"Suspect", v. and n.

[Jonathan Lighter]

I've seen a million old movies, and, for what it's worth, I've never
noticed that pronunciation.

I doubt the actor would have used that pronunciation,or that the director
wouldn't have corrected it, unless it seemed perfectly normal.

Cf. "permit," n.  I posted an old-movie ex. of stress on the second
syllable a couple of years ago. Unlike susPECT, I have frequently heard
this in real life.

JL

On Thu, Jul 5, 2012 at 9:28 PM, Jim Parish <jparish at siue.edu> wrote:

> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> -----------------------
> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Jim Parish <jparish at SIUE.EDU>
> Subject:      "Suspect", v. and n.
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> This evening, I was watching the 1933 movie "The Kennel Murder Case".
> Towards the end of the film, several characters use the word "suspect"
> as a noun; each of them pronounces it with stress on the second
> syllable, rather than (what I'm more accustomed to) the first. Does
> anyone know whether this pronunciation was common at that time, or have
> any other explanation?
>
> Jim Parish
>
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>



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