"I am somewhat confused about the proper British pronunciation of words like "ordinarily", "temporarily", and "momentarily". As I understand it, ... American pronunciation and stress the "a" in these words. What is common and what is considered correct British? Claus"
Hi Claus
In Received Pronunciation, the dialect of educated speakers of standard English, all three adverbs are stressed on the first syllable, with the others trailing away in emphasis.
There are, of course, lots of 'educated speakers' who speak with a whole variety of other dialects, many of them approaching RP, and many influenced by American and regional useage.
But in RP the pronunciation follows what Fowler called 'recessive accent', with the stress on the first syllable.
That is the normal pronunciation among those who are comfortable, habitual users of RP.
L