"Finite" and "infinite": another example?

Question

Finite and infinite come from the same root word, but the prefix of the latter completely changes the pronunciation. Speaking English as a second-language and reading a lot more than I listen, it makes me nervous that I might be missing other such changes.

Is this an isolated occurrence?

I haven't checked out the whole list, but a brief skim here didn't throw up anything else) — Benjol, Feb 17 '11 at 10:10
related: Pronunciation differences between finite and infinite — Andy F, Feb 17 '11 at 11:09
No, you're right, I skimmed through as well and couldn't find any other examples. I just wanted to suggest it as related reading. — Andy F, Feb 17 '11 at 11:15
You may also like to note that a number of words change pronunciation depending on whether used as a noun or a verb. — nnnnnn, Oct 02 '19 at 14:10

score 4 · Accepted Answer · answered Feb 17 '11 at 12:49

If I read your question correctly, you are looking for examples of words that change pronunciation because of prefixes. Another example would be famous (ˈfā-məs) and infamous (ˈin-fə-məs).

I don't know what this phenomenon is called, but it can also apply to other derivations from the same word; for instance, house (haʊs) and houses (ˈhaʊzɪz), (or the verb house (haʊz)), photograph (ˈfō-tə-ˌgraf) and photographer (fə-ˈtä-grə-fər).

score 1 · Answer 2 · answered Feb 17 '11 at 13:08

1

Another example of word that changes pronunciation because a prefix is belief, which is pronounced /bəˈlif/ or /biˈlif/ in American English, and where the prefix un- changes the pronunciation to /ˌənbəˈlif/.

answered Feb 17 '11 at 13:08

apaderno

59,185

I thought it was /bəˈliːf/ in AmE and /bɪˈliːf/ in BrE. – Tragicomic Feb 17 '11 at 13:22
The pronunciations I reported are the ones NOAD reports as American English pronunciations. – apaderno Feb 17 '11 at 13:24

score 0 · Answer 3 · edited Oct 02 '19 at 14:02

0

In fact the prefix didn't change the pronunciation. The pronunciation for infinite was the original form (coming from French/Latin). Somehow, when the prefix was removed, the pronunciation changed.

edited Oct 02 '19 at 14:02

KillingTime

6,206

answered Oct 02 '19 at 13:53

Aster Ladybug

1

"Finite" and "infinite": another example?

3 Answers3

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