What parts of the US have these funny pronunciations?

Question

I'm curious what parts of the U.S. folks are from who pronounce certain words in unusual/distinct ways.

1. A friend from Pennsylvania says "warsh" instead of "wash". However, another friend has a dad from Nebraska and tells me her dad does that too! Where did "warsh" originate?

2. I know a man in his 60s who says "thee-A-ter" instead of "theater". I don't know where he's from. Anyone else say it that way?

3. In elementary school, I knew a girl who pronounced "pen" so that it sounded more like "pin". I don't recall her having any type of accent. Where do people say "pen" like "pin"?

4. My mom, who grew up in Illinois, says she and her family pronounced "radiator" with a short "a", as in "rad". Anyone else say that? (I've NEVER heard it before!)

5. Who says "Oregon" like "Ore-uh-gon" (i.e. the same way you'd say the end of "octagon"). I say it that way, but everyone else here in California laughs at me. :) I think I got it from my Midwestern mom!

Answer 1

I pronounce Oregon 'Or-eh-gon', and I am from California. That might be my Spanish influence though. When I lived in the Milwaukee area of Wisconsin, I learned that a 'bubbler' was a drinking fountain and that soft drinks were called soda, not pop...but other parts of Wisconsin say pop and not soda...they get kinda mean about it...and if you happen to say soda pop, they ask you where you are from. People in Milwaukee pronounce it "Muhwakee". The word 'dolls' in Milwaukee is pronounced 'dalls'.
I heard people from Boston say 'warsh', and a guy from Alabama also says 'warsh'. When I am fooling around I might say thee-A-ter, but it's not the way I would normally say it. My mom is from Missouri originally, and her pen and pin both sound the same to me. Radiator might be pronounced with the short 'a' if they had a British or New England influence.
In California there are a few cities that should be pronounced differently...the City of Manteca is called "manteeka" when it is Spanish for lard, and is pronounced 'mant eh ka'. Salida is called "sal i da" when it means exit, and is supposed to be pronounced 'Saleeda'. Whereas Lodi, is pronounced L O D I, but people who don't know better call it L O D EE. How do you pronounce Wednesday, or the other days of the week? My mother doesn't say the 'day' she says dee...and the Wednes part of Wednesday always sounds like Wendzday around here for everyone I hear.

Answer 2

I can't say that any of these are paticularly funny, They are just different ways to pronounce things. Some of them make perfect sense - after all -- why should the world "theatre" have a silent "a"? - the "a" should be pronounced, shouldnt it? Where I live people pronounce the words Mary, merry and marry so they all sound the same. That can't be right, can it? They are spelled diferrently because in former times they were all pronounced differently. Some areas still do...


But it is an interesting thing to notice how people pronounce different words. There are several very good sites online where Regional Accents are explained, incluidng the history of how the different words are pronounced, but also why people in different parts of the country use different words for the same object - like, is that thing you carry water in a bucket? or a pail?
Have fun checking this out! :)

Answer 3

I'm quite sure that every one you are talking about
would probably question why you pronounce your
words the way you do.

You ask what parts of the US have funny pronunciations,
I would have to answer that all parts of the US do. What
sounds right to one is wrong to another. Makes the world
go round and it would be terribly dull if everyone spoke exactly
the same way.

Answer 4

some people WARSH with WATER
some people WASH with WUTTER

people seem to also like to pronounce a long eeeee at the start of such words as illegal......eeee-legal or for illicit......eeee-llicit

prerogative...people have changed the pre and it has become per....as in perogative....when speaking it.

ever heard anyone say, get out of the hoose? (house) [in NC/VA]

Answer 5

where im from( memphis tn) pen and pin is pronounced the same way, i hear people from new york say radiator like the way you mentioned.

Answer 6

"Unusual/Distinct" pronunciations just means "Doesn't Sound Like Me". So, every part of the U.S.

Answer 7

all parts of the u.s. have small quirks like that. given travel habits these days it doesn't matter.

Answer 8

god ! you must be bored !

Answer 9

Not eye..........