I attribute this problem partly to my Indian background - where irregular and infrequent words, when used, were usually pronounced the 'Indian' way, but the fact is that I often have problems with stresses - the ways in which words need to be accented when pronounced.

For instance, if I am asked to pronounce economy, economics, economist and economical in quick succession, it rapidly turns into a litany of reflected-sounds-of-underground-spirits.

My most embarrassing moment was when I turned epiphany into "eppy-fanny" (it included a genuine slip of the tongue) and you can imagine the ribald risibility it evoked in my colleagues (who spend most of their time, you may be pleased to know, Jackie, in the gutter).

I also read somewhere, that whilst RP (the accent I affect) is often seen as authoritative in most matters of pronunciation (socially speaking, since we don't really support the prescriptivist agenda), it has strange lacunæ in its abilities. For instance veterinary is almost impossible to pronounce in RP. (I know, I've tried.) Most RP speakers, I suspect, either plump for vet or veterinarian (which has its own awful complications).

Does others have a similar problem - that of their accent making it difficult for them to pronounce certain words, particularly with regard to getting the stresses 'right'?

And how do you pronounce 'veterinary' anyway?

cheer

the sunshine warrior