A poll on pronunciation

[pne]

In cases where you answer "something else", feel free to leave a comment explaining your pronunciation.

[Poll #245210]

Comments

[cadenzamuse.livejournal.com]

I live in the great southlands, so everything sounds the same--no difference between "pin" and "pen," and both are pronounced like the former.

However, I can detect a *slight* difference between "Mary"/"marry" and "merry." The last one leans just slightly more toward the "e" sound.

"Father" and "bother." Shoot, I used to know the word for the difference between those, in phonetic-speak. But my friend the linguistics major has my GHP phonetics notes, so I couldn't tell you right now, other than they should mostly sound the same, but "father" leans toward the nasally aaaaah sound you make at the doctor (a as in apple, not awkward), and bother leans toward the a of awkward. But not much.

pin vs pen

[pne.livejournal.com]

no difference between "pin" and "pen," and both are pronounced like the former.

Ah! I had heard of this merger, but it had slipped my mind when I made the poll. (I think most people with whom I've spoken in the past don't have it.)

Do you use phrases such as "ink pin" and "safety pin" to differentiate between them? Always, or only when they could be confused?

(Reminds me a bit of Chinese, which used to have one-syllable words but which today, in the spoken language, has very many two-syllable words because of sound mergers, so they added "explanatory" words to differentiate.)

Re: pin vs pen

[cadenzamuse.livejournal.com]

Do you use phrases such as "ink pin" and "safety pin" to differentiate between them? Always, or only when they could be confused?

I think we mostly tack phrases onto the sharp-implement-type pin. "Safety pin," "tie pin," "straight pin," etc. Pen-pronounced-pin generally doesn't have an attribute unless it could be confused with pin-pronounced-pin.

And clarification can also be done "Coca-cola style." (Here, every carbonated soft drink is called a Coke, so if someone asks, "Do you want a Coke?", the response is "Yes; I'd like a sprite/rootbeer/orange soda.") For instance: "Can you pass me that pin?" "Ballpoint or safety?"

And it's nice to know we southerners are in good company with sound mergers, at least.