60 words pronounce differently across America

These words come out completely different, depending on where you live or become grown up.


The next time you talk to someone on the other side of the country, take note of the way they say words like "bagel" and "mayonnaise". Maybe you have not noticed it before, but your background comrades probably have very different means of pronouncing thesedaily terms. And it's not just these words, either: how you pronounce words like "tower", "almond" and "envelope" also depends largely on where you have been raised in the United States. Read more about some of the words that are pronounced differently across the country. And for the errors you make every time you type, here'sThe 25 most commonly misspelled words in America.

1
The water

Glass of water
Shutterstock / Ampcool

Most Americans refer to the stuff coming out of the tap as "wah-ter". But if you were raised in the Philadelphia area, your pronunciation is probably more like "wooter" or "wooter".

And learn how your vocabulary can change your prospects, seeCut these 20 negative words of your life and be instantly happier.

2
Summer

Trash bins
Shutterstock / MadeAw_ec

For the majority of us, the word "summer" rhyme with "bin", like those above. But the inhabitants of the northern states located near Canada would say "Ben", like the name.

3
Egg

Hard-boiled egg
Shutterstock / Olexandr Panchenko

Have breakfast in the northwest part of the United States Pacific? You are likely to hear the guests around pronouncing "Egg" as "AYG".

For words you did not know the origins, here's35 commonly used words, we totally stole other languages.

4
Photo

Black and white photo wall
Shutterstock / Olexandr Panchenko

For some Americans, the word "image" does not have its "k"; It looks more like "pitcher". There are fewer regional divisions with this one - you will hear the two pronunciations across the country.

5
Downtown

Downtown Manhattan sidewalk
Shutterstock / Ryan Deberardinis

In the Pittsburgh area, the "W's" in "Downtown" disappears and are replaced by a sound "Ah". So, if a fan of Steelers asks youIf you want to go "Dahntahn, "You know they want to go to the city.

For the language that will mitigate your mind, here's15 magic phrases and words that help relieve stress.

6
Oil

Flavored olive oil
Shutterstock / Ryan Deberardinis

In the south, when someone asks you to pass the "All", they probably ask "the oil". In addition, depending on where you are, you can hear a one or two syllable version ("OI-ULL") of this word.

7
Drawer

Organized clothes in drawer
Shutterstock / Maicasaa

In most countries, the word for an individual compartment in a dresser rhymes with the word "bore". But in the region of the city of New York, "drawer" is shorten to "draw", rhyme with "straw".

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8
Bag

Delivery guy holding bag
Shutterstock / Andrew Angelov

Shopping in Wisconsin? The clerk is likely to ask youIf you want a "bayg" For your articles instead of a "bag".

9
Lilac

Lilacs on branch
Shutterstock / Fotolotos

Chances are chances, you would refer to these small purple fragrant flowers like "Lie-miss". But around Rochester New York, the same plant is commonly known as "Lie-Lock". The city has a famousLilas Festival, so maybe they know something we do not do it.

For more vocabulary insight, here's50 words that you hear every day but I do not know what they mean.

10
The iron

Iron on ironing board
Shutterstock / New Africa

Whether you pump it to build your muscles or using one to press your clothes, you probably pronounce "iron" with two syllables ("urn eye"). But, like the way they turned the word "city center", Pittsburgers turned it into a word of a syllable that sounds like "argh".

11
Donut

Bagels for breakfast crummy
Refuge

This delicious morning staple often covered with cream cheese has many ways to be pronounced, as it turns out. Most people - including New Yorkers, who are probably the most competent on the issue - pronounce the word "Bay-Gull", but many MidwesternalBotche the word ring as "bah-goull".

12
Caramel

Caramel, dessert
Refuge

The pronunciation of this sweet treats is rather controversial. TheHarvard dialect surveyA linguistic survey conducted in the first Aughts by a team led byBert, shows that, while the West Coast and the Midwest pronounce the word "caramel" with two syllables like "car-ml", the majority of the east coast sees the word like three syllables, pronouncing it "car-a-mel" .

13
Syrup

winter superfoods
Refuge

Could you pass the "Sear-up"? No, but I can pass the "sir-Up. "Yes, the syrup debate against the syrup is a sticky, but the two pronunciations are considered acceptable.

14
Pajamas

Woman work from home in pajamas
Refuge

What divides the country when it comes to "pajamas" is the second syllable of the word. Head to the Western states and MidWatest Americans and you will find that the "A" in pajamas is pronounced as "jam", but spend time in any southern or oriental state and you will hear an "A" as in " Father".

15
Nevada

Las Vegas, happiest cities, drunkest cities, flip a house, rent, property, sleepless cities
Refuge

Pay attention to how you pronounce the name of this state in front of a native Nevadan. Although the inhabitants of the east coast refer to the house of the Las Vegas band as "Nev-Ah-da" (with an "A" like "odd"), the correct pronunciationAccording to the inhabitants of the state-IS actually "Nev-AD-A-A" (with an "A" like "Add").

16
Oregon

Portland Oregon landscape covered in snow
Refuge

Oregon is another state name that people outside the west coast do not know how to pronounce. Unlike popular beliefs,it is not pronounced "or-a-party", but "or a-a-pistol".

17
New Orleans

new orleans, la
Refuge

SameThe premises can not agree on how to pronounce the name of this city. Some people say "new scratches", others say "new or - hast" and a small subset add even an additional syllable to do it "New or-UHN".

18
Caribbean

Guadeloupe Caribbean Magical Islands
Refuge

As the region is named after the Caribbean (pronounced Kar-IB), the technically precise pronunciation of the word "Caribbean" is "Kar-I-Bee-in". However, many people (some Aboriginal people in the Caribbean included) prefer the pronunciation "ka-rib-ee-in" and therefore the two dictions are relatively common.

19
Florida

panorama tower miami florida
Refuge

Most of the Floridian Americans understood - pronounce the first syllable in Florida at the rhyme with "painful". However, there isThree Other ways to pronounce this word: "Flow-ri-da" "Flah-Ri-da" and "Flaw-Ri-da". For the most part, these alternative pronunciations can be heard in the southern states and the northeast.

20
Texas

austin texas skyline at dusk
Refuge

Although the vast majority of people pronounce "Texas" with a sound, not everyone does it. According to the Harvard Dialect survey, just 5% of respondents - mainly people in the northern states and the Midwest - say the name of the state with a "Z" sound.

21
To visit

people taking a tour of the city
Refuge

According to whom you ask, you could start in a "twisted" of a city, or you could start in a "toor" of a city. The twoMerriam Webster and theMacmillan dictionary Advise you to pronounce it as "Toor", but that does not mean that "Tore" is wrong - it really depends on what you have taught.

22
Lawyer

female lawyerThings Said in Court
Refuge

Researchers at Harvard Dialect Billet also discovered that even though most Americans pronounce the word "lawyer" so that the first syllable rhymes with "boy", stresses the "law" of the lawyer so that the First syllable makes a "saw". ring.

23
Get married / merry / mary

first wedding dance
Refuge

If you need to say the phrase "I feel happy about Marying Mary", your pronunciations of "Marry", "Merry" and "Mary" sounds differently? Most Americans will see these words come out exactly the same - but if you come from a big northeast city, then it is likely that the way you go out every word differs, with "get married" with the Even vowel as "cat", "happy" taking the same vowel as "pet" and "Marie" taking the same vowel as "just".

24
Caught

father and son fishing
Refuge

Do you hear a difference in pronunciation between the words "bed" and "caught"? If so, you probably did not grow up on the west coast or in the Midwest. In the Harvard dialect survey, researchers have found that the majority of people in these regions have made these words in the same way. People on the east coast and south, they tend to pronounce them distinctly differently.

25
Envelope

Mail
Refuge

Most people pronounce the first syllable in the word "envelope" as "pen" - but if you ask enough, you will find that some people pronounce the first syllable as "Dawn". It's because the English word comes fromThe French word For the envelope, which promotes the last pronunciation.

26
Aunt

Mom Talking to Teen Daughter Hacks for Raising an Amazing Kid
Refuge

Some people,Especially the Suders, See the word "aunt" and pronounce it not differently than the namesake of the word, "Ant." But others, especially those of the Boston region, pronounce the word so that it rhymes with "Dart", pay tribute to the former homeland of the colonies.

27
Almond

Almonds snack food nuts
Refuge

The various pronunciations of the word "Almond" become when many people emigrated from Europe in the United States, bringing with them their indigenous languages ​​and therefore their own versions of various words. So, call it an "al-mond", an "am-end" or a "Ahl-Mende"; Whatever pronunciation, you always refer to the same thing.

28
Salmon

thyroid foods Raw salmon
Refuge

Given how many Americans are not indigenous Anglophones, it is not surprising that so many people say the word "salmon" with a distinctive sound "l". In languages ​​such as Spanish and Italian, "L" in salmon is very heard, and it often has pronunciations for people who learn English as a second language. In the case of this fish, however, there is only one right pronunciation, and this implies no sound "l".

29
Pecan nuts

Pecans, healthy food
Refuge

Whether you pronounce the word "Pecan" as "Pipan" or "Puh-Kahn" is more complicated than you think. When the National Pecan Shellers Association interviewed the Americans on how they pronounced the name of the walnut, they found that there was divided not only among the regions, but also. By writing byThe Washington PostThe investigation concluded that there was no unique pronunciation of the designated word for each zone, with 45% of the siding and 70% of the Northern Status of "PEE-CAN".

30
Mayonnaise

Mayonnaise Hilariously Silly Jokes
Refuge

As if the debate on what to call a giant sandwich was not enough (is it a submarine, a hero or hoagie?) The Americans find that it is necessary to discuss the correct pronunciation of sandwich condiments. Although there are slight variations in the regions, the general consensus is that in the West and Midwest, you will put "May-UH-Naze" on your sandwich and in the North and South, you will use "man-aze. "

31
Cauliflower

Cauliflower Foods rid allergies
Refuge

Is it the vegetable you eat "CAUL-EE-FLOWER" or "CAUL-IH-FLOR"? In the northeast, you are most likely to hear this second syllable pronounced as "see". In the rest of the country, however, that "I" take the same sound he does in "Sit".

32
Coyote

Coyote, animal
Refuge

Unless you live on the west coast, you probably do not even realize that there are two ways to pronounce "Coyote". "Ki-ote is a type of pronunciation from Colorado-Wyoming,"Andrew Cowell, director of linguistics in cu more audacious, said9 new. "If you come from the East, you are much more likely to say Ki-O-Tee."

33
Bit

hamburger and french fries
Refuge

In one way or another, even three-letter words with a syllable have managed to take several pronunciations. While the gross majority of the Americans pronounce the word "bit" as "sit", there are people (especially in some parts of Colorado) who say it as "bet". (And since "bit" sounds like "bet", "bet" then sounds like "bat". It is very confusing.)

34
Grocery store

grocery bag in car
Refuge

How do you call the food items you buy on the market? "Gro-Sir-Ees", of course! But not so fast: If you are from the Midwest, you could replace the sound "Sir" with a "SH", calling your carrier "Gosh-Rees".

35
Pencil

Crayon
Refuge

Some people pronounce it "Cray-awn", rhyming with "Dawn" and others pronounce it "Cray-ahn", rhyme with "man". According toCrayola, No doubt the best experts in pencil, the good way to say that it's "Cray-awn", but even they admit that there are too many regional differences to try to implement a single pronunciation.

36
Mirror

woman putting on makeup in the mirror
Refuge

When saying the words "mirror" and "mothers" aloud, do you hear a significant difference? People on the coast might be surprised to learn that the answer to this question for some people is no, because their pronunciation of the word "mirror" makes only one syllable, regardless of the "-or".

37
Museum

self-acceptance will make you instantly happy
Refuge

Nobody denies that the word "museum" begins with a "mew" sound. However, they could disagree on how speech continues to be sounded, with some people favoring the pronunciation "Mew-Zee-Um" and other opting for the pronunciation "Mew-Zam".

38
Mischievous

Mischievous children drawing on their father's face
Refuge

The word "malicious" is spelled so that it is pronounced as "put-cheer-you", but in one way or another, the Harvard Dialect survey revealed that more than 26% of the Americans pronounce the word with four syllables. Why? According toMerriam Webster, a spelling variant of the word with a "-yeuse" existed as far as the 16th century, but today, this spelling and this pronunciation are considered "non standard".

39
Coupon

save 40 percent of your paycheck
Refuge

You do not pronounce the word "cool" with a sound "Q", so you do not think the word "coupon" with a sound "q" either, no? Unfortunately, it's not so simple. Although the pronunciation accepted by the word is simple "koo-pon", many educated individual pronounce the first syllable of the word as "Kyoo", as if they ring the letter "Q".

40
Poem

Man writing a poem by the water
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Wherever you traveled in the United States, you will find people who pronounce the word "poem" as "Pome" (Rhyming with "Home") and "Po-Emme". The pronunciation of this word is not limited to the regions, but simply to the personal preference.

41
to bloom

Beyonce
Shutterstock / Tinseltown

Undoubtedly,Beyonce is flourishing. But does it "flora-ishing", "Fluh-pharishing" or "flucher-ishing"? It really depends on who you ask. The Harvard Dialect survey found that, while "Powerful ISH", the favorite pronunciation, there are many Midwesternal and Northerners who say "Flora-Ish" and some people living in the northeast who say "Fluh -RISH ".

42
Bowie knife

A Bowie knife
Refuge

Is it a "arc-is" knife, or is it a "boo-wie" knife? It depends on who you are talking about. In the Harvard dialect survey, researchers found that about 19% of respondents - most of them lived in the northeastern region - pronounced it the second way.

43
Stream

vickery creek in roswell georgia
Refuge

The majority of Americans can agree that "EE" in "Creek" is pronounced as "search". However, in the Harvard dialect survey, about four percent of people noted that they pronounced the "EE" in the creek so that it looked like "Sit". Most of these people came from Midwest states like Minnesota, Wisconsin and Iowa.

44
Handkerchief

Woman sneezing into a tissue or handkerchief
Refuge

Does the last syllable of "handkerchief" does it have the same sound as "search" or "sit"? By Harvard's dialect survey, most northeastern people would say "search", while the rest of the country would go with "SIT".

45
Adult

happy older man outside
Refuge

"Adult" is considered a word "toilet paper roll". That is, you choose to pronounce it as "add-ult" or "uh-dult", you are correct: just as you are right to place your roll of toilet paper sous or more.

46
Asterisk

A chalk drawing of an asterisk
Refuge

"Asterisk" might not come often in the conversation, but when that would, it is pronounced differently depending on the region. In some parts of the north-east, it is pronounced "Asteri [ks]"; from top to bottom on the north coast, it is pronounced "Asteri [k]"; And in the rest of the country, it's just "Asteri [SK]".

47
Real estate agent

Real Estate Agent Showing a Family a House {Cons of Owning a Big House}
Refuge

How many syllables are there in "real estate agent"? Ask someone from the northeast and they will probably tell you that there are only two. However, ask someone from the Midwest or South and they are more likely to use three syllables, pronouncing it "reel-uh-ter" or "ree-l-ter".

48
On Monday

Woman using calendar on her smartphone
Refuge

Most people will say that the days of the week-Monday, Tuesday, etc. - and pronounce the second syllable so that it rhymes with "say". However, a small part of the population, mainly south and southwest, will affirm this syllable to rhyme with "see".

49
Huge

jolly green giant statue in minnesota famous state statues
Refuge

Do you pronounce the letter "H" in words like "huge"? If so, you are among the majority of Americans. In the Harvard dialect survey, however, about three percent of respondents - mainly people in the Northeast to note that they do not pronounce the sound "H" when they say words like "huge" "" humor "," humongous "and" human. "

50
Trimester

Man holding quarters
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Most Americans pronounce the word "neighborhood" so that he has a "KW" sound at the beginning. However, some people in the northeastern and Midwest regions pronounce this word so that the first syllable is more a "K" sound.

51
Roof

Man laying new tile on the roof
Refuge

If you have stayed at the same place for all your life, you may not even know that there is more than one way to pronounce the word "roof". But surprising, there are in fact two current ways to pronounce this word of four letters. While people born and raised in the West tend to pronounce the word as if it rhyme with "sabot", those of the East see it as rhymers of "Poof".

52
Miracle

Pregnant mom in pajamas
Shutterstock / Syda Productions

Most Americans pronounce the first vowel in "miracle" so that it looks like "knitting". However, the Harvard Dialect survey discovered that in the Northeast region, people tend to pronounce this vowel so that it looks more like "near". There is even a small group of people in the northeast who pronounce this sound to rhyme with "net"!

53
Truly

man of color looks shocked at phone
Refuge

Although the word "really" is pronounced differently across the country, it does not seem to be due to regional differences. In Harvard's dialect survey, researchers found that people from an ocean to the coast pronounced the word "coating", "Rillly"and "Ree-l-y."

54
Assurance

Signing insurance papers
Shutterstock / Fermayez

Most Americans pronounce the word "insurance" by focusing on the second syllable. But in some parts of the country - mainly in the northeastern and Midwest regions, people will highlight the first syllable instead, the appellant "insurance".

55
Road

woman with apple maps on her phone n the car
Refuge

The pronunciation of the word "road" is a little complicated. Although northern East-Le-Nord tends to pronounce it, so it rhymes with "hoot" and the midwesters tend to pronounce it so it rhymes with "out", more than 30 % of respondents from the Harvard Dialect survey noted that they can (and do it) pronounce them at a time.

56
Etc

young woman writing in a notebook
exit

There is not one, not two, not three, butfour Different ways to pronounce "and cetera". Although the most popular way to say that it is "E [TS] eTera", also say "E [ts] etra", "eksterra" and "eksetra".

57
Garage

healthy man clean garage
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The dialect differences divided the Americans into two categories: those who say "Ga-Rah-GE" and those who say "Ga-Redge". But hey, but you pronounce it at least, you do not call a parking lot!

58
To have

woman shopping online
Refuge

"Wordto have Do not rhyme withAgain here in the south, "writesSarah Johnson, a specialist in native and southern accent of South Carolina. "We say that as" git ". There are current rhymes teachers at school when students complain about not having their first choice. In the north, you could say," You get what you get, So do not get upset. But that does not conquer for us. We say, "You give what you git, so do not throw an adjustment." "

59
Not

Asian woman putting her hand up and saying no
Refuge

"Get" is not the only word that the Sudnender pronounces differently. According to Johnson, "the wordnot In many small towns [in the south] rhymes in fact withPaint. "

60
Pen

Woman writing things with a pen
Refuge

In some parts of the South, the word "pen" often rhyme with "pin". On adialect In the 1990s at the North Carolina State University, this model can also be seen in words like "Tin" and "Ten" "Windy" and "Wendy" and "Sinned" and "Send "


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