Law & Order UK - haRASS!

Question

I can understand Bradley Walsh saying,'haRASS',cos he's a Cockney but I would expect the QC (Queen's Council) with the blond hair and warts to speak the Queen's English and say it the correct way - it JARS!Great to see 'Mr. Chisolm' from Minder as a posh defending QC - now I'll wager he can pronounce 'harass' correctly!

Usenet · Accepted Answer

[nq:1]I can understand Bradley Walsh saying, 'haRASS',[/nq]
That's how I hear it most frequently in the U.S. The AHD gives that as the first pronunciation.
The "HAIRiss" pronunciation always sounds strange to me, but it is given as the second pronunciation in the AHD.
Bill in Kentucky

Usenet · Answer

[nq:2]I can understand Bradley Walsh saying, 'haRASS',[/nq]
[nq:1]That's how I hear it most frequently in the U.S. The AHD gives that as the first pronunciation. The "HAIRiss" pronunciation always sounds strange to me, but it is given as the second pronunciation in the AHD. Bill in Kentucky[/nq]
Think of HAIRass as something you do with a HARRier jet plane.

AFAIK, HARRass is the proper pronunciation in the USA also.
Posters should say where they live, and for which area they are asking questions. I was born and then lived in Western Pa. 10 years
Indianapolis 7 years
Chicago 6 years
Brooklyn, NY 12 years
Baltimore 26 years

Usenet · Answer

[nq:2]That's how I hear it most frequently in the U.S. ... as the second pronunciation in the AHD. Bill in Kentucky[/nq]
[nq:1]Think of HAIRass as something you do with a HARRier jet plane. AFAIK, HARRass is the proper pronunciation in the USA also.[/nq]
When I read the first message in thread, I wondered - what is Dry complaining about, that's how it is pronounced. Then I read Bill's response, and thought - but that's correct too! Here is what dictionary says about the issue:
"harass, a 17th-century French borrowing, has traditionally been pronouncedâ??/Ë?hÃ¦rÉ?s/ (har-uhs), with stress on the first syllable. A newer pronunciation,â??/hÉ?Ë?rÃ¦s/ (huh-ras), has developed in North American (but not British) English. While this newer pronunciation is sometimes criticized by older educated speakers, it has become the more common one in the U.S., especially among younger educated speakers, some of whom have only minimal familiarity with the older form."

Since I learned British English when I was studying the language, clearly I adopted the first form. But since, in the States, I've heard the second form frequently enough, and it is now firmly established in my mind. Thus, I consider both forms correct.

You'd be crazy to e-mail me with the crazy. But leave the div alone.
Whoever bans a book, shall be banished. Whoever burns a book, shall burn.

Usenet · Answer

(Email Removed), sproz (Email Removed) writes
[nq:2]When I read the first message in thread, I wondered ... established in my mind. Thus, I consider both forms correct.[/nq]
[nq:1]Then I guess you learned BrE before the mid-70s? During that period Frank Spencer, the main character in a very ... it seems to have established itself. It may be somewhat generational but I'd say overall the new pronunciation now dominates.[/nq]
As I remember it, it was militant trade union leaders being interviewed on radio and TV who first introduced me to "harASS" and "harASSment". While this would have indeed been in the 1970s, I suspect that this pronunciation must have been around a lot earlier.
ian

Usenet · Answer

[nq:2]Then I guess you learned BrE before the mid-70s? During ... generational but I'd say overall the new pronunciation now dominates.[/nq]
[nq:1]As I remember it, it was militant trade union leaders being interviewed on radio and TV who first introduced me to "harASS" and "harASSment". While this would have indeed been in the 1970s, I suspect that this pronunciation must have been around a lot earlier.[/nq]
I have a similar recollection. The advantage of the "harASS" pronunciation is that the "***" can be emphasised, drawn out and hissed.

Peter Duncanson, UK
(in alt.english.usage)

Usenet · Answer

Is this not a matter of whether one is using the word as noun or verb? Compare "record": when you reCORD something, it becomes part of the RECord. There are other words that follow the same pattern (though, like everything in English, it is not a universal rule).

Would it not then be so that when one harASSES another, that constitutes HARassment?

Cordially,
Eric Walker, Owlcroft House
http://owlcroft.com/english/

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]Is this not a matter of whether one is using the word as noun or verb? Compare "record": when you ... it is not a universal rule). Would it not then be so that when one harASSES another, that constitutes HARassment?[/nq]
No.

ian

Usenet · Answer

[nq:2]Would it not then be so that when one harASSES another, that constitutes HARassment?[/nq]
[nq:1]No.[/nq]
Dear me, it must be nice to be omniscient.
The AHD reports that its Usage Panel divided exactly 50 - 50 on the favored pronunciation but, more interesting, added that each side seemed to view itself as an embattled minority (their exact term) on the point.

Whether it is or is not at present a recognized way to segregate verb and noun senses, it seems that, with no manifest reason, even prevalence, to choose one form over the other, such a distinction would be a useful augmentation. On the rare occasions when I find myself saying the word or a related form aloud, that is the rule I follow.

Sidebar: "Horace harasses his hobby horse" used to occur in tests for prospective radio announcers.

Cordially,
Eric Walker, Owlcroft House
http://owlcroft.com/english/

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]Is this not a matter of whether one is using the word as noun or verb? Compare "record": when you ... it is not a universal rule). Would it not then be so that when one harASSES another, that constitutes HARassment?[/nq]
The pronunciations I learnt and use all stress the first syllable: HARass, HARasses, HARassing and HARassment.

Peter Duncanson, UK
(in alt.english.usage)

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]Is this not a matter of whether one is using the word as noun or verb? Compare "record": when you ... it is not a universal rule). Would it not then be so that when one harASSES another, that constitutes HARassment?[/nq]
It seems to me that it has been relatively few years that I have heard the first syllable accented in either the verb or the noun. It was probably around the same time that UrANUS started becoming URanus.

Bill in Kentucky

Law & Order UK - haRASS!

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