I was listening to a radio talk show when the caller who lived in San Jose but had recently moved from the north eastern part of the USA said the following to the talk show host (a fellow New Yorker), “The people out west talk funny. They say “fog” and “dog” like they rhyme.” The talk show host chuckled at her observation and sympathized with her frustration with the pronunciation of the westerners. Help this westerner improve his speech. Which word does not rhyme with “hog”? Fog? Or dog?
Must be specifically a north-eastern thing. I’m from Maryland, and all three of those words rhyme.
I have no idea what this person is talking about. Fog most definitely does rhyme with dog. What I wonder about are my “D’s” and “T’s.” When in the middle or end of words they are either deemphasized to the point of being nearly inaudible, or they are nearly identical in sound. Is it me?
I agree. I have no idea what the caller is talking about, and I was born in Boston and currently live in upstate NY.
Oh, come now! Fog (fahg) does not rhyme with dog (dawg).
As one from Boston (Bahstin?), fog (fawg) and dog (dawg) certainly rhyme.
Grelby, are you talking about the phenomenon where the words “rider” and “writer” (or “writing” and “riding”) sound alike, except maybe for the length og the first vowel? That’s pretty common; I think most of us have that. (matt_mcl would probably tell you it’s called an alveolar flap, if I remember correctly…)
Well, frog, dog, fog, hog…they all rhyme. But I was watching the news the other day and there was a guy they were interviewing from, I don’t know where, that had a real problem pronouncing the word saw. The guy kept saying that he sore this and he sore that. The last I looked, saw did not have an “R” in it.
Yeah, and wash doesn’t have an r either. 
That’s why I always use: FWIW LOL IRL and WALLY etc. on the message boards, no problem with accents then.
But on radio talk shoes, no one understands me! 
[SUB]::: D&R :::[/SUB]
That might be it StephenG. Maybe it’s not just me, after all. I was also referring to words like “wanted” and others (usually past-participle verbs, I guess) that end in a -ted or-ded. I tend to notice that some people definitely distinguish the syllable. You can definitely hear the t or the d. When I say it, the syllables blur a lot more; the t or d are very soft. Granted, this impression comes largely from listening to music. I just don’t pay enough attention in actual conversation, for the most part. In any case, the fact that we’re all New Englanders (well… almost) where I come from might make it an inadequate sample. I just don’t know.
“Fog” and “hog” rhyme in my dialect (south-central PA). They do not quite rhyme with “dog”, although it’s close. It wouldn’t be a problem for me to read a poem that rhymed “dog” with one of the other two.
On the other hand, the first time I read “Goodnight Moon” to flodjunior, it threw me:
“Brush” and “hush” rhyme just fine for me, but “mush” isn’t even close.
So, you rhyme mush with push? Ewwww… that makes me never want to eat mush again.
Another SE-Pa native here! Dog is definately (dawg) around here…ryming more with say saw or brawl then fog or hog. Then again we pronounce water (wooder).
well i’m British (origin of your language) and they rhyme, definitely. the caller obviously has a pronounciation problem.
You wanted to eat it before??
Good point
New Yorker here. “Fog” and “dog” do not rhyme. The former is pronounced “fahg” and the latter, “dawg.” But “fog” does rhyme with “hog” and “frog.” So “dog” seems to be the exception.
BORN AND BRED IN NEW ENGLAND
Having lived in AZ for a spell, and having been accused of tawkin funny. I think I tawk quite normal. Look, Fawg and dawg rhyme. Plain and simple. Some the people I met in AZ and CA looked at me like I had a friggin thurd eye, when I spoke. I mean these are students lookin at me like I was retaadid or somthin. I think the eubonic-New England nomenclature comes from it being wicked cold all the damn time!! 
this of course is my opinion, and if you could see my BUMPAH STICKAH it says ‘question authority’!
Having spent most of my life in New York, it is definitely dawg that does not rhyme.
I get all kinds of weird looks when I talk here in the Southeast US. Like when I say “cawfee” or ask for a magic “mahkuh”. That’s ok, since I look right back at 'em strange when I hear people say “tar” (tire), “far” (fire), “IN-surance”, and add syllables to words, like “hay-elp”.
Friggin’ weirdos don’t tawk right. 
Southern here and they all rhyme in my way of speaking. Of course, they’re all also two syllable words “faw’ ug” “daw’ ug” and “haw’ ug”
I’m from upstate NY and believe me, fog(fahg) rhymes with hog, not dog(dawg). But there are difference within my own state. NY’ers (from the City) and Long Islanders probably think they all rhyme. Go figure!