Words Pronounced Differently Across the US

If you hear someone say a word differently than you’re used to, it might be based on where they’re from and what regional accent they have. While it might seem like they’re being mispronounced, words do change depending on a person’s dialect (and they’re still correct). If you want to find out which words sound different among English speakers, we’ve got you covered. Keep reading to learn about some controversial pronunciation differences, plus how Southern accents and in British accents affect pronunciation.

Popular “Mispronounced” Words

Section 1 of 10:

Food Words Pronounced Differently

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Next time you sit down for a meal, listen to how everyone pronounces these common foods. Depending on their accent or the region they come from, they may sound a little different than what you’re used to.
- Tomato
  - Tuh-MAH-toh
  - Tuh-MAY-toh
- Potato
  - Poh-TAY-toh
  - Puh-TAH-toh
- Pecan
  - Pee-CAN
  - Peh-CAHN
- Apricot
  - APP-rih-caht
  - APE-rih-caht
- Bagel
  - BAY-guhl
  - BAH-guhl (Midwest)
- Caramel
  - CAH-ruh-mell
  - KAHR-mell
- Syrup
  - SIHR-up
  - SEER-up (Northeast)
- Almond
  - AL-muhnd
  - AHL-muhnd
- Cauliflower
  - CAHL-ih-flour-ehr
  - CAW-lee-flou-ehr
- Groceries
  - GROH-sehr-eez
  - GROH-shreez
- Water
  - WAH-tehr
  - WOOD-ehr (Philadelphia)^{[1]
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- Sherbet
  - Shuhr-BEHT
  - Shuhr-BIHRT
- Bologna
  - Buh-LOH-nee
  - Buh-LOH-nya
- Mayonnaise
  - MAN-ayze
  - MAY-uh-nayze
- Salmon
  - SAM-uhn
  - SAM-ihn
- Acai
  - Ah-sah-EE
  - Ah-SIGH
- Egg
  - EHGG
  - EYGG (Northwest)^{[2]
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- Pasta
  - PAHS-tuh
  - PASS-tuh
- Coffee
  - KAH-fee
  - KAW-fee
- Espresso
  - Ehss-PRESS-oh
  - Ehx-PRESS-oh

Section 2 of 10:

Object Words Pronounced Differently

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Whether they’re around your home or something you see in everyday life, the words for these items can sound different from person to person.
- Data
  - DAY-tuh
  - DAH-tuh
- Handkerchief
  - HAYN-kehr-chiff
  - HAYN-kehr-cheef
- Crayon
  - CRAY-ahn
  - KRAN
- Coupon
  - COOP-ahn
  - CYOO-pahn
- Jewelry
  - JOO-ehl-ree
  - JOOL-ree
- Envelope
  - EHN-vel-oahp
  - AHN-vel-oahp
- Drawer
  - Drahw-ihr
  - DROAHR
- Poem
  - POHM
  - POH-ehm
- Mirror
  - MEER
  - MEER-uhr
  - MIHR-uhr
- Vase
  - VAYSS
  - VAHS
- Bag
  - BAHG
  - BAYG (Wisconsin)^{[3]
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- Insurance
  - IHN-shur-ense
  - Ihn-SHUR-inse
- Iron
  - EYE-urn
  - ARHN (Pittsburgh, PA)^{[4]
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- Advertisement
  - ADD-ver-tize-ment
  - Ad-VER-tiss-ment
- Aluminum
  - Al-OO-min-uhm
  - Uh-LOO-muh-num
- Prescription
  - PREH-skrip-shun
  - PER-skrip-shun
- Vehicle
  - VEE-hick-ull
  - VEE-ick-ull
- Lever
  - LEHV-er
  - LEEV-er
- Vitamin
  - VEYE-tuh-mihn
  - VIHT-uh-mihn

Section 3 of 10:

Places Pronounced Differently

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Whenever you’re traveling, check how people say the name of the location you’re in. City and state names might be pronounced differently around the area than they are anywhere else.
- Garage
  - GUH-rahj
  - GAIR-ihj
- Foyer
  - FOY-ihr
  - Foy-AY
- Roof
  - ROOF
  - RUHF
- Creek
  - KREEK
  - CRICK
- Museum
  - Myooz-EE-uhm
  - MYOO-zahm
- Downtown
  - DOWHN-towhn
  - DAHN-tahn (Pittsburgh)^{[5]
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- New Orleans
  - New OHR-Lihnz (Louisiana)^{[6]
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  - New Ohr-LEENZ
- Oregon
  - OAHR-ihg-ahn
  - OAHR-ihg-ihn
- Illinois
  - Il-uh-NOY
  - Il-uh-NOISE
- Texas
  - TEKS-iss
  - TEKS-iz
- Nevada
  - Nehv-AHD-uh
  - Nehv-ADD-uh
- Caribbean
  - Ca-rihb-EE-ihn
  - Cuh-RIHB-ee-ihn

Section 4 of 10:

Words for People That are Pronounced Differently

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Depending on where you live, you may hear some variations on these words referring to specific people.
- Adult
  - AH-duhlt
  - Uh-DUHLT
- Realtor
  - REEL-tuhr
  - REEL-uh-tuhr
- Aunt
  - ANT
  - AHNT
- Celtic
  - SELL-tick
  - KELL-tick
- Our
  - OW-ihr
  - AHR

Section 5 of 10:

Verbs with Different Pronunciations

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How these action words sound can vary depending on your accent or where you’re located. Try sounding out the words below to see which way you pronounce them!
- Been
  - BIHN
  - BENN
- Tour
  - TOOR
  - TOO-ur
- Schedule
  - SKEHD-yoo-uhl
  - SHEHD-yoo-uhl
- Flourish
  - FLUH-rihsh
  - FLOO-rihsh
- Route
  - RAWHT
  - ROOT
- Process
  - PRAH-sess
  - PROH-sess
- Progress
  - PRAH-gress
  - PROH-gress
- Cache
  - CASH
  - CATCH

Section 6 of 10:

Adjectives & Adverbs Pronounced Differently

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Descriptors like adjectives and adverbs add a lot of detail to a sentence, and you might hear any of these pronunciations depending on who’s talking and where they’re from.
- Often
  - OFF-tehn
  - OFF-in
- Either
  - EE-thehr
  - EYE-thehr
- Mauve
  - MOHV
  - MAHV
- Et cetera
  - EHT-seht-ihr-uh
  - Eht-SEHT-ruh
- Mischievous
  - Miss-CHEEV-ee-uhs
  - Miss-CHIV-uhss
- Neither
  - NEE-ther
  - NIGH-ther
- Mobile
  - MOH-buhl
  - MOH-baihl
  - MOH-beel
- Niche
  - NEESH
  - NITCH
- Really
  - REEL-ee
  - RILL-ee
  - REE-ihl-ee
- Interesting
  - IHNT-ehr-est-ing
  - IHN-nehr-est-ing
- Nuclear
  - NOOK-leer
  - NOO-klee-er
  - NOO-cyoo-ler
- Huge
  - HYOOJ
  - YOOJ (Northeast)^{[7]
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- Comfortable
  - CUHM-fer-tuh-bull
  - CUHMF-ter-bull
- Semi
  - SEHM-eye
  - SEHM-ee
- Anti
  - AN-tie
  - AN-tee

Section 7 of 10:

More Words Pronounced Differently

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Try sounding out these less-common words phonetically. While both pronunciations are correct and common across the country, you probably prefer using one more than the other.
- Horror
  - HOAR-er
  - HAHR-er
- Leisure
  - LEE-szuhr
  - LEH-szuhr
- Tournament
  - TOOHR-nuh-mehnt
  - TIHR-nuh-mehnt
- Miracle
  - MIH-ruh-cuhl
  - MEER-cuhl (Northeast)
- GIF
  - JIHF
  - GIHF
- Coyote
  - Kai-OH-tee
  - Kai-OHT (Colorado and Wyoming)
- Kilometer
  - KIL-oh-mee-ter
  - Kil-AH-meh-ter
- Gala
  - GAH-lah
  - GAY-lah

Section 8 of 10:

Southern Accent Pronunciation

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The Southern accent is known for its laid-back drawl and long vowels. American accent coach Adrian Lin states, “A lot of English dialects are just created by substituting certain vowels for other vowels.”^{[8]
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Adrian Lin
American Accent Coach

Expert Interview} Southern accents tend to use the same vowel sounds in words like “pen” and “pin,” and other vowels get more drawn out for a more unique sound.^{[9]
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- Get: GIHT instead of GEHT
- Pen: PIHN instead of PEHN
- Oil: OLL instead of OY-ill
- Pajamas: Puh-JAHM-uhz instead of puh-JAM-uhz
- Florida: FLAH-rihd-uh or FLOH-rihd-uh instead of FLOR-ihd-uh
- Lawyer: LAWH-yerr instead of LOY-ehr
- Caught: CAHT instead of CAWHT
- Monday: MUN-dee instead of MUN-day
- Picture: PIT-chuhr instead of PICK-tuhr

Section 9 of 10:

British Accent Pronunciation

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Some English words have different pronunciations in a British accent. While speaking with a British accent can already make words sound different, some words have small changes from their American pronunciation as well.^{[10]
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- Aluminum: Al-oo-MIHN-ee-um instead of Ah-LOO-mihn-um
- Scone: SKON instead of SKOHN
- Herb: HURB instead of ERB
- Basil: BAH-zil instead of BAY-zil
- Dynasty: DIN-uh-stee instead of DIE-nuh-stee
- Figure: FIHG-err instead of FIHG-yer
- Zebra: ZEBB-ruh instead of ZEE-bruh
- Privacy: PRIH-viss-ee instead of PREYE-viss-ee
- Sloth: SLOHTH instead of SLAWTH
- Yogurt: YOGG-urt instead of YO-gurt
EXPERT TIP

Luke Nicholson
British Accent Coach
Luke Nicholson is a British accent coach based in London with over a decade of experience helping English learners communicate more clearly. Luke lectures at University College London's Summer Course in English Phonetics and is a member of the International Phonetic Association. In 2012, he founded Improve Your Accent to address the lack of high-quality British English pronunciation materials. He has taught students from 90 countries and has been featured in media such as BBC Radio London, Times Radio, and The Evening Standard. In 2017, Luke was awarded IPSE's UK Freelancer of the Year, and in 2020, he received YouTube's Silver Creator Award. With a strong online presence, Luke has 170K YouTube subscribers and 158K Instagram followers. In 2021, his pronunciation course reached the finals of the British Council ELTons Awards. Luke's paper "Teaching vowels physically" was published as the lead article in an issue of the Voice and Speech Review. He is an enthusiastic language learner and created funetics.com, a site offering phonetics resources for a variety of languages. Luke has a BA in German and Italian Studies from the University of Birmingham and the International Phonetic Association Certificate from the University College London.

Luke Nicholson
British Accent Coach

How Rs and Ts are pronounced are key points of a British accent. We only pronounce the "R" sound if there's a vowel sound after it. In British English, "T" is pronounced as a clear "T" sound. In American English, the "T" is often pronounced as a soft "D" sound.

Section 10 of 10:

Regional Variations of Words

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If you’re in the northern United States, when you ask for a sweet, fizzy drink, most people will call it a pop. In the west, east, and central regions of the country, you’ll hear people say soda instead. In the South, you may hear someone call it a Coke no matter what type of drink you ordered.^{[11]
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In most regions of the United States, the fountains you drink water from are simply called drinking fountains or water fountains. However, if you’re in Wisconsin or some areas around Rhode Island, you may hear the term bubbler instead.^{[12]
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When you’re referring to more than one person, a majority of Americans use the phrase you all or you guys, even if there are people of different genders. If you’re talking to someone from the South or in Southeast states, you’ll probably hear the more casual y’all.^{[13]
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These small lobster-like crustaceans have different names depending on where you are in the country. In Louisiana, they’re most commonly called crawfish. In other areas of the South and in the western side of the country, they’re called crawdads or even mud bugs. In Northern states, you’ll probably hear them called crayfish instead.^{[14]
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Tips

If you’re trying to imitate a specific dialect or accent, acting coach Rita Litton says “Listen to people if you travel.” She recommends asking someone to read a passage in their own voice and recording them for reference.^{[15]
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Rita Litton
Acting Coach

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