Yesterday I was trying to find a word that rhymed with 'again' and the first set of possibilities included words like 'gain', 'attain', etc. The other choices were 'commend', 'weekend', etc. which is the pronunciation that I preferred. I found out an interesting tidbit about the word 'again' and how it is usually known to be pronounced. To my surprise I may have been pronouncing it incorrectly 'all' of my life. Even though I have heard it spoken correctly I just considered it a preference to the individual. You know like potato - potato or tomato - tomato. If I decide to do so I know that I will be questioned or even corrected. I can actually hear me correcting myself while reprogramming all those years of 'mispronunciation'. So my quandary is now that I know should I begin pronouncing it correctly or use that scapegoat analogy "Potato - potato, tomato - tomato"? Interesting...
Pronunciations are differing nowadays unlike in school when teachers were very strict with pronunciations. We were taught to say see-myu-leyt (simulate) but now I am hearing so many here saying psy-myu-leyt. Another word is indigent which I learned to be pronounced as in-dee-gent and not in-die-gent as if the poor are dying, huh. My husband was complaining to me some years ago that he grew up with de-psy-bel which he later learned to be pronounced de-ci-bel. In social media, it is even worse than pronunciation for they are cannibalizing the spelling of words. How many times have I seen the phrase "your welcome" which is short cut for you are welcome. Where are we going with that?
Stick with what you know and how others know how you speak, if you change now - they won't know what you're saying ya know @Von Jones
I think you should go with what you feel comfortable with. I have some words like that too. One that kind of drives me crazy though is when people say "Fudgeicle" instead of "Fudgesicle" I mean...do you say Popicle??? lol However, there is some word I know I have mis pronounced all my life too, I just can't remember what it is right now. It is a common word, but just popped out of my brain. Oh well!!
I have heard again pronounce three different ways. Again as in pin, again as in can, again as in pain.
I'm not uppity but I do recall going through a series of 'the rain in Spain' and other stuff in elementary school. I just figured it was for fun. I would say it all different ways but my favorite was saying it like Dr. Watson of Sherlock Holmes.
Or how about the phrase, 'you all'. In Texas it is said many ways, and I like to play with them all. There is y'all, ya'll, yu'll and even yall. And, we all get to argue for which one is 'proper'.
@Ina I. Wonder I believe I'm a little bit country or southern because I grew saying y'all. It would slip out sometimes at work but everyone understood its meaning as 'you all.' That's funny. Oh, the looks I would see as if I said something derogatory. My bad.
I say y'all just because I live in the South, but I grew up saying you guys. Then of course there were those who insisted on saying you'se guys, just to kind of throw a monkey wrench into things I think!! Well anyway. I hop y'all have a nice evening!
Wait till you hear pidgin language...lol. At the Navy base locally on Oahu, many graduated t Honolulu Community College the college of trades. My Speech teacher told us a story about some HCC students who got employed at the Navy base speaking pidgin language. Well the commander is from the mainland and he'd never heard of pidgin language and though the graduates from HCC were retarded because they used pidgin language. How can these graduates have passed when they can't even speak American? Faculty went to the Navy base to investigate and the commander now knows of pidgin language spoken in Hawaii.