Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[christina_nguyen]

I notice that there are 2 pronunciations for DETAIL \di-ˈtāl, ˈdē-ˌtāl\

Does it matter which pronunciation I use? And are there specific situations where one pronunciation is preferred over the other?

Thank you for answering!

[bud]

For the noun "detail," I think it's a matter of dialect as to which syllable you stress. Both are OK. For the verb "detail," I think you stress the first syllable, regardless of dialect.

That's just my opinion, though.