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"Nomenclature".

OED has two pronunciations for it:

nə(ʊ)ˈmɛŋklətʃə (nuh-men-cla-cher)

and

ˈnəʊmənˌkleɪtʃə (nomen-clay-cher)

I use the former of the two, albeit without any real reason.

Which is the most-oft used and are there geographical preferences?

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    The difference in these is the stress: nuh-MEN-cluh-cher and NO-men-CLAY-cher. In the U.S., I don't think I ever hear nuh-MEN-cluh-cher. So my guess is that the first is mainly British (in which case you have a very good reason to use it). And the speakers at forvo.com seem to agree; the first is used by the Brits, the second by the American, and the Canadian says both. Sep 16, 2014 at 13:03
  • @PeterShor Thanks for letting me know the U.S. preference.
    – Ste
    Sep 16, 2014 at 13:05
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    @Peter: Absolutely right! As confirmed by Cambridge dictionaries. But equally, I don't think I ever hear the US version (so it sounds totally weird to me, as I'm sure my version does to you). I think maybe it's just one of those words we read much more often than we hear. And even though we (hopefully! :) don't move our lips when we read, we still "hear" using the inner voice. Reinforcing our own particular native preferences, which in practice are rarely contravened by real-world conversations, etc. Sep 16, 2014 at 14:06
  • Yes, I definitely read it more than say it. Didn't realise Cambridge shows pronunciation by Br.Eng and Am.Eng. - I will have to check there in future.
    – Ste
    Sep 16, 2014 at 14:08

1 Answer 1

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The difference between these two pronunciation stems from which syllables are stressed; the difference in vowels follows by the process of reduction of unstressed vowels in English.

As discussed in the comments, and verified by Cambridge dictionaries](http://dictionary.cambridge.org/pronunciation/british/nomenclature)

no-MEN-cla-ture is the British pronunciation,
NO-men-CLA-ture is the American pronunciation.

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