Object (pronunciation)

The word object has different pronunciations for the related noun and verb.

• The noun 'an object' has the stress on the first syllable, 'OB-ject' (IPA: /ˈɒb dʒɛ (or ɪ) kt/).
• The verb 'to object' has the stress on the second syllable, 'ob-JECT' (IPA: /ɒ (or ə) b ˈdʒɛkt/).

Derivatives such as objector, objectify, objective and objection usually have the stress on the second syllable ('ob-JECT-or', /IPA: /ɒ (or ə) b ˈdʒɛkt ə^r/), etc.; but in objectival the stress is on the third syllable 'ob-ject-IVE-el, /ɒb dʒɛkt ˈaɪ v^əl/, and in objectification the stress is on the fifth 'ob-ject-if-i-KAY-shun', /ɒb dʒɛkt ɪ fɪ ˈkeɪ ʃ^ən/.

Note

This pattern of shifting stress in words that look identical but belong to two separate word classes is quite common in English.

Quirk (1985) (Appendix I.56 B) describes the most common: "When verbs of two syllables are converted into nouns, the stress is sometimes shifted from the second to the first syllable. The first syllable, typically a Latin prefix, often has a reduced vowel /ə/ in the verb but a full vowel in the noun: He was con-VICT-ed (IPA: /kən ˈvɪkt ɪd/) of theft, and so became a CON vict (IPA: /ˈkɒn vɪkt/)" [AWE's rendition of IPA].

There follows a list of some 57 "words having end-stress as verbs but initial stress as nouns in Br[itish] E[nglish]." Note that "in Am[erican] E[nglish], many have initial stress as verbs also". Quirk's list is the foundation of AWE's category:shift of stress. Additions have been made from, amongst others, Fowler, 1926-1996.