Pronunciation of “comparable”

Question

I was talking to my boyfriend about this but I wanted to get some more opinions.

"Comparable" can be pronounced as:

1. COMP-er-uh-bul (which is how I usually pronounce it)
2. Com-PAIR-ah-bul (which usually makes me blink and tilt my head)

Is there a specific case where one pronunciation is used over another? I tend to think that version 1 deals more with similarity than version 2. Version 2, to me, feels like it's more about the fact that two elements can be compared.

Also: can both words/pronunciations be used interchangeably (granted that my guesses toward the meanings are correct)?

Answer 1

The two pronunciations in question are (in IPA):

1. /ˑkɑmp(ə)rəbəl/ (KOM-pruh-buhl)/(KOM-puh-ruh-buhl)
2. /kəmˑp(æ/ɛ)rəbəl/ (kuhm-PARE-uh-buhl) [approximately]

Pronunciations for this word are given in dictionaries in four ways, as far as I can tell:

• (a) both are given in the order #1, #2, with no comment
  Webster’s New World
• (b) both are given in the order #1, #2, but the second is noted as “less common” with a notation like “also”, or “or, sometimes”,
  Merriam-Webster, Random House,
• (c) both are given in the order #1, #2, but the second is noted as U.S.-only
  Cambridge Advanced Learner’s, Wiktionary
• (d) only #1 is given
  American Heritage, Collins, Macmillan, New Oxford American

No dictionary I looked in lists pronunciation #2 first. Nor does any support different meanings for different pronunciations. Generally speaking, #1 is the traditional and unimpeachably correct pronunciation. #2 is commonly used, but if you use it, you should not be surprised if you are criticized or corrected.

Addendum: the user-provided pronunciation site Forvo has seven pronunciations for comparable. The two pronunciations which are pronounced like #2 are rated –3. The rest, which are pronounced like #1, are rated 0, 1, or 2.

Answer 2

What you're discussing is word stress, whether the word stressed is as

comp-ra-ble

or

com-pair-a-ble

This is just another potayto-potahto question.

Answer 3

The New Oxford American Dictionary reports that the correct pronunciation in standard English is with the stress on the first syllable rather than the second.

Answer 4

I pronounce it as com-pa-ra-ble. It is more consistent with other similar adjectives ending in -able, in that its emphasis is the syllable before the -able.