Trap 22 of 22 · French speakers
-ism and -ist: tourism, journalist
-isme et -iste : tourism, journalist
What French speakers do
You say the French -isme / -iste, stressed at the end: tou-RISME, journa-LISTE.
The American rule
-ism = IZ-um (a Z, then a weak um: two syllables). -ist = IST, short and weak. The stress stays early: TOOR-iz-um, JUR-nuh-list.
French -isme has one syllable; English -ism has two, and the S becomes a Z: tourism = TOOR-iz-um, realism = REE-uh-liz-um.
French -iste carries the stress; English -ist never does: journalist = JUR-nuh-list, dentist = DEN-tist.
In both cases, find the stressed syllable near the front and let the ending fall away.
The words
tourism
/ˈtʊrɪzəm/
✗tou-RISM
✓TOOR-iz-um
“Tourism is huge in Florida.”
tourist
/ˈtʊrɪst/
✗tou-RIST
✓TOOR-ist
“We look like tourists here.”
journalist
/ˈdʒɝnəlɪst/
✗jouR-na-LIST
✓JUR-nuh-list
“She works as a journalist.”
racism
/ˈreɪsɪzəm/
✗Ra-SISM
✓RAY-siz-um
“We must fight racism.”
capitalism
/ˈkæpətəlɪzəm/
✗ka-pi-ta-LISM
✓KAP-uh-duh-liz-um
“They studied capitalism in college.”
optimist
/ˈɑptəmɪst/
✗op-ti-MIST
✓AHP-tuh-mist
“I'm an optimist.”
dentist
/ˈdɛntɪst/
✗dan-TIST
✓DEN-tist
“I have a dentist appointment.”
artist
/ˈɑrtɪst/
✗aR-TIST
✓AR-tist
“Her father is an artist.”
specialist
/ˈspɛʃəlɪst/
✗spé-sya-LIST
✓SPESH-uh-list
“You should see a specialist.”
mechanism
/ˈmɛkəˌnɪzəm/
✗mé-ka-NISM
✓MEK-uh-niz-um
“The mechanism is simple.”
realism
/ˈriəˌlɪzəm/
✗Ré-a-LISM
✓REE-uh-liz-um
“I like the realism of the film.”