7 British vs. American Pronunciations You Didn't Know About

[@LostinthePond]

Use code lostinthepond at the link below to get an exclusive 60% off an annual Incogni plan: incogni.com/lostinthepond

[@winclouduk]

I already have it 😂😂😂

[@tenzhitihsien888]

Eastrogen is the opposite of westosterone.

[@overwhelminglyaverage]

😂😂😂

[@somercet1]

me: _throws upvote at you_

[@wesltall1]

I learned how to pronounce some words from watching movies. For example, I learned how to say "apricots" by watching 'The Wizard of Oz', in which there's a scene of the Cowardly Lion saying "What puts the 'ape' in apricots? Courage!"... On a separate but related note... I noticed that the U in "culinary" is usually pronounced short [KUH-li-ne-ri], but I grew up pronouncing it with a long U and a glide [KYOO-li-ne-ri] based on how I heard them saying it in Disney's 'Beauty and the Beast' ("A culinary masterpiece gone to waste!", "A culinary cabaret").

[@anitapeludat256]

@@wesltall1 Your comment on apricot and the cowardly lion was great! Also, the era it was written in added something new there, or the culture in the 30's was different. Oz came out in 1939. It was the first color film. My mother saw it and the entire cinema exclaimed out loud at the color of munchkin land.

[@Ninus316]

The problem with learning pronunciation from songs is poetic license. Never trust a musician, especially around women or words.

[@CRUCIFi777]

Growing up with a speech impediment and in rural southern US while being originally from the northern Midwest, I just patterned my manner of speech and pronunciations after the national newscasters.

[@celesteredding1550]

😂😂and they're always correct in their pronunciations

[@unbindingfloyd]

I can imagine “Mom I did not clean my room. But why? More at 8!” lol

[@bettyir4302]

@@celesteredding1550 They're usually wrong in their fictional tales.

[@anndeecosita3586]

I have a background in broadcasting. IMO a lot of people think they sound like the majority of news broadcasters more than they actually do. For example, I pronounce the t in words like mountain, center, and sentence. Also I have noticed a lot of people pronounce you as ya. How are ya? See ya later. I heard ya. One cant talk like this AND sound like a newscaster. A sportscaster maybe. I have also noticed a change over the years in how anchors tend to pronounce the names of countries like Iran, Pakistan, and Iraq.

[@StoneE4]

Good choice... I can't imagine the mess that would result from a speech impediment combined with the sing-songyness of a northern midwest accent and then a southern drawl thrown into the mix. 👍🤣

[@DBCADemon]

I'm sure you've covered this many, many times but one of my favorites is "advertisements." There's so many differences! The way we shorten it, what we stress, the vowel sounds- it's a word that just keeps on giving to the cultural differences :)

[@InventorZahran]

ADvertisements adVERTisements adverTISEments ADverTISEments Let me know if you've heard any more...

[@TCHorwood-xq7mw]

"Commercials.'.

[@daphne8353]

As a Australian, I pronounce 11 of these words like the British and 6 of them like the Americans. The ones I pronounce like the Americans are sloths, hibiscus, privacy, trimester, vitamin and catacomb.

[@susaniacuone5758]

Also an Aussie, I pronounce sloth, oestrogen, midwifery, scallop, apricot, class, dance etc. the UK way, but cicada, wrath, privacy, migraine, and vitamin the US way. It may have to do with words I learnt in my childhood home, versus from school or tv

[@elultimo102]

I only ever heard midwifery in a US TV show pronounced in Brit-speak. I was surprised to hear a character on a BBC show say "privacy" as in the US. I yelled at the TV: "That's privacy !!" in Brit-speak. I also hear some say "lawyer," instead of "solicitor?" Is that catching on like "truck," or do they do a separate dialog for us colonials?

[@anndeecosita3586]

@@elultimo102It’s interesting how you spelled it dialog because that was discussed in the last video. I’m American and spell it dialogue.

[@ToyInsanity]

Do you say intestine or intestine?

[@FionaEm]

​@ToyInsanity In Australia we say "intestine" with a long "y" sound.

[@aj.j5833]

You made realize I still say quite a few things way said in UK due to my education S. Korea, even though I've been living in US for years now already. Really fun when I first moved to US, being Korean speaking English like a Brit, with hint of Korean accent to go along with it.

[@richardspears5384]

I was well into my teens before I realized other languages had accents.

[@jiggyprawn]

​@@richardspears5384 and yours too, right? 😄

[@fariesz6786]

everyone has an accent

[@marshawargo7238]

Wow, I bet you're really fun to talk with at parties, where alcohol is involved ❤! All of those dialects looking to take center stage. Then taking in your appearance & suddenly someone's wondering if it would be rude to ask about your heritage 😮! (Keep in mind the alcohol😂)!

[@pjl22222]

I knew a Scottish man who moved to the southern parts of the US (Tennessee). Hearing an originally Scottish accented guy with a thick southern American accent mixed in was …interesting.

[@misterno-ice-guy8082]

"Good bye?" -wth!? Incidentally, I worked with an immigrant from Mexico in the public service sector. When English was still new to him, (before I met him), he said he'd get confused when customers would say, "See ya!" at times when leaving the store. He knew this to mean "chair" in Spanish, (Spelt: "silla") I was so amused by this anecdote that anytime a customer said the phrase we would both answer with: "Mesa!" (Which is Spanish for "table")

[@rivercrow8988]

LOL-ed at this. That would def be confusing!

[@dj-kq4fz]

I guess growing up with a Boston accent and living in many places has made me doubt how I actually should pronounce things. The American pronunciations are familiar, but the English ones seem comfortable as well. I can only imagine how difficult it can be for non-English speakers.

[@mollyroughan1154]

Fellow Bostonian here, and definitely agreed. I pronounce words mentioned here like Gala and Scallop the British way, but ones like Cicada and Sloth the American way

[@susandevinenapoli7649]

I lived in Massachusetts before age 6. And those two words came to mind too , possibly through my parents.

[@OG_Agrivar]

@@mollyroughan1154 fellow Masshole here - and I completely agree with you!

[@dj-kq4fz]

@@mollyroughan1154 Likewise! Calf and bath have always been ahh sounds for me too.

[@alansmithee8831]

@@dj-kq4fz In northern England we say bath different to the south. Up here it has a short "a" like bat or cat.

[@mdrdprtcl]

As one member of your sample pool, it feels good to be represented!

[@amyfisher6380]

There’s this dialogue exchange in the 1932 Marx Brothers movie “Horse Feathers”: [receptionist opens door to Wagstaff's office where he is conferring with two professors] Wagstaff's Receptionist: Oh, Professor, the Dean of Science wants to know how soon you can see him. He says he's tired of cooling his heels out here. Professor Wagstaff: Tell him I'm cooling a couple of heels in here. [receptionist leaves and re-enters fifteen seconds later] Wagstaff's Receptionist: The Dean is furious! He's waxing wroth! Professor Wagstaff: Is Roth out there, too? Tell Roth to wax the Dean for awhile. My father (born and raised in Philadelphia), who saw the movie as a 12 year old when it first came out, loved the phrase “waxing wroth” so much, he managed to work it into an occasional conversation for the rest of his life. My siblings and I certainly heard it a lot when we were kids.

[@jackmarek587]

I've been using both "Ay"-pricot and "Ah"-pricot my whole life. My father grew up in California, where the "Ay" pronunciation seems to be more common, while my mother grew up in Minnesota, where the "Ah" pronunciation seems to dominate. I tend to use them at various times with either parent just to avoid the inevitable "fights" about the correct pronunciation. However, living as I do in the mid-west, I generally favor the "Ah" version.

[@anndeecosita3586]

I spent most of my childhood in California but now live in the Midwest. I say long A but I guess I haven’t heard anyone use the word here to know there is a difference. From now on when in Rome. 😂

[@jmcg6189]

I use both. My mother lived in California as a child, in addition to Canada. I've no real recollection how she said it but I think it was the long a. But I prefer the short a.

[@kiltedanais]

I pronounce it halfway between the 2, so the long A sound is said very quickly so it could be heard as either APE- ruhcot or Aph- wreecot but I never say APE-wreecoot or App-wruhcaught. I also just learned today that there are Plumcots AND aprium, having already known and love Pluots.

[@Denkar11]

For a split second, I thought you were going to say that 'final thoughts' was pronounced differently by the British.

[@Moonlite_Kitsune]

the americans wont tell you this but we pronouce it like final thots, shhhh

[@onehalfspin]

Yep, it's pronounced "Foinal thofts" in the UK, since we all know GH sounds like F, as in draughts

[@marshawargo7238]

You forgot to silence the second t completely ❤

[@InventorZahran]

@@onehalfspinghoti moment

[@John_Smith_60]

I was "wondering" if he was going to pronounce it "fin-nal".

[@Nykona-Sharrowkyn]

65 years old Brit here, I have never heard the word 'Sloth' prone 'Sloath' here in the UK

[@chriswalker2753]

I suspect "sloath" is the accepted pronunciation for the Deadly Sin, and "sloth" has been adopted for the animal to avoid hurting its feelings by suggesting that it's lazy.

[@StephenPoor]

Monty python and the holy grail.

[@BasBleuBelle]

Apricots were grown in Silicon Valley when it was Valley of Hearts Delights. The valley had acres of orchards. In the summer my mom helped in the ‘cot drying sheds. Old timers here say ‘cots.

[@pabmusic1]

The Anglo-Saxon (Old English) 'wif' meant 'female' (wifman meant 'female human'; wereman meant 'male human - think werewolf). A midwif was a person who stayed 'with' ('mid' = modern German 'mit') the person who gave birth, to help her. Wif was pronounced weef.

[@jayg1438]

so Midwife = mit wif = stay with female.... makes sense

[@TestUser-cf4wj]

Simon Roper, is that you?

[@pabmusic1]

@@TestUser-cf4wj 'Fraid not, though I take it as a compliment.

[@DanielMWJ]

Which is why you shouldn't call a woman a werewolf! They're very clearly wifwolves.

[@pabmusic1]

@@DanielMWJ Completely nerdy point. 'Wifman' morphs into 'woman' over time.

[@joeyhemlock]

An interesting reversal (sort-of) to the ol' to-MAY-toe / ta-MAH-toe pronunciation are the words "taco" (TAH-ko vs. TACK-oh) and "pasta" (PAH-sta vs. PAST-uh).

[@BionicDance]

What amuses me is that I knew almost all of these _just_ by watching "Blackadder". Also, a little surprised you didn't mention the word 'wroth' alongside 'wrath', since it's pronounced baaaaasically the same as the British pronunciation of 'wrath'.

[@Lucius1958]

I can't help thinking of an old Marx Brothers line: *"The Dean is outside, and he's waxing wroth!"* *"Is Roth out there too? Why don't you tell Roth to wax the Dean for a while?"*

[@MrBulky992]

Yes, in the UK, "wroth" should rhyme with "both" and not with "cloth".

[@BionicDance]

@@MrBulky992 "Wroth" and "wrath" aren't quite the same thing. The one is being cranky with someone; the other is screaming anger. The one is your mom when you're late; the other is the Hulk.

[@MrBulky992]

​​@@BionicDanceMy understanding of those words differs from yours: wrath - *noun* meaning "intense anger" wroth - an archaic or poetic *adjective* meaning "intensely angry" - exactly the same meaning but a different part of speech. Merriam-Webster actually says that "wroth" means "wrathful".

[@BionicDance]

@@MrBulky992 Yeah, but when I've seen it used, it's always, "I am wroth with thee," and, "I unleashed my wrath." Never the other way.

[@SpaceBearEngineer]

I'm from Cleveland, we would definitely say "gah-luh", "gay-luh" sounds very southern to me.

[@spencerpilcher2755]

I say neither. I say "gal-luh."

[@ChaquetaB]

I was surprised when he said "gay-la" was American. I've heard gal-la way more.

[@oag2167]

From NJ, would say "gal-uh"!

[@pierreabbat6157]

If you say /galə/, I may think you got it from a cow, although that word I'd pronounce /ɣala/.

[@Mick_Ts_Chick]

As a southerner, I say it gay-luh. I definitely hear gal-uh a lot too though.

[@DaBIONICLEFan]

In Britain, the 'o' in words ending 'ory' and the 'a' in 'ary' is elided.Territory is 'territry', military is 'militry', secondary is 'secondry' etc.

[@AgentLane13]

Oh yeah, like that political party, the Trys

[@DaBIONICLEFan]

@@AgentLane13 Words *ending* '-ory'.

[@beavinator]

Lifelong American here. The first time I heard anyone say apricot the way you say it was John Cleese in the How to Defend Yourself Against Fruit sketch. Since then I've become familiar with lots of differences in pronunciation across the pond, but in this video "estrogen" and "midwifery" were new to me.

[@anndeecosita3586]

I’m American (all ancestors here going back to early 1700s) and have always pronounced apricot starting with a long A like Laurence does.

[@johnhulse4674]

​@@anndeecosita3586 Me too.

[@elimgarak7090]

@@anndeecosita3586 Same

[@benjisaac]

Mine was in James Acaster’s ready to eat apricots bit

[@monicaqueenan9985]

First time I heard the British pronunciation was in "The Wizard of Oz." The Cowardly Lion asked, "Who put the 'ape' in apricot?"

[@jacquelynsmith2351]

I told my sister that my next family potluck submission would have apricots, and she got after me for my pronunciation. She hasn't let up in weeks. Glad to know I'm in the majority!

[@sdrc92126]

I too thought that quicksand would play a much larger role in my life

[@anitapeludat256]

I had a fear of quicksand from all the movies.

[@jennifercarter1265]

I have a mixed bag of pronunciations. I use both versions of several of those words- apricot, sloth, cicada. I use the British pronunciation of midwifery. The rest I pronounce like an American. My spelling is an equal mess but I at least know why-I managed to pick up a lot of vocabulary from Canadian and British authors when I was a child. But I didn’t even realize there was a British vs American pronunciation of most of these words- or at least I couldn’t confidently tell you which belonged to whom.

[@kathryn1304]

I love your humorous look at linguistics. I took your poll and realized I do switch back and forth depending on to whom I’m speaking. When I’m in the south I use Ay-pricot and in Michigan a-pricot.

[@ericolson326]

How about words where we pronounce the letters the same way but stress and/or divide them into syllables differently, such as controversy?

[@cynthiajohnston424]

Good idea for an upcoming segment !

[@joecichlid]

I absolutely love your work, good sir! Learning the history of words has always been an interest of mine. Thank you for the chuckles along the way.

[@Kickinpony66]

@2:13... Gal-uh is a 3rd way to pronounce Gala. Gal rhyming with the mans name Hal.

[@rdhawke]

I was just thinking the same exact thing to post.👍🏻

[@gwenma1579]

This is the way I pronounce it.

[@a.katherinesuetterlin3028]

To my ears, "GAH-la" feels more natural, chiefly because I knew of a girl named "Gayla" in one of the elementary schools I went to. I didn't like confusing myself or anyone else, so I went with the more British pronunciation. 😅

[@bulkvanderhuge9006]

"Gala" is like "Data" and "Caribbean"

[@kurtcpi5670]

I live in the Pacific Northwest, on the north coast of Washington State. It's not quite the end of the world, but you can see it from here. I find it interesting that in the local vernacular some words like "route", "creek", and yes, "apricot" have dual pronunciations depending on context. APricot is what you buy at the roadside fruit stands. But when singing while looking out the window, you'll find popcorn popping on the AYpricot tree. Similarly, when deciding which path to take to Seattle, you'll choose the route (rhymes with "trout") that gets you to the ferry that docks closest to your destination on the other side of Hood Canal. But that road that traverses the east coast from north to south is route 95 (rhymes with "fruit"). "Creek" might be strangest of all, I can't find a hard and fast rule for when it rhymes with "freak" Vs. "trick". It might even go, "What's the name of that little CRICK that runs through the valley?". "Oh, that's Tumwater CREEEEK"!

[@anitapeludat256]

I've visited the Hoh Rainforest. What a gorgeous place. I think the pacific northwest of the pacific northwest is incredible.

[@roberthofmann8403]

Schedule. I learned that one from Jean-Luc Picard.

[@charlottehammond8975]

but like bro is french with a british accent so wtaf

[@Spudz76]

Shed Juul, because my family doesn't want me vaping and out behind the shed is nice and secluded.

[@wessexdruid7598]

@@charlottehammond8975 He's from Yorkshire.

[@cynthiajohnston424]

As an American , love to throw this British word pronunciation into a conversation , along w/ a few other " Briticisms " ( both words & expressions ) just for fun . Not to be pretentious , just the result of a lifetime binging Brit. lit. , tv , & movies .

[@bobtheduck]

Mirina Sirtis Said that the english won the culture war.

[@wroughtiron7258]

I said Final Thoughts out loud like my life depended on it and then was dismayed to find there was no section on how people pronounce Final Thoughts.

[@JeanStAubin-nl9uo]

In Wisconsin we pronounce it "app-pricot" for the word apricot.

[@TocsTheWanderer]

Yeah, it bothered me that his poll didn't have an option for pronouncing the "i" like and "i", rather than a "u".

[@natdatil6830]

The one that most surprised me was chassis. When I heard a British person pronounce it "shassy" I fell out of my share laughing.

[@LindaC616]

French

[@yossarian6799]

What's funny is back before the 1950s, nearly all the cars in South Africa were American cars, but they used British automotive terms like dynamo, accumulator, high-tension lead, release bearing, trunnion pin, cardan shaft, windscreen, wing, bonnet, bootlid, scuttle and bulkhead. And it's carburettor with two "t's"!

[@colinmacdonald5732]

That's just typical American Chovanism.

[@blshouse]

@@colinmacdonald5732 Well, Nicolas Chauvin was an ... Oh, never mind. ;-)

[@Uruz2012]

I've never heard it with a "sh" sound in the US. Always has a hard "ch" like in change.

[@Dianne-nj8dz]

I’m from Georgia & I pronounce apricot with an ay. I don’t think I’ve ever heard it the other way. I’m surprised so many pronounce it that way. Of course I don’t think I’ve had many conversations about apricots.

[@allendracabal0819]

Yeah, because you people only talk about peaches.😉

[@ChristianityOntheBottomShelf]

The Southern pronunciation of "cicada" is locust. 🙂 I first encountered the word "sloth" on the page, and never heard it until, IIRC, I was in my teens. I sounded it out (which today no one knows how to do 😢), and to this day I automatically use the long O. I've always heard people pronounce "apricot" as APE-er-cot.

[@jonc4403]

You sure it's not "katydid"? And while I've heard APE-er-cot, it's usually APE-re-cot.

[@ChristianityOntheBottomShelf]

@@jonc4403 A katydid is something entirely different from a locust.

[@TheEstevenw]

I'm Canadian, some thing get pronounced "either, or", depending on the day it could be an ah-pri-cot or an ay-pri-cot. Try being semi-Lost in the Pond!

[@anndeecosita3586]

I’m American and I say ay pri cot. Long A Short I.

[@barbaralienhard3490]

Great video, I learn something new every day!

[@janicelaurin7263]

Now I am totally confused about how to pronounce the word apricot!! I participated in the poll and now I am saying it both ways!! Thank goodness the word does not come up in conversation that much.

[@JRBWare1942]

Some years ago, a book was published with the title "There's No Ape in Apricot." It had a companion volume titled "There's No Zoo in Zoology." I disagree with both of these.

[@rainbowstarfall]

​@JRBWare1942 Wait how else would you pronounce "Zoology"?

[@seileach67]

I guess as "zoh - ology"

[@christianhansen3292]

@@JRBWare1942 agree with one of them the first 1

[@JRBWare1942]

@@rainbowstarfall seileach67 is correct.

[@gennytun]

One difference that surprised me a few years ago listening to an audiobook (Grapes of Wrath, actually) narrated by an American, is the pronunciation of 'shone' . I couldn't believe i was hearing him say it like 'shown' (rhymes with grown) rather than 'shon' (rhymes with 'on'), which is the British way. I never noticed or came across that before, though I've heard it many times since then.

[@BrianHartman]

I listen to a lot of British podcasts now, and there are a few words I found surprising: Valet: In British English, you apparently pronounce the T. Christian: In British English, I've heard it pronounced CRIST-i-an, where in American English, you'd pronounce it CHRIST-shun or CHRIIST-shen. Process: Apparently it's PRO-cess in British English, but I've only ever heard it as PRAH-cess in American English.

[@JRBWare1942]

As someone who pronounces it PRAH-cess, I can assure you that that is a minority pronunciation even in America. I know because I cringe every time I hear any word that begins with pro- in advertising.

[@tmae33]

I've recently heard encephalitis on British TV pronounced "enkephalitis."

[@arjaygee]

As in "valet," the 't' is also pronounced in "filet"/"fillet" in the UK, if I'm not mistaken. I generally use the PRAH-ses pronunciation for the noun, but "process" is also a verb (pro-SES), although it usually comes out closer to pruh-SES.

[@JRBWare1942]

@@tmae33 That's in keeping with the original Greek pronunciation.

[@wessexdruid7598]

Wait until you hear process - or project - said in 'Ull. (aka Kingston-upon-Hull.)

[@ShookieL]

I DID IT! I discovered, Lost in the Pond in March. I decided that I wanted to watch all of your videos both long and short. As of just now, I am all caught up! About halfway though, I realized I would have to watch at 2x speed in order to catch up. Fortunately, you speak slowly enough that I was still able to understand you. It will be nice to watch you at regular speed again! 😃

[@TheodoreWeiser]

I say apricot both ways ...depending mood. Bougie or non-bougie

[@cocomonkilla]

At least you get "bougie" right. Absolutely irks the living piss out of me when I see "boujee" 🤢

[@pierreabbat6157]

Candle or spark plug, and what does either have to do with an apricot?

[@jonc4403]

@@cocomonkilla Do you mean boogey?

[@cocomonkilla]

@@jonc4403 no I mean bogey

[@ravensthatflywiththenightm7319]

I grew up with American and British shows as a kid, so my pronunciation has always been jumping the pond, depending on the word. For instance, I've always pronounced "hibiscus" and "simultaneous" the British way.

[@rainbowstarfall]

My accent is the San Francisco accent that many people in Northern California speak. Surprised to learn that we pronounce a lot of words the British way. I wonder why that is. We say "gah-luh" and "ay-pri-cot".

[@derekdurst9984]

I live in SF and do not say nor have I ever heard aypricot!...gahluh yes definitely

[@gregorystewart22]

@@derekdurst9984 Most of the bay area says AYpricot. I have worked in the grocery industry for years, and I rarely hear APPricot here.

[@bricefleckenstein9666]

Then there's the "different names for an item", like hood vs bonnet on a car. I think you sorta touched on that in ONE video of yours I've seen, might be one or more video I missed?

[@sugarplum5824]

Another odd pronunciation to my American ears is how Brits pronounce "aluminum" and "oregano." And yes, I say "ah-pri-cot" even though my family pronounced it "A-pri-cot. It just sounded better to me. 🤷‍♀️

[@krystalsmith849]

The English spell the word aluminium. The word originally had an I in it but we Americans decided to change it. As far as pronunciation of words go, Californians mispronounce their Spanish named cities wrong all the time.

[@pjl22222]

@@krystalsmith849All or most of the cities named after foreign cities across the country are usually pronounced wrong. Like New MADrid MO, Mylan MI, Lime-a OH, ToLEEdo OH, there's a ton more

[@jayg1438]

I enjoy your vids Laurence, and appreciate your fresh view on all things American. We are pleased to have you.

[@anndeecosita3586]

He’s delightful to watch.

[@StevenHughes-hr5hp]

For the most part Americans avoid that issue by buying the peaches or nectarines instead.

[@IOSARBX]

Lost in the Pond, awesome video keep it up bro

[@JPMadden]

Two British pronunciations that I found startling when I heard them on BBC News are "glacier" and "Islamist."

[@TestUser-cf4wj]

I'm American and I got turned on to the Hitchhiker's Guide radio program while I was in elementary school, and hearing Slartibartfast say _glass-ier_ instead of _glay-shur_ made my head spin a little. I was positively angry when I learned that the French word for ice is _glass_ and I realized that the word glacier just meant "ice-ish".

[@danstratyt]

​@@TestUser-cf4wj I'm British and say glay-shur

[@TestUser-cf4wj]

@@danstratyt Yeah, the actor who played Slartibartfast has a bit of posh in the mouth.

[@shamone10]

I’m English, always glassier, never glayshur, I’ve only heard glayshur on US documentaries

[@TrueThanny]

@@shamone10 In this internet age, the borders between languages are getting very fuzzy. I see younger KZbinrs from the UK area use what used to be US-specific pronunciations all the time. I see much less of the reverse, though there's plenty of UK-specific word adoption.

[@module79l28]

You asked how I pronounce those words, so here it is: 1- Cigarra 2- Preguiça 3- Estrogénio 4- Obstetrícia 5- Ira 6- Catacumba 7- Alperce ou Damasco 😉

[@Mason-xk9jw]

One thing I've always found interesting is that the way Americans pronounce the letter t or d in the middle of a word, such as in "water" or "bladder" is considered a rhotic in other languages.

[@Spudz76]

Except the zone where it's "woo-durr" which defies both forms of logic.

[@Mick_Ts_Chick]

Guilty as charged. 😅

[@rateeightx]

Sometimes even other dialects of English, The Scottish pronunciation of "Barrel" sounds a lot like an American saying "Bottle", for example.

[@EricaGamet]

American here... learned to speak in Chicago, moved to New Hampshire at 3, then Colorado at 12. I have then lived in California, Texas, and now Washington. I have NO CLUE how I pronounce apricot! It's one of my words that just comes out however it wants to that day. Like a word lottery! I also vacillate between either/either (ee-ther ii-ther) and neither/neither and aunt/ant. Often depends on the people I'm talking with. I watch too much British TV which also influences it. The other day I called it maths and shocked even myself! I have also taken on a northern English affectation of saying, "It were cold today," etc.

[@powellmountainmike8853]

I read the comments on your question about APRICOT, and answered it too. I, and many others, don't use the "schwa" sound "UH" in the middle, we use a short I as in RICH, or SWITCH, so, it's short A as in APPLE, short I as in RICH, and short O as in COT (the little bed), AP-RI-COT.

[@anndeecosita3586]

I also use a short I sound in the middle not the short U sound. I’m glad I found your post. Except I say AY PRIH COT. Long A Short I.

[@EdwardM-t8p]

Same here! Are you an East Coaster too?

[@Spudz76]

I prefer to describe it as "app-rick-ott". Grew up outside Chicago, far enough that I don't speak heavy Chicagoese, but close enough that probably some people could guess.

[@TestUser-cf4wj]

In Oregon we say _ape-rih-cawt,_ like the Brits.

[@rateeightx]

The way he wrote it was likely influenced by the Weak Vowel Merger, which is fairly common in American and Australian English, where the short 'i' in unstressed syllables is said the same as the schwa, So for example "Abbot" and "Rabbit" might rhyme, or "Roses" and "Rosa's" might sound the same (Although it's common for that last one to keep a different vowel, I suppose because of the base word "Rosa" being said differently.). I pronounce the two vowels differently too, But I use the short 'i' in many words that historically had a Schwa, such as Abbot, Parent, Aaron, Parody, Et cetera, most times in occurs between two consonants basically. (The Schwa for me, meanwhile, has moved downwards, so it's pronounced the same as the vowel in words like "Strut" or "Mother")

[@andthe2become1flesh93]

Interesting! When I first saw "Midwifery" on the screen, I did say it with a long "i" but quickly changed it to a short "i." I'd been corrected in the past by my dad and had no idea the long "i" pronunciation was acceptable here in America.

[@HahnJames]

An unfortunate sloth was robbed by three turtles. When the police arrived, they asked our poor friend to tell them what the perpetrators looked like. The stunned sloth responded, "I can't. It all happened so fast!"

[@charliejdk]

You are a gifted gifted humorist & language master. I laugh all the time. Lived two years in England myself. You’re fantastic!

[@Dsdcain]

Us Americans in the northeast pronounce scallop pretty much the same as the British pronunciation. The other way doesn't sound right to me, though I've heard it probably a quadrillion times in my life.

[@lfloyd4034]

We say scah-lop in the South too. I've always thought of "scal-lop" as a Midwestern thing.

[@BrianMcKee]

Guess it depends on where in the northeast 'cause I'm from New York and don't remember ever hearing the British way.

[@LindaC616]

​ I am Midwestern living on the East Coast now and you might be right. I always pronounced it scallop and never heard scahl llop until I moved here

[@OG_Agrivar]

@BrianMckee - Must be a Apple-eater vs. Masshole thing - I'm from Cape Cod and I've only ever heard it the "British way."

[@skyydancer67]

​@@BrianMcKeeSame.

[@KahunaPuffin]

“How do you say ‘both’?” I pronounce it “bolth”, inexplicably. So should I say it like … “slolth”? 🤣

[@usonumabeach300]

How about British adding R sound to words that don't have them, like "saw". Tuna and tuner seem to be swapped as well in some cases

[@shamone10]

Tuner in the UK, tooner in the US

[@rateeightx]

Americans do this too, In the Korean name "Park", Which the British spelled as such because it was similar to how they pronounce the word "Park", Without the 'R'. It'd be better transcribed into American English as "Pok".

[@irpk239]

I'm trying to watch the British version of "Shameless" and can only understand about 60% of what they're saying. I've never backed up a show more than this to try and understand what they're saying. Lol If I'm not mistaken, they're in Manchester at Chatsworth. Love both versions of the show.

[@pabmusic1]

Apricot came from the Portuguese abricoque, and was written 'abricock' or 'apricock' until 19th century prudes objected to 'cock'.

[@Aaron-lr1di]

Apricock...Lmao

[@BernardDauphinais]

Another word I'm quite familiar with is the British 'croshe' vs. the American 'croshay' for the word that's spelled crochet.

[@UnclePengy]

For apricot, refer to The Wizard of Oz (1939), when the Cowardly Lion says, "What puts the 'ape' in apricot?" So, APE-rih-cot. This might be a regional thing though. EDIT: So I had to go look this up, and believe it or not, a university actually did a study on this! So according to a survey done by North Carolina State University, App-ricot (short A vowel sound) is predominant across the northern third of the US, but also along the coast down to Florida, and in southern Louisiana, Arizona and western Oregon and Washington. APE-ricot (long A) is predominant in Texas, Oklahoma, California, Nevada, Idaho and Utah, and for some reason southern Pennsylvania, and the rest of the country is a mix of the two. BTW: Are you and the missus trying to tell us something with all of these procreation-themed words? 🤔

[@jstubbles]

More annoyingly perhaps, I interchange how I say these words sometimes, depending on sentence structure/context :D Like with Pecan for instance - I'll say puh-kaan when referencing just the nut ("grab me a bag of puh-kaans, please!"), but when getting a pecan pie, I'll say pee-kan pie. I'll also say to-mah-toe when referring to a single tomato, versus to-may-toe when they've been added to a dish. Only exception is aluminum - we say that correct (uh-loom-eh-num). Get your al-you-mini-um outta here :D hehe

[@patriciafeehan7732]

Mid wiffery, sounds like the description of the smell as one approaches a dumpster (Garbage Bin). We were walking and suddenly midwifery halted our progress.

[@FuscoLW]

On CTM.... Cervical. They pronounced it like cycle vs sickle. They had a long i sound. It was so weird to hear. Thanks. LITP.❤

[@zzco]

Software engineer here. One difference that bugs me, is "char" vs "char" (the first being enunciated /kh/ar, vs. the "char" in "char"coal or "char"t.).

[@jonadabtheunsightly]

Do you assimilate the vowels (so that they rhyme with one another) in varchar, even though the first vowel in "character" is normally pronounced as an -air diphthong?

[@tonys1636]

Char, yes please, milk no sugar.

[@zzco]

I see it as char, a partial enunciation of "character", you don't shove the enunciation for "charcoal" in there, right? Also, just because you chop off the word doesn't really change its enunciation or intended enunciation.

[@jonadabtheunsightly]

@@josh....... I don't care what anyone says, gif uses the short i sound, like in "pig" and "wit".

[@gscotb]

Now do vi.

[@sandramonk1]

To throw another country into the mix I am from New Zealand. Words I say the US way - cicada sloth estrogen hibiscus trimester vitamin wrath (7) Words I say the UK way - Tomato gala charade midwifery privacy simultaneous simultaneous scallop catacomb apricot (9) Some oddities charades - game - US way other context UK way Privacy - read the word UK way. Use the word ( the privacy minister. I am worried about my privacy) US way So consider them half each way

[@juliajoyce4535]

I pronounce Sloth to rhyme with broth in the UK

[@SherryHill-k5y]

As do I. !

[@alansmithee8831]

@@juliajoyce4535 Since I say it like Laurence, is that a northern thing? It does make saying "three toed sloth" 🦥 easier.

[@juliajoyce4535]

@@alansmithee8831 I’m not sure as David Attenborough pronounces sloth sloave, I’m from South Wales (non Welsh speaker)

[@mudleydatthews]

I’ve only heard “slowth” from Stephen Merchant and Ricky Gervais.

[@rasmusn.e.m1064]

@@alansmithee8831 I think it might actually be more of an "educated speech" or posh sort of thing. My experience is that it's mostly posh and Oxbridge people who use the slowth pronunciation. Especially when talking about it in the context of the Catholic deadly sins.

[@sandisteinberg731]

When I was a college freshman in a Pennsylvania university, my history professor had done her doctoral dissertation on midwifery. She pronounced the middle syllable like WHIFF. So do I. I grew up in Connecticut. 😊

[@rnbnatl]

The way Brits, Americans, Aussies and 'others' say things has always fascinated me. And likely always will.

[@JRBWare1942]

The French say "chapeau" for hat. They also say "mouchoir" for handkerchief. It's like they have a different word for practically everything!

[@Colorado_Native]

I am retired USAF. But for eight years I lived in Japan. To pay our utility bills, rent, etc you would go to the bank, take a small pan off the stack, put your money and bills in it and set it down and then sit down and wait for your name to be called. You would then go up to the cashier and conduct your business. The Japanese ladies understood American English. However, one of the patrons ahead of me was a British lady. The Japanese woman could not understand what she was saying. I went over and 'translated'. It was funny then, it is funny for me today after 40 years.

[@JRBWare1942]

@@Colorado_Native My father had a similar story. He was stationed in Glasgow for part of WW2. Every so often, they would get a phone call from a Scotsman whom nobody in my father's unit could understand--except for one guy. So when this guy called, whoever answered the phone would yell, "Hey Smitty! It's that Scottish gentleman again!" and Smitty would have to take the call and deal with him.

[@rnbnatl]

@@JRBWare1942 - They're a wild and crazy bunch, those French. 🤣

[@marshawargo7238]

​@@JRBWare1942 I have a hard time understanding the Scottish brogue, every time I hear it spoken, normal to them but fast to me, I think, huh? Reminds me when my kids were toddlers, my mom would listen to them intently, then look at me & say "What did she say?" I thought it was totally clear 😂 Proving that if you live with it, you learn it & even toddlers of all nations have an accent!

[@panninggazz5244]

you are a funny human. thank you. your talent is very much appreciated in these ridiculous/concerning times. (you deserve a Netflix special)

[@Arahknid]

"You say to-may-toe, I say to-mah-toe, You say poe-tay-toe, I say spud."

[@happybeejv]

You say oyster I say erster You say i-yell I say öël

[@keymaster8176]

Tater

[@JRBWare1942]

@@keymaster8176 Taters, maters, and nanners.

[@LiliWhyte]

Taters or tayties 😂

[@RandomGeekNamedBrent]

You say tornado I say 𝒯ℴ𝓇-𝓃𝒶𝒽-𝒹ℴ

[@barbarapearson1653]

Is it Lye-lack of Lye-lock for the purple flower?

[@teddymartinii1979]

So the British often use the "ahh" sound to pronounce the letter "A," but not when saying Italian or Spanish words like "pasta" and "taco," in languages where the letter "A" is ALWAYS pronounced like "ahh." Interesting.

[@LindaC616]

ALWAYS bring up "taco"!! Never let it rest!

[@user-calm_salty]

@@LindaC616 you mean tacko? lol (drives me nuts)

[@LindaC616]

@@user-calm_salty me too! And paella!

[@cuzned1375]

@@LindaC616 Ha, yes! All the Brits that i see on tv are super invested in (their version of) The Catalan Lisp, but not sp much the Spanish double-L…

[@cuzned1375]

I was trying to work, and my wife was on her lunch break, watching Bake Off’s “Taco Week” in the next room. Suddenly i was snapped out of my concentration by my own involuntary shout, “WTF did Paul Hollywood just say???!?” 😆

[@AlyraMoondancer]

I pronounce three of the words mentioned the way the Brits do, apparently, and have done so since I was a kid. My mom was from the south and my dad from the midwest, and I grew up on the east coast, so who knows why. But I pronounce "hibiscus" with the short first "i," "scallop" with the "ah" sound, and "apricot" like "ape-ricot" (as the Cowardly Lion says, "Who put the ape in apricot?" That wouldn't work with the other pronunciation!) Great video, Laurence!

[@uninvincibleete]

also the wildest word difference for me is lieutenant. where are people in the UK getting the F from??

[@JRBWare1942]

The F comes from the medieval/modern pronunciation of Greek. The American pronunciation is based on ancient Greek.

[@colinmacdonald5732]

FWIW we local dignitaries called Lord Lieutenants, who "rule" over Lieutenanancies.

[@reginapopihn9853]

@@colinmacdonald5732 I once learned of a very nice lady, who was Lord Lieutenant. Quite irritating.

[@cocomonkilla]

Wheres the R in colonel

[@pierreabbat6157]

Out of lieut field.

[@murraywagnon1841]

Having grown up earning pocket money picking them in northern California, I have used both pronunciations, however the soft A was the one I used most for Apricot.

[@JRBWare1942]

I don't know what a "soft A" is.

[@lorrainetrotter4737]

I wonder if apricot is regional. So many words are in the USA.

[@sandywich7834]

I've always heard gala pronounced as 'gah-la', but it took me moving to MA to hear scallop pronounced 'skah-lop'.

[@Adiscretefirm]

Do Brits pronounce the deadly sin of sloth the same way they pronounce the animal that inherited the name?

[@gennytun]

Yes.

[@bubbletea695]

I pronounce both like the Americans do

[@Kylipsa]

I have really bad dyslexia and couldn't ever spell anything and "hooked on phonetics" cheesed me off because it was wildly inconsistent. So, I defiantly started saying words phonetically correct (even tho i knew that wasn't how you said them) which was funny to me but had 2 unforseen bonuses of people correcting me (reinforcing the correct pronunciation) & helped my spelling

[@negativeindustrial]

The English like to add lots of unnecessary letters to words and then proceed to pronounce almost none of them.

[@robo5013]

Not as bad as the French though.

[@neighborhoodcatlady6094]

😹😹😹😹

[@alansmithee8831]

@negativeindustrial. Is that because we English use more colourful language than our US neighbours?

[@negativeindustrial]

@@alansmithee8831 Who knows? Sounds cool with the right word choice, though.

[@jonadabtheunsightly]

@@robo5013 Ah, but the French put the silent letters on the *ends* of the words. English mostly puts them at the beginning.

[@williamdye3960]

Reminds me of a documentary that came out in 2005 called "Do you speak American?" It delved into the different regional accents around North America and their histories of how they came to be.

[@TheSleepingonit]

Googled myself a few years ago no results

[@Mark.G475]

I would say that's great and amazing.

[@alansmithee8831]

@@TheSleepingonit I got so many results, I gained "ee", but it did not seem to bring me any royalties from Hollywood.

[@izme1000]

I very much like the idea of pronouncing catacomb like tomb. It's very thematic. I might start saying it that way instead.

[@rowynnecrowley1689]

I will not be taking pronunciation queues from a country that orders "tay-coes and burr-EYE-toes from Mexican restaurants and when called on it, says, "Well that's how we say it in Britain", as if Britain gets to decide the correct pronunciation of a non-English word.

[@scotpens]

I assume you mean "cues." A queue is a bunch of people waiting in line, or a pigtail worn by Chinese during the Manchu dynasty.

[@LillibitOfHere]

No gwacky mole for them! I watched a British guy eat a taco starting at the middle of the bottom on TikTok. 🥺

[@RBernsCarter]

As if the US is immune from this habit, croissant anybody?

[@RBernsCarter]

Also, I have never heard anybody say Tay-coes pr bur-eye-toes. Presumably you’ve encountered the ignorant section of the UK populace in much the same way that the ignorant section of the US populace is trotted out on TV all the time for these sorts of things

[@williamjones7163]

There are 333 million Americans. There are 66 million British. Might makes right. How very British. Translation: Americans say it correctly and the Brits are wrong.

[@ArtemisFaulken]

How about “controversy”. It has a double “o” that I’ve heard several variations of but ironically the main two involve flipping of both “o” sounds as well as changing the stressed syllable.

[@nunyabeeswax256]

I choked on my spit when he said it's "gayla" not "gahlah" in America. Boy, you would get absolutely ROASTED if you came to my area. Well, probably not you because we'd assume it's your accent, but if your wife said it too, it would be game over lmao. Similar, I've seen "promanade" is supposedly pronounced "prom-en-aid" but we say "prom-en-aud" around here.

[@anndeecosita3586]

For me the pronunciation depends on the context. I never say prah meh naud when square dancing. I would be run out of town. 😂

[@reginapopihn9853]

It´s promenade.

[@nunyabeeswax256]

@@anndeecosita3586 Okay but I think we both know that's niche 😂 I don't personally find enjoyment in the dance, but we had to do square dancing in gym class for a couple of weeks every year from like 2nd-5th grade lol so I do remember now that you mention it. A trip down memory lane I don't miss; having to touch hands with gross, sticky classmates lmao

[@1AlasBabylon]

I have never heard "gay-la" ever in my life - "gal-la", yes, sometimes "gay-la", but "gay-la" is a whole new one for me.

[@gscotb]

"Cholmondeley" can never be overused.

[@mnemosynevermont5524]

Italians brought over the CHI-CAH-DA pronunciation.

[@LiliWhyte]

But, no one says chi-cah-dah unless maybe some Italians.

[@mnemosynevermont5524]

@@LiliWhyte Haven't been to Jersey lately have you?

[@AuthorEvaIvonneOlson]

I pronounce "sloth" with the "oh" sound to refer to the animal and "sloth" with the "aw" sound to refer to laziness. I pronounce "cicada" as "chicharra" because I first heard the name in Spanish.

[@jrooksable]

I call them "AYPRICOT"😁

[@SherryHill-k5y]

Me too. I say APE RE COT

[@adriannecote5319]

Thanks for another interesting linguistic lesson.

[@debbiewestlake3666]

I was about 12 years old (1965) before I found out the "katy-did" was really cicada. That's what happens in Oklahoma sometimes. 🙂

[@nukemanmd]

Not the same in either behavior or appearance.

[@donnabert]

Great Steely Dan album Katy Lied has a katy did on the cover.

[@thejackbox]

a katy-did is a preying mantis

[@jack_T3579]

In Texas it’s the same 😂❤

[@kenbrown2808]

there are katydids that are not cicadas. though I'm sure it's possible some region might call one by the other name.

[@foxracing8973]

My two absolute fav words to hear British people say is schedule and privacy. I don't know why but I love it😁 In the Grinch movie that Jim Carrey was in, there is a scene where he pronounces schedule like a British person and it had me grinning big time.

[@neutrino78x]

Here's one, American submariners pronounce it "submarine-er" whereas the Brits say "sub-mariner". Though I was USN and an American, I have always preferred "sub-mariner". I was discussing this with one of the few people on the boat I considered a friend, who was 1st generation American (his family is from Ireland), one day while standing armed topside watch. I told him I consider "sub-mariner" to be the more erudite pronunciation. But then the Assistant Weapons Officer came up to the deck. He used to be an enlisted man, which is why I cut him some slack for what came next: he asked what "erudite" means. lmao. 😂🤣😂

[@rateeightx]

Honestly as an American I never knew "Submarine-er" was used, "Sub-mariner" sounds far better to my ears.

[@neutrino78x]

@@rateeightx I know the Australians say sub-mariner as well, we had a few Royal Australian Navy submarine officers on the base...I didn't know any of them well, but overheard them saying "submariner" a few times. Also the HMAS Collins, diesel-electric submarine, came over one day. They were moored near my submarine (USS Florida SSBN-728) so I saw them coming in and out...at first they didn't have an armed watch...the whole crew would drive out to Bremerton to get drunk (well, I assume they had designated drivers)...but then the base commander told them that's not allowed, they have to have at least one person standing armed watch. lol. 🙂 But yeah I prefer sub-mariner, but I have never met an American submariner who says it that way lol 🙂 I wonder how the Canadians say it? They have submarines as well. I saw some of their officers on the base as well, but never had the chance to speak to them. 🙂

[@hokey-os3rx]

I grew up and still live in the south. Georgia. My family has always pronounced Apricots with the A being a long sound.

[@maryanne9560]

In Boston, we pronounce scallops (and some other words) like you. The way the rest of America says it, makes me cringe. lol

[@JayRiemenschneider]

Yes that's the Boston loyalist faction still having their say 250 years later

[@maryanne9560]

@@JayRiemenschneider LOL :)