've told here.

So their versions were actually wrong? If so, why would such a widely used tool give the wrong answer? I just want to know who I can trust while I'm learning.

 

[emsr2d2]

I can recommend Forvo for pronunciation. Choose the language, choose the word, then work your way through the recordings, all made by native speakers of most variants. (Note that you do have to create an account to use it but it's free.)

 

[jutfrank]

So their versions were actually wrong?

It may be that you've misheard. Look and listen here:

Google Search

If so, why would such a widely used tool give the wrong answer?

If you can provide a link to a place where you think the stress is on the wrong syllable, we can check it and then comment further.

 

[emsr2d2]

@5ezeudjs Please check your profile information. Your current location shows as Afghanistan but your digital footprint comes back to a completely different country.

 

[5ezeudjs]

It may be that you've misheard. Look and listen here:

Google Search

If you can provide a link to a place where you think the stress is on the wrong syllable, we can check it and then comment further.

So I don't hear anything wrong.

Look and listen here:

Google Search

 

[5jj]

Depending on the variety/dialect used, the second syllable which is always unstressed may be pronounced /ə/, /ɪ/ or /iː/. The third syllable, in all varieties, always carries the main stress.

@5ezeudjs Please check your profile information as emsr2d2 asked you to.

 

[emsr2d2]

So I don't hear anything wrong.

Look and listen here:

Google Search

If you're talking about the first hit under that hyperlink, it leads to an animated woman's mouth and a female voice. The stress is correctly on "sen" (obviously pronounced "zen"). I don't know why you think that "pre" is stressed in that recording. The syllable breakdown under the word also has "zen" in bold to indicate the stress.

 

[jutfrank]

So I don't hear anything wrong.

Look and listen here:

Google Search

If you click on that link, you can see that the word is written clearly with the stressed syllable in bold. The audio examples also all correctly place stress on ZEN, as it should be. The plural suffix 's' makes no difference at all to word stress, in not just this but every word in English.

 

[5ezeudjs]

The stress falls on ZEN—that's true. However, in the Google pronunciation, the first syllable changes from 're-pruh' to 're-pree' in the plural form. While the stress remains the same, the vowel sounds are a bit different. Could this be a British variation, or just an inconsistency in the audio?

 

[SoothingDave]

Read 5JJ's post number 9. This isn't a singular/plural thing, or an American/British thing.