“Flu” Outbreak
This “flu” certainly isn’t life-threatening or at epidemic proportions. But it’s one that can make me break out in a cold sweat when I hear it. 
What is it? The pronounciation of the words affluent, affluence and influence. I’ve noticed an outbreak in placing the stress on the second syllable — af-FLU-ent; af-FLU-ence; in-FLU-ence — rather than on the first.
Have I been wrong all these years saying “AF-flu-ent” and “IN-flu-ence” or has there been a shift in pronounciation that I wasn’t aware of?
To find out, off to the dictionary I go. Both pronounciations are acceptable for affluent and affluence according to The American Heritage Third Edition and Merriam-Webster. But for influence, only the stress on the first syllable is acceptable. I also checked the word “effluent.” To me, af-FLU-ent (or uh-FLU-ent, which is another variation) sounds like the way to pronounce “effluent,” especially when used to mean sewage. But according to my sources, it has only one pronounciation with the stress on the first syllable. I’m not sure why affluent has two variations but the other words don’t. If anyone knows, please share.
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