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MINNESOTA:
wagon = weigh-gun
bag = beigh or bayg (ryhmes with vague)
pen and pin do not sound alike, same with tent and tint
thought rhymes with lot
don and dawn are pronounced the same
collar and caller are prouncounced the same
on, lawn, and john all rhyme
mary, merry, and marry are all pronounced the same
heel and hill are pronounced very differently
bother rhymes with father
mountain = mout-in
I'm from Tennessee, born and raised, but I pronounce all of those words like that, except for the first 3 examples.
How are any of these "weird?" That is the normal way to pronounce those words.
Actually that's not the normal way. I think 60% of the nation does not pronounce words like "caught" and "cot" the same way. Same thing with "walk" "wok" "don" "dawn"
Huh. Usually if I go as far South as Iowa or Chicago people begin to pronounce lots of those things differently.
This map shows the distribution of the so-called cot-caught (or don-dawn, hock-hawk, etc.) merger from the Atlas of North American English:
Over time, the merger has spread from the Pittsburgh area into West Virginia and eastern Kentucky. It is possible that it has begun to take hold in Tennessee as well.
The merger has also made progress in places like St. Louis, Indianapolis, and Columbus, meaning that eventually there will be a "bridge" of the merger separating the unmerged Northern Cities from the unmerged South.
Root vs. Rut.
I was on vacation and ended up talking to a plumber from Chicago who was telling me about his last job and how the pipes had all been messed up by the ruts of the tree. I literally had NO idea what he was talking about and I think he thought I was simple when I had to ask for a definition of a "rut". We eventually got on the same page and had a laugh!
I was talking to a guy from Minnesota the other day. He was telling me about running through the airport carrying his "bigs". I'm like "what the hell are you talking about."
New Orleans street names and pronunciation
Audubon - AW duh bin
Baronne - buh ROHN
Belle Chasse - bel chays
Bienville - be Yen vuhl
Burgundy - bur GUN dee
Burthe - byoot
Cadiz - KAY dis
Calliope - KA lee oh
Carondelet - kuh RON duh let
Chartres - CHAW turz
Chef Menteur - shef men TUHR
Conti - KAWN ty
Delachaise - DEH luh chays
Dorgenois - DOR jin wah
Dryades - dry yadz
Dufossat - duh FAW sit
Dupre - DOO pray
Eleonore - eh LEE yon or
Esplanade - ESS plin ayd
Fontainebleau - FOWN tin bloo
Fortier - FOR chay
Foucher - FU shur
Freret - fuh RET
Gentilly - jen TIL lee
Gravier - GRAV yuhr
Iberville - EYE buhr vil
Jena - JEH nuh
Joliet - JAWL yet
Kerlerec - KEL uh rik
Lafayette - LA fi YET
Leonidas - lee ANN dis (MY FAVORITE!!!)
Marigny - MEH rin ni
Mazant - MAY zant
Melpomene - MEL puh meen
Milan - MY lin
Millaudon - mil LAW din
Mirabeau - MI ruh boo
Miro - MEE roh
Orleans - or LEENZ
Pauger - PAW guhr
Peniston - PEN is tuhn
Perrier - PEH ree yuhr
Pontchartrain - PON chah trayn
Prieur - PREE uhr
Prytania - pri TAN yuh
Rendon - REN din
Salcedo - sal SEE doh
St. Anthony - saynt ANT nee
St. Roch - saynt RAWK
Tchoupitoulas - chah pi TOO lis
Thalia - THAY lyuh
Toulouse - TOO loos
Villere VIL - uh ree
I love hearing tourists trying to pronounce the streets with French pronunciations and then trying to correct other people.
How are any of these "weird?" That is the normal way to pronounce those words.
I would agree with you except for wagon and bag. Well, at least around here wagon is not weigh-gun. Bag rhyming with vague is a northern thing.
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