CONtract/conTRACT

[Laurence Horn]

>To all:
>
>----- Original Message -----
>From: "Duane Campbell" <dcamp911 at JUNO.COM>
>To: <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
>Sent: Wednesday, October 31, 2001 10:21 AM
>Subject: CONtract/conTRACT
>
>
>>  I have heard several spokespersons talk about the victims who have
>>  CON-tracted anthrax. My understanding has always been that you CON-tract
>>  with someone for a sale or service, but you con-TRACT a disease. Is this
>>  ideosyncratic or is this proper susage that is just slipping. (It seems
>>  to be the same people who constantly say "as best we can.")
>>
>
>Maybe this is just "regional", but I always thought CONtract was a noun and
>conTRACT was a verb.
>Anne G

For me too, it depends on which verb.  Not only do I con-TRACT a
disease (hopefully not anthrax)  or an obligation or an auxiliary
verb, but my time also con-TRACTS, while I might CON-tract (not
con-TRACT!) a marriage.  Curiously, the sources (like AHD4) simply
give the two alternate patterns for stressing the verb while listing
the various senses ('to enter into by contract', 'to acquire or
incur', 'to shrink', 'to shorten by omitting sounds or letters',
etc.) without attempting to figure out which stress pattern goes with
which senses.  For me, the clearly denominal ones (contracting with
someone) preserve the nominal (CON) stress pattern while the clearly
verbal ones (contracting one's pupils or auxiliary verbs) have verbal
(TRACT) stress.

larry