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PEOPLE SAY DIFFERENTLY
| WORDS | Explanation |
|---|---|
| adult | Can be pronounced with the emphasis on either syllable. |
| almond | "Al-mond," "am-end," and "ahl-mend" are all acceptable pronunciations of this word. |
| aunt | Pronounced "ant" in many parts of the US, whereas in the UK and parts of the Northeast including Boston, it is pronounced to rhyme with "daunt." |
| bag | Usually has a hard a; however, it is pronounced "bayg" in Wisconsin. |
| bagel | Pronounced "bay-gull" in most places, but "bah-gull" in many parts of the Midwest. |
| been | Pronounced "bin" in most of the US, "ben" in North Central states, and with a long e sound in the UK. |
| bit | Usually rhymes with "sit," but in Colorado is often pronounced "bet." |
| bowie knife | Most frequently pronounced "bow-ie," but in the Northeast "boo-wie" is common. |
| can't | Usually rhymes with "aren't," but in many parts of the Southern US it rhymes with "paint." |
| caramel | In the West and Midwest, this is a two-syllable word ("car-ml"), whereas on the East Coast and in other English-speaking countries, all three syllables are articulated ("car-a-mel"). |
| Caribbean | Can be pronounced either with equal stress on all syllables or with emphasis on the second syllable. |
| caught/cot | These two words are pronounced the same on the West Coast and in the Midwest, and elsewhere are pronounced distinctly. |
| cauliflower | Pronounced "caul-ee-flower" in the Northeastern US and "caul-ih-flower" in the rest of the country. |
| coupon | Usually pronounced "koo-pon" but many people use "kyoo-pon." |
| coyote | In Colorado and Wyoming, "kai-ote" is common; the rest of the world usually uses "kai-o-tee." |
| crayon | Can be pronounced "cray-awn" or "cray-ahn." |
| downtown | In Pittsburgh, this is pronounced "dahntahn"; in most other places, the word rhymes with "brown." |
| drawer | Usually rhymes with "bore," but in NYC, it rhymes with "straw." |
| egg | Usually pronounced with a hard e, but "ayg" is common in the Pacific Northwest. |
| envelope | The initial e is usually a hard e sound, but "awn-vel-ope" is sometimes used. |
| et cetera | Usually pronounced "e[ts]etera," but "e[ts]etra," "eksetera," and "eksetra" are also common. |
| Florida | Pronounced "flore-ri-da" by Floridians and most others, but "flow-ri-da," "flah-ri-da," and "flaw-ri-da" are also heard. |
| flourish | "Flore-ish," "fluh-ish," and "flurr-ish" are all common pronunciations. |
| get | Usually rhymes with "yet," but in the Southern US "git" is common. |
| handkerchief | Can be pronounced either "han-ker-chif" or "han-ker-cheef." |
| huge | In most places the inital h is sounded, but in the Northeast a silent h is common. |
| insurance | In most parts of the world, the emphasis is on the second syllable, but in the Northeast and Midwestern US, it is common to emphasize the first. |
| iron | Usually pronounced "eye-urn," but in Pittsburgh, PA, it is often a one-syllable word ("arhn"). |
| lawyer | Usually pronounced "loy-er," except in the Southern US, where "lahw-yer" is more common. |
| lilac | Most people say "lie-lack," but in parts of upstate New York, "lie-lock" is used. |
| mayonnaise | Most people say "may-uh-naze," but in some parts of the US, the word has been truncated to "man-aze." |
| miracle | Usually pronounced "mih-ra-cul," but in the Northeastern US "meer-a-cul" is common. |
| mirror | In most of the world this is a two-syllable word, but in many parts of the US it sounds like "mere." |
| mischievous | Generally pronounced with three syllables ("mis-che-vous"), but some Americans add an extra syllable ("mis-chee-vi-us"). |
| Monday | Days of the week usually rhyme with "say," but in the Southern and Midwestern US, the second syllable often ryhmes with "see." |
| museum | This has two common pronunciations: "mew-zee-um" and "mew-zam." |
| New Orleans | The name of this famous city has three common pronunciations: "new oar-lins," "new or-leans," and "new or-lee-uns." |
| oil | Usually rhymes with "spoil," but in the Southern US, it often rhymes with "all." |
| pajamas | Can be pronounced either "pa-jam-as" or "pa-jah-mas." |
| pecan | Can be pronounced either "pee-can" or "puh-kahn." The pronunciation varies between regions as well as within them. |
| pen | Usually rhymes with "ten," but in the Southern US, it often rhymes with "tin." |
| picture | In most of the world the pronunciation is "pik-cher," but in some parts of the US it sounds more like "pitcher." |
| poem | In most of the world the pronunciation is "poh-em," but in some parts of the US "pome" is common. |
| really | This word is pronounced in various ways, including "reely," "rilly," and "ree-l-lee." |
| realtor | In the Northeastern US this is usually pronounced with two syllables ("reel-ter"), whereas in the Midwest or South three syllables are more common ("reel-uh-ter" or "ree-l-ter"). |
| route | In the Northeastern US this is usually pronounced "root", whereas in the Midwest "rowt" is more common. Some people pronounce it both ways. |
| salmon | The correct pronunciation is with a silent-l; however, the l is often pronounced by those learning English as a second language. |
| Texas | Most people pronounce it with a normal ssound, but some people in the North and Midwest use a z sound. |
| tour | Can be pronounced either "tore" or "toor," though Merriam-Webster and Macmillan both advise "toor." |
| water | Usually pronounced "wah-ter," but "wooder" or "wooter" are sometimes heard in the Philadelphia area. |