Today, we are going to talk about the differences in American pronunciation between the words "dessert" and "desert."
The first word "dessert" is a noun which means a sweet course such as cake served at the end of a meal. The second word "desert" is a noun which means a large sandy area.
There are several differences between the two words. The first difference is in regard to where the stress is placed. The word "dessert" has its stress on the second syllable like "des-SERT" while "desert" has its stress on the first syllable like DES-sert. Also, the vowel sounds after the first letter D are not the same.
The word "dessert" has this "i" sound after the D sound like "di." The word "desert" contains this "e" sound after the D like "de."