Dictionaries do not recommend, for the most part. They document usage. True, 
in some frontmatter pages some dictionaries provide guidelines for 
punctuation and usage, but in the main body what one sees is a description, 
not a prescription.

Some dictionary editors are more adamant about that than others. I seem to 
recall that about 30 years ago the dictionary community took up the issue, 
harrumphed loudly on both sides of the issue (description or prescription), 
then settled down to business as usual.

Jim

On Tuesday 31 May 2005 14:31, John Woelflein wrote:
> Where would one go to look up the "recommended" pronunciation, then? Is it
> the Oxford Dictionary? Webster's Dictionary? Is this a free-for-all?
> Should we care or not????
> What about "KIL-ometre" or "kil-OM-eter?" NIST says that each unit should
> be pronounced with the accent on the first syllable. But that's only in the
> United States.
>
> Bill Hooper <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> "As it SHOULD be"???
> Who is the authority that determines how it should be pronounced.
>
> To the best of my knowledge, CGPM and BIPM are silent on this point.
> they are the only authorities regarding SI.
>
>
>
>
>          John Woelflein
>
>
>
>
>
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-- 
James R. Frysinger
Lifetime Certified Advanced Metrication Specialist
Senior Member, IEEE

http://www.cofc.edu/~frysingj
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