# Do you pronounce 'am' and 'M' the same? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 25, 2012, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-pronounce-am-and-m-the-same/619879 "2012-04-25T03:11:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Electric\_Warrior](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@Electric\_Warrior](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Electric_Warrior)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2012, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-pronounce-am-and-m-the-same/619879/1 "2012-04-25T03:11:19Z")
This is to figure out whether it’s a dialect difference or whether I’m just really unobservant about pronunciations (I pronounced ‘dull’ as homophonous with ‘dole’ for years; apparently this is weird). So for me, ‘am’ (first person singular form of ‘to be’) is [ɛm] and so is the letter M. For my friend who has a contrast, it’s M = [ɛm] and am = [æm]. Or to put it simply, I am rhymes with hem, not with Sam. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2012, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-pronounce-am-and-m-the-same/619879/2 "2012-04-25T03:17:41Z")
I don’t think I’ve ever heard anyone pronounce them the same…and am and Sam are definitely much closer than am and hem. Are you southern? ---
**Author:** ![Electric\_Warrior](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@Electric\_Warrior](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Electric_Warrior)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2012, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-pronounce-am-and-m-the-same/619879/3 "2012-04-25T03:39:53Z")
I’m from the Virginia suburbs of DC. ---
**Author:** ![Jragon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Jragon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jragon)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2012, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-pronounce-am-and-m-the-same/619879/4 "2012-04-25T03:42:37Z")
Depends on context, “am” and “M” can be the same sound in some cases, but generally I’d say they’re different. ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2012, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-pronounce-am-and-m-the-same/619879/5 "2012-04-25T03:47:33Z")
In before guizot makes his traditional post about the uselessness of self-reporting on things like this. I never thought about it until now but I’ll wager big money I pronounce am and M the same unless I’m emphasizing am for some reason. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2012, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-pronounce-am-and-m-the-same/619879/6 "2012-04-25T04:31:11Z")
“Am” rhymes with “ham.” “M” rhymes with “hem.” Now I suppose you’re gonna tell me “ham” rhymes with “hem.” ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2012, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-pronounce-am-and-m-the-same/619879/7 "2012-04-25T04:41:15Z")
Different. But how often does one really say “am”? Is it ever used except following “I”, and then isn’t it almost always said “I’m” (which, for me anyway, rhymes with “lime”)? ---
**Author:** ![california\_jobcase](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@california\_jobcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/california_jobcase)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2012, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-pronounce-am-and-m-the-same/619879/8 "2012-04-25T04:42:00Z")
It depends. If I answer “I am.”, it rhymes with ham. If it’s spoken quickly in the middle of a sentence, it sounds like “m”. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2012, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-pronounce-am-and-m-the-same/619879/9 "2012-04-25T04:46:34Z")
> [@njtt](#): > > Different. But how often does one really say “am”? Is it ever used except following “I”, and then isn’t it almost always said “I’m” (which, for me anyway, rhymes with “lime”)? “Am I?” ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2012, 5:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-pronounce-am-and-m-the-same/619879/10 "2012-04-25T05:26:32Z")
I said “differently”, but that’s if I’m paying attention. In casual speech I doubt you’d hear any difference when listening to me. ---
**Author:** ![Alice\_The\_Goon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Alice\_The\_Goon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alice_The_Goon)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2012, 5:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-pronounce-am-and-m-the-same/619879/11 "2012-04-25T05:29:22Z")
I used to say it the same, when I still had a Michigan accent. Now I don’t. ---
**Author:** ![AClockworkMelon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aclockworkmelon/32/10803_2.png) [@AClockworkMelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AClockworkMelon)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2012, 5:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-pronounce-am-and-m-the-same/619879/12 "2012-04-25T05:42:29Z")
I’d say I pronounce am “em” (like the letter m) about 75% of the time so I put that I pronounce them the same. ---
**Author:** ![mnemosyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c4cdca/32.png) [@mnemosyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mnemosyne)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2012, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-pronounce-am-and-m-the-same/619879/13 "2012-04-25T05:46:00Z")
Differently for sure. ---
**Author:** ![Kozmik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/8dc957/32.png) [@Kozmik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kozmik)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2012, 5:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-pronounce-am-and-m-the-same/619879/14 "2012-04-25T05:57:47Z")
Am I saying ‘M’ the same? No. ---
**Author:** ![Rachellelogram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rachellelogram/32/8689_2.png) [@Rachellelogram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachellelogram)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2012, 6:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-pronounce-am-and-m-the-same/619879/15 "2012-04-25T06:41:20Z")
Very differently. One of my friends in high school said “I em!” all the time (it bugged me, she said melk instead of milk too, and aygs instead of eggs). I believe her mom was from the south, but I don’t know which state. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2012, 7:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-pronounce-am-and-m-the-same/619879/16 "2012-04-25T07:15:37Z")
> [@njtt](#): > > Different. But how often does one really say “am”? Is it ever used except following “I”, and then isn’t it almost always said “I’m” (which, for me anyway, rhymes with “lime”)? “Are you hungry?” “Yes, I am.” ---
**Author:** ![Cazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cazzle/32/75_2.png) [@Cazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cazzle)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2012, 7:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-pronounce-am-and-m-the-same/619879/17 "2012-04-25T07:52:03Z")
Am rhymes with Sam M rhymes with hem. (I’m rhymes with lime). ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2012, 8:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-pronounce-am-and-m-the-same/619879/18 "2012-04-25T08:58:49Z")
I don’t even do it when speaking “lazily,” as /æ/ before nasals gets fronted in my dialect, but /ɛ/ does not. So even if I get lazy and open my mouth the same amount, they still sound distinct. BTW, OP: which of dole and dull were you said to have pronouncing incorrectly? Am I right in thinking it was dole? ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2012, 11:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-pronounce-am-and-m-the-same/619879/19 "2012-04-25T11:08:34Z")
Ha, you funny Americans with your vowel rationing. We’ve got bucketloads over here in England. Sometimes we even shove two into one syllable just for the diphthongised heck of it. Perhaps we should ship a few containers of them over, and you can finally distinguish between Mary, merry and marry; or Aaron and Erin; or cot and caught; and all those other words of ours that you mangle 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2012, 12:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-pronounce-am-and-m-the-same/619879/20 "2012-04-25T12:00:55Z")
Do you like green eggs and ham? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-pronounce-am-and-m-the-same/619879.md?page=2)