Blog by Sumana Harihareswara, Changeset founder

03 Mar 2008, 2:35 a.m.

Rhythm

Hi, reader. I wrote this in 2008 and it's now more than five years old. So it may be very out of date; the world, and I, have changed a lot since I wrote it! I'm keeping this up for historical archive purposes, but the me of today may 100% disagree with what I said then. I rarely edit posts after publishing them, but if I do, I usually leave a note in italics to mark the edit and the reason. If this post is particularly offensive or breaches someone's privacy, please contact me.

My employer's name, "Behavior," has the same syllabic stress pattern as "America." Thus: anthems?

Behavior The Beautiful
God Bless Behavior
(I Want To Work At) Behavior [WebSideStory]
Comin' To Behavior

Comments

Eric Fischer
http://enf.livejournal.com
03 Mar 2008, 13:47 p.m.

The "i" is pronounced as a separate syllable? (I'm just surprised because for me, America has four syllables and Behavior has three.)

Sumana
03 Mar 2008, 15:37 p.m.

Yes, I pronounce "Behavior" with four syllables. But you are not alone! At least one partner here uses the 3-syllable pronunciation.

I also have a tendency to pronounce "iron" the way it's spelled, which gets me funny looks.

Martin
05 Mar 2008, 15:07 p.m.

Four-syllable "behavior" sounds really weird to me. However, I will confess that I was once forced to call up an Internet acquaintance because they didn't believe anyone pronounced "February" with two Rs, so what do I know?

Martin
05 Mar 2008, 15:08 p.m.

Also: Oh Mammy dear, we're all mad over here / Workin' at Behavior...