regional pronunciation of envelope

"cot" and "caught"? If so, you probably didn't grow up on the West Coast or in the Midwest. In the Harvard Dialect Survey, researchers found that the majority of people from these regions pronounced these words in the same way. People on the East Coast and in the South, meanwhile, tend to pronounce them distinctly differently. 15Envelope Mail Shutterstock Most people pronounce the first syllable in the word "envelope" like "pen"—but if you ask around enough, you will find that some people pronounce the first syllable like "dawn." That's because the English word originates from the French word for envelope, which favors the latter pronunciation. 16Aunt Mom Talking to Teen Daughter Hacks for Raising an Amazing Kid Shutterstock Some people, especially Southerners, see the word "aunt" and pronounce it no differently than the word's homonym, "ant." But others—particularly those in the Boston area—pronounce the word so that it rhymes with "daunt," paying homage to the colonies' former motherland. 17Almond Almonds snack food nuts Shutterstock The various pronunciations of the word "almond" originate back to when many people were emigrating from Europe to the United States, bringing with them their native languages and thusly their own versions of various words. So, call it an al-mond, an am-end, or an ahl-mend; regardless of pronunciation, you're still referring to the same thing. 18Salmon thyroid foods Raw salmon Shutterstock Given how many Americans are not native English speakers, it's no surprise that so many are saying the word "salmon" with a distinguishable /l/ sound. In languages like Spanish and Italian, the /l/ in salmon is very much heard, and that often carries over into pronunciations for people who are learning English as a second language. In the case of this fish, though, there is only one right pronunciation, and it involves no /l/ sound whatsoever. 19Pecan Pecans, healthy food Shutterstock Whether you pronounce the word "pecan" as pee-can or puh-kahn is more complicated than you think. When the National Pecan Shellers Association polled Americans about how they pronounced the name of the nut, they found that there were divides not just among regions, but within them as well. Per a write-up by The Washington Post, the survey concluded that there was no single pronunciation of the word designated for each area, with 45 percent of Southerners and 70 percent of Northeasterners favoring "pee-can." 20Mayonnaise Mayonnaise Hilariously Silly Jokes Shutterstock As if the debate on what to call a giant sandwich wasn't enough (is it a sub, a hero, or a hoagie?), Americans find it necessary to argue over the correct pronunciation of the sandwich's condiments, too. Though there are some slight variations within regions, the general consensus is that in the West and Midwest, you'll put may-uh-naze on your sandwich, and in the North and South, you'll use man-aze. 21Cauliflower Cauliflower Foods rid allergies Shutterstock Is that vegetable you eat caul-ee-flower or caul-ih-flower? In the Northeast, you're most likely to hear that second syllable pronounced like "see." In the rest of the country, however, that "i" takes on the same sound that it does in "sit." 22Coyote Coyote, animal Shutterstock Unless you live on the West Coast, you probably don't even realize that there are two ways to pronounce "coyote." "Ki-ote is a Colorado-Wyoming kind of pronunciation," Andrew Cowell, director of linguistics at CU Bolder, told 9 News. "If you come from the East, you're much more likely to say ki-o-tee." 23Bit hamburger and french fries Shutterstock Somehow, even three-letter words with one syllable have managed to take on several pronunciations. While the hefty majority of Americans pronounce the word "bit" like "sit," there are some people (particularly in parts of Colorado) who say it like "bet." (And since "bit" sounds like "bet," "bet" then sounds like "bat." It's all very confusing.) 24Grocery grocery bag in car Shutterstock What do you call the food items that you purchase at the market? Gro-sir-ees, of course! But not so fast: If you're from the Midwest, you might replace the "sir" sound with an "sh," calling your shopping haul grosh-rees instead. 25Crayon Crayon Shutterstock Some people pronounce it cray-awn, rhyming with "dawn," and others pronounce it cray-ahn, rhyming with "man." According to Crayola, arguably the top crayon experts, the correct way to say it is cray-awn, but even they admit that there are too many regional differences to try and implement a single pronunciation. 26Mirror woman putting on makeup in the mirror Shutterstock When saying the words "mirror" and "mere" out loud, do you hear a significant difference? Folks from the East Coast might be surprised to learn that the answer to this question for some people is no, as their pronunciation of the word "mirror" makes it just one syllable, disregarding the "-or" altogether. 27Museum self-acceptance will make you instantly happy Shutterstock Nobody is denying that the word "museum" begins with a "mew" sound. They might, however, disagree over how the word continues to be sounded out, with some people favoring the pronunciation mew-zee-um and others opting for the pronunciation mew-zam. 28Mischievous Mischievous children drawing on their father's face Shutterstock The word "mischievous" is spelled so that it should be pronounced like mis-che-vous, but somehow the Harvard Dialect Survey found that over 26 percent of Americans pronounce the word with four syllables. Why? According to Merriam-Webster, a variant spelling of the word with an -ious ending existed as far back as the 16th century, though today both this spelling and pronunciation are considered "nonstandard." 29Coupon save 40 percent of your paycheck Shutterstock You don't pronounce the word "cool" with a /q/ sound, so you wouldn't think to pronounce the word "coupon" with a /q/ sound either, right? Unfortunately, it's not that simple. Though the word's accepted pronunciation is the simple koo-pon, many an educated individual pronounce the first syllable of the word like "kyoo," as if they're sounding out the letter q. 30Poem Man writing a poem by the water Shutterstock Wherever you travel to in the United States, you'll find people who pronounce the word "poem" as both pome (rhyming with "home") and po-emme. The pronunciation of this word is not limited to regions, but simply to personal preference. 31Flourish beyonce Shutterstock Undoubtedly, Beyoncé is flourishing. But is she flore-ishing, fluh-rishing, or flurr-ishing? It really all depends on whom you ask. The Harvard Dialect Survey found that while flurr-ish is the preferred pronunciation, there are many Midwesterners and Northerners who say flore-ish and some folks living in the Northeast who say fluh-rish. 32Bowie Knife A Bowie knife Shutterstock Is it a Bow-ie knife, or is it a Boo-wie knife? That depends on who you're talking to. In the Harvard Dialect Survey, researchers found that approximately 19 percent of respondents—most of whom lived in the Northeast region—pronounced it the second way. 33Creek vickery creek in roswell georgia Shutterstock The majority of Americans can agree on the fact that the "ee" in "creek" is pronounced like "seek." However, in the Harvard Dialect Survey, approximately 4 percent of people noted that they pronounced the "ee" in creek so that it sounded like "sit." Most of these people were from Midwestern states like Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Iowa. 34Handkerchief Woman sneezing into a tissue or handkerchief Shutterstock Does the last syllable in "handkerchief" have the same sound as "seek" or "sit"? Per the Harvard Dialect Survey, most people in the Northeast would say "seek," while the rest of the country would go with "sit." 35Adult happy older man outside Shutterstock "Adult" is considered to be a "toilet paper roll" word. That is to say, whether you choose to pronounce it like add-ult or uh-dult, you are correct—just as you'd be correct in placing your toilet paper roll either under or over. 36Asterisk A chalk drawing of an asterisk Shutterstock "Asterisk" might not come up often in conversation, but when it does, it's pronounced differently depending on the region. In parts of the Northeast, it's pronounced asteri[ks]; up and down the Northern coast, it's pronounced asteri[k]; and in the rest of the country, it's simply asteri[sk]. 37Realtor Real Estate Agent Showing a Family a House {Cons of Owning a Big House} Shutterstock How many syllables are there in "realtor"? Ask someone from the Northeast and they'll probably tell you that there are only two. Ask someone from the Midwest or the South, however, and they're more likely to use three syllables, pronouncing it either reel-uh-ter or ree-l-ter. 38Monday Woman using calendar on her smartphone Shutterstock Most people will say the days of the week—Monday, Tuesday, etc.—and pronounce the second syllable so that it rhymes with "say." A small portion of the population, however, primarily in the South and Midwest, will say this syllable so that it rhymes with "see." 39Huge jolly green giant statue in minnesota famous state statues Shutterstock Do you pronounce the letter "h" in words like "huge"? If so, you're among the majority of Americans. In the Harvard Dialect Survey, though, approximately 3 percent of respondents—mostly people in the Northeast—noted that they don't pronounce the "h" sound when saying words like "huge," "humor," "humongous," and "human." 40Quarter Man holding quarters Shutterstock Most Americans pronounce the word "quarter" so that it has a [kw] sound at the beginning. However, some people in the Northeast and Midwestern regions pronounce this word so that the first syllable is more of a [k] sound. 41Roof Man laying new tile on the roof Shutterstock If you've stayed in one place for your entire life, then you might not even know that there's more than one way to pronounce the word "roof." But surprisingly, there are actually two common ways to pronounce this four-letter word. While people born and raised in the West tend to pronounce the word as if it rhymes with "hoof," those from the East see it as rhyming with "poof." 42Miracle pregnant woman sitting on bench Shutterstock Most Americans pronounce the first vowel in "miracle" so that it sounds like "knit." However, the Harvard Dialect Survey discovered that in the Northeast region, people tend to pronounce this vowel so that it sounds more like "near." There is even a small group of people in the Northeast who pronounce this sound to rhyme with "net"! 43Really man of color looks shocked at phone Shutterstock Though the word "really" is pronounced differently across the country, it doesn't appear to be due to regional differences. In the Harvard Dialect Survey, researchers found that people from coast to coast pronounced the word reely, rilly, and ree-l-y. 44Insurance be smarter with money in 2018 Shutterstock Most Americans pronounce the word "insurance" with an emphasis on the second syllable. But in some parts of the country—mostly in the Northeast and Midwest regions—people will emphasize the first syllable instead, calling it INsurance. 45Route woman with apple maps on her phone n the car Shutterstock The pronunciation of the word "route" is a little bit complicated. Though Northeasterners tend to pronounce it so it rhymes with "hoot" and Midwesterners tend to pronounce it so it rhymes with "out," just over 30 percent of respondents in the Harvard Dialect survey noted that they can (and do) pronounce it both ways. 46Et Cetera young woman writing in a notebook iStock There is not one, not two, not three, but four different ways to pronounce "et cetera." Though the most popular way to say it is e[ts]etera, people also say e[ts]etra, eksetera, and eksetra. 47Garage healthy man clean garage Shutterstock Dialect differences have divided Americans into two categories: those who say ga-rah-ge, and those who say ga-redge. But hey, however you pronounce it, at least you're not calling it a car park! 48Get woman shopping online Shutterstock "The word get does not rhyme with yet here in the South," writes Sarah Johnson, a South Carolina native and Southern accent specialist. "We say it like 'git.' There is a common rhyme teachers use at school when students complain about not getting their first choice. In the North, you might say: 'You get what you get, so don't be upset.' But that does not rhyme for us. We say, 'You git what you git, so don't throw a fit.'" 49Can't Asian woman putting her hand up and saying no Shutterstock "Get" isn't the only word that Southerners pronounce differently. According to Johnson, "the word can't in many small towns [in the South] actually rhymes with paint." 50Pen Woman writing things with a pen Shutterstock In some parts of the south, the word "pen" often rhymes with "pin." According to a dialect project from the 1990s conducted at North Carolina State University, this pattern can also be seen in words like "tin" and "ten," "windy" and "Wendy," and "sinned" and "send." FILED UNDER SLANG • TRIVIA READ THIS NEXT confused woman hard words to pronounce 14 Words You're Probably Mispronouncing You might want to start practicing these tongue twisters that are almost impossible to pronounce. December 21, 2019 Shy nervous bashful female employee feels embarrassed blushing afraid of public speaking at corporate group team meeting, timid stressed woman hiding face during awkward moment reporting in office (Shy nervous bashful female employee feels embarrassed 23 English Words Everyone Mispronounces Learn how to pronounce these everyday words that don't always sound the way they're spelled. January 15, 2020 30 Celebrity Names You're Mispronouncing Because no one knows how to properly say Cara Delevingne. 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