Staff Writers
The United States is
known for diversity, which is represented in many places, including here at
Apex High School. One way this is shown is through varying dialects. Some use a
different word or a different pronunciation. For the word ‘oil,’ everyone polled
pronounced it the same way, with two syllables. For the word ‘iron,’ only one
person pronounced it as ‘i-run’ instead of ‘i-urn.’ For words, such as
‘caramel’ and ‘syrup,’ there were a variety of answers. How do you pronounce
these words? Some questions also have to do with word choice. Below are the questions and results from a recently conducted poll
of 50 Apex High School staff and students.
Pronunciation
For the word ‘aunt,’
most pronounced it as
‘ann-t,’ which is how most of the country says it. Others
pronounce it as ‘awn-t’ which is a characteristic of Connecticut, Maine,
Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Rhode Island.
Some choose to substitute an ‘e’ in place of the ‘i’ in milk and pillow,
so that it mimics the word set. Others pronounced the first syllables as mill
and pill.
Caramel was one with
varying answers. In the South and the Northeast it is commonly pronounced as
‘cara-mel’ however, 52% of those polled said it differently.
#4 was omitted
The two commonly used pronunciations of pecan are both found in North
Carolina. With pee-can being more common in the eastern part of the state and
pee-kahn in the west. The third pronunciation we heard, peck-in, is more common
as you move west towards the center of the country.
The two commonly used
pronunciations of pecan are both found in North Carolina. With pee-can being
more common in the eastern part of the state and pee-kahn in the west. The
third pronunciation we heard, peck-in, is more common as you move west towards
the center of the country.
‘Cray-on’ was the pronunciation expected for the eastern side of the
country and especially in the South, although, only a little more than half
pronounced it that way.
Only 6% of students pronounce Appalachian as ‘app-a-lay-shun,’ while the
other 94% pronounce it as ‘app-a-latch-in.’
Tournament, was pronounced as ‘turn-ament’ more often than
‘tour-nament', Merriam-Webster dictionary says that either pronunciation is
correct.
Around the country it’s
generally pronounced as bin, there are no areas in the country where it most
common to pronounce it as bean.
Drawer was never said as just ‘draw’ it was pronounced either so it
rhymed with door or with two distinct syllables ‘draw-er.’
Pronouncing route so that it rhymes with grout is a lot more common to
the Northwest and Midwest, root would be more common to the Northeast and they
are believed to be more interchangeable in the south.
‘Sear-up’ is commonly
used in the Northeast; but out of everyone polled, it was the most used
pronunciation.
For pajama, Apex High
School followed the southern norm of pronouncing the second syllable similar to
the first syllable in father.
84% of the people polled
said mayonnaise with two syllables, another pronunciation most common in the
South.
Most said grocery
pronouncing the ‘c’ like the beginning of shock, which goes against the
region’s norm of pronouncing it as ‘sir’.
Word Choice
Most called this object soda, with only 8% calling it by another name.
Most referred to this item as a shopping cart or grocery cart, no one
ever identified it as a carriage, which is what some call it in the Northeast.
This little crustacean, commonly found in streams, was usually called a
crawfish when it was recognizable. Out of the people polled, 14% had no name
for this or could not identify it.
Everyone knew this little insect that commonly comes out on summer
nights. It was fairly close number of people who chose to use the word firefly
or lightning bug, and some said that they would use both.
It was split almost down
the middle for tennis shoes or sneakers, with sneakers having a slight edge.
Icing or frosting was
also very close; everyone polled chose only one, even though it is common in
the South for people to use both.
In the South mowing the lawn would be the more common phrase, but a good
amount of people say that in the picture the man was mowing the grass.
Some couldn’t name this southern side dish made of mayonnaise, cabbage
and carrots, but most of those who did referred to it coleslaw.
‘You guys’ is the most
common way to address a group of people in every area except for the South. In
the poll, this is the phrase that most people said they would use, with ‘y’all’
coming in second.
