[General] In AmE [ˈprəutest] can be applied to pronounce 'protest' as verb?

[LiuJing]

The word [protest] has two different pronunciations applied to verb and noun respectively. However, I heard someone say the noun pronunciation can be applied to the verb pronunciation in Amercian English. Is that so?

 

[LiuJing]

Any North American friend who can render some help?

 

[Barb_D]

Generally, the noun has the accent on the first syllable. They are holding a PROtest in front of City Hall tomorrow.

The verb has slightly more emphasis on the second syllable. Don't proTEST so much. I know you actually like it.

 

[Raymott]

In AusE, the noun is protest, but the verb can be either.

For some words in AusE, like "research", both the noun and the verb form have both pronunciations, all of which I use at various times. Sometimes you simply follow the pronunciation of the person who first uses the word. [Accommodation].

 

[Tdol]

I think that there is a general tendency in BrE for noun/verb stress of these words to be less distinct, though it is a trend that many dislike.

 

[SoothingDave]

The word [protest] has two different pronunciations applied to verb and noun respectively. However, I heard someone say the noun pronunciation can be applied to the verb pronunciation in Amercian English. Is that so?

Yes, generally speaking. Where I am from, people would say they are going to PROtest against a new law or a new tax.

 

[konungursvia]

In AusE, the noun is protest, but the verb can be either.

For some words in AusE, like "research", both the noun and the verb form have both pronunciations, all of which I use at various times. Sometimes you simply follow the pronunciation of the person who first uses the word. [Accommodation].

In North America we have quite a few people whose English is idiomatic but who have a rather low degree of knowledge of the language. Isn't this a case of ignorance rather than some form of regional flexibility? For example, on Jazz FM here in Toronto, there's a newscaster who abuses the verb 'contract' (as in to contract a disease) by pronouncing it 'CONtract' a disease. To me, this just sounds incorrect, someone who doesn't know any better.

Just wondering....

 

[Raymott]

In North America we have quite a few people whose English is idiomatic but who have a rather low degree of knowledge of the language. Isn't this a case of ignorance rather than some form of regional flexibility? For example, on Jazz FM here in Toronto, there's a newscaster who abuses the verb 'contract' (as in to contract a disease) by pronouncing it 'CONtract' a disease. To me, this just sounds incorrect, someone who doesn't know any better.

Just wondering....

In the case of AusE, I'd call it uncertainty about whether we should continue with the British pronunciation we grew up with, or adopt the pronunciation we hear continuously on TV.
By "ignorance" you mean ignorance of the "correct" pronunciation. As you know, English does not have an authority on correct pronunciation.
Yes, some people do not have over-fussy aural discrimination. But the ignorance argument doesn't always impress me. We had a bilingual English/French lecturer in Medicine who spoke perfect English during lectures, except for one word. He called centimeters "sontimeters". Was he ignorant? Could there be other reasons for this strange pronunciation, such as L1 interference, or a stubborn assertion of a minimal French identity, one self-indulgent Gallicism he allowed himself in the face of smirks from students whenever he said it ...?

 

[konungursvia]

Thanks for the further thought... as for "sontimeters" the word "cent" has the nasal vowel /ã/ which is the same as that for -an- spellings like tante and avant, so it was almost definitely L1 interference in that case.