Question

Does the noun musician take accent on penultimate syllable or ante penultimate syllable ? any word ending with - ian should take stress on ante penultimate syllable . but in dictionaries the stress is given on the penultimate syllable z please clarify

Answer 1

The pronunciation of "musician" varies slightly depending upon the region in which the speaker lives.

However, in my experience and in the dictionaries I checked, the stress is on the antepenultimate syllable.

Answer 2

thank you Ms Sue To be candid the accent must be given on M it self as per the rule . but i have seen it on penultimate syllable Z . could you pl tell me in which dictionary it could be stressed on M

Answer 3

http://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/american-english/musician

http://musician.askdefine.com/

Answer 4

nouns such as Indian comedian guardian are accented third from the last .thank you very much Ms Sue

Answer 5

You're welcome, R S.

Answer 6

In these words, the "i" and the "an" are pronounced as separate syllables:
Indian - In di an
comedian - co me di an
guardian - guar di an

But in "musician" there are only 3 syllables: mu si cian (and the last syllable sounds like "shen"). The middle or penultimate syllable is stressed in this word ... while the antepenultimate syllable is stressed in the other words.

It's the letter before the -ian that makes the difference.

Answer 7

thank you Ms Sue and Writeacher for the response and the clarity

Answer 8

You're welcome, RS!