The wrong emphasis

My US American ex-housemate once showed us his open letter home. He told his family about his studies, his new partner, and how he liked England because, among other reasons, there was a general lack of religion. He also observed 'a learned helplessness' within the native population. I was rather flattered and encouraged by that, such was the ambivalence of my literary ambition. And then I realised the second syllable of 'learned' wasn't emphasised.