# How do you pronounce "porcupine"? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 3, 2012, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-porcupine/636599 "2012-10-03T17:01:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2012, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-porcupine/636599/1 "2012-10-03T17:01:42Z")
I failed to perform a search on a [poll pronouncing coupon,](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=667478) even though that poll is still going, here’s another word that crossed my mind. “Porcupine”, how you say? ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2012, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-porcupine/636599/2 "2012-10-03T17:07:37Z")
Whoops, that last option should read, “Some other weird, deformed **6th** thing”. My apologies for not being able to count. ---
**Author:** ![DiosaBellissima](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a8b319/32.png) [@DiosaBellissima](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DiosaBellissima)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2012, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-porcupine/636599/3 "2012-10-03T17:08:04Z")
I chose the first option because it most closely matched what I say, but in reality, it comes out more like: pork-you-pine, with emphasis more heavily on pork and “you” being really fast. ---
**Author:** ![Suburban\_Plankton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suburban_plankton/32/219_2.png) [@Suburban\_Plankton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Suburban_Plankton)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2012, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-porcupine/636599/4 "2012-10-03T17:10:01Z")
> [@DiosaBellissima](#): > > I chose the first option because it most closely matched what I say, but in reality, it comes out more like: pork-you-pine, with emphasis more heavily on pork and “you” being really fast. Ditto. ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2012, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-porcupine/636599/5 "2012-10-03T17:14:12Z")
> [@DiosaBellissima](#): > > I chose the first option because it most closely matched what I say, but in reality, it comes out more like: pork-you-pine, with emphasis more heavily on pork and “you” being really fast. It’s a fine hair, and I decided to combine it into one option, but let it be known unto _all_ future pollers! Attention SDMB and the rest of the Galaxy: Choose option #1 if you pronounce it closer to **“pork-you-pine.”** ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2012, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-porcupine/636599/6 "2012-10-03T17:14:46Z")
> [@DiosaBellissima](#): > > I chose the first option because it most closely matched what I say, but in reality, it comes out more like: pork-you-pine, with emphasis more heavily on pork and “you” being really fast. Mine’s kinda like that, but more of a “pork-ya-pine.” ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2012, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-porcupine/636599/7 "2012-10-03T17:29:36Z")
“Porpentine” ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2012, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-porcupine/636599/8 "2012-10-03T17:31:58Z")
> [@cmyk](#): > > **pork-you** Reported 😃 ---
**Author:** ![BetsQ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/fbc32d/32.png) [@BetsQ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BetsQ)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2012, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-porcupine/636599/9 "2012-10-03T17:36:02Z")
Somedays I think my SDMB experience has been all about how I pronounce things incorrectly. I definitely say porky-pine. I didn’t realize there were alternatives. ---
**Author:** ![PandaBear77](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/edb3f5/32.png) [@PandaBear77](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PandaBear77)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2012, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-porcupine/636599/10 "2012-10-03T17:40:17Z")
Pork-you-pine I voted the last one though – didn’t see the giant blaring PSA until after ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Sudden\_Kestrel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecd19e/32.png) [@Sudden\_Kestrel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sudden_Kestrel)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2012, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-porcupine/636599/11 "2012-10-03T17:53:26Z")
We used to call them porky-pines (and that’s what I chose), but we now call them Corky-pines after one of our dogs. ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2012, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-porcupine/636599/12 "2012-10-03T18:46:34Z")
> [@Ludovic](#): > > Reported 😃 Well… PORK YOU! _cmyk goes on the lam_ ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2012, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-porcupine/636599/13 "2012-10-03T18:48:07Z")
> [@PandaBear77](#): > > Pork-you-pine > > I voted the last one though – didn’t see the giant blaring PSA until after ☹ No problem. I’ll adjust for it when I run my tallies and submit this to straw poll to TPTB. ---
**Author:** ![Filbert](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/filbert/32/3433_2.png) [@Filbert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Filbert)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2012, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-porcupine/636599/14 "2012-10-03T19:01:27Z")
Huh, I do pronounce it ‘por-cue-pine’, with a noticeable gap after the ‘por’ but voted for the first option before the PSA cunningly changed it… ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2012, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-porcupine/636599/15 "2012-10-03T19:04:33Z")
> [@BetsQ](#): > > Somedays I think my SDMB experience has been all about how I pronounce things incorrectly. I definitely say porky-pine. I didn’t realize there were alternatives. I say porky-pine too. That is what they are. It’s like Porky Pig crossed with a pine tree and makes perfect sense. The rest of the pronunciations don’t. We all know that English words aren’t always pronounced like they are spelled. ---
**Author:** ![corkboard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e9bcb4/32.png) [@corkboard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/corkboard)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2012, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-porcupine/636599/16 "2012-10-03T19:39:53Z")
> [@Suburban\_Plankton](#): > > Ditto. Thritto. ---
**Author:** ![Heart\_of\_Dorkness](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/4bbf92/32.png) [@Heart\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Heart_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2012, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-porcupine/636599/17 "2012-10-03T19:41:28Z")
Okay, here’s the problem. As I’m sure you know, the way people think they pronounce words is often very different from what they actually say. Now, I _think_ I say pork-you-pine, or at least something close to these: > [@DiosaBellissima](#): > > pork-you-pine, with emphasis more heavily on pork and “you” being really fast. > [@Happy\_Lendervedder](#): > > “pork-ya-pine.” In my case, the middle syllable is even more shortened, and a higher vowel: pork-yih-pine (poɚk’ jɪ̈ paɪn). In my mind, that’s totally different from “porky-pine”, which initially seemed like it must be some rare regionalism. But as I say it my way, and then say “porky-pine”, I realize that the two pronunciations are really very close. In that middle, unstressed syllable, the difference between “yih” and “ee” is very difficult to distinguish. It’s obvious to _me_, but I can easily see how casual observers might hear “porky-pine”. So how shall I vote? > [@BetsQ](#): > > I definitely say porky-pine. I didn’t realize there were alternatives. And that might be why: there may well be a lot of people (like me) who are saying “pork-you-pine”, but it’s close enough to “porky-pine” that the people who say it that way would never notice. ---
**Author:** ![Fretful\_Porpentine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fretful_porpentine/32/2873_2.png) [@Fretful\_Porpentine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fretful_Porpentine)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2012, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-porcupine/636599/18 "2012-10-03T20:21:28Z")
> [@DrFidelius](#): > > “Porpentine” You called? ---
**Author:** ![tapu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/49beb7/32.png) [@tapu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tapu)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2012, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-porcupine/636599/19 "2012-10-03T20:36:42Z")
> [@DiosaBellissima](#): > > I chose the first option because it most closely matched what I say, but in reality, it comes out more like: pork-you-pine, with emphasis more heavily on pork and “you” being really fast. Rack up me and small son for this one. ---
**Author:** ![Lanzy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/74df32/32.png) [@Lanzy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lanzy)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2012, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-porcupine/636599/20 "2012-10-03T20:51:09Z")
> [@DiosaBellissima](#): > > I chose the first option because it most closely matched what I say, but in reality, it comes out more like: pork-you-pine, with emphasis more heavily on pork and “you” being really fast. also, me, too [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-porcupine/636599.md?page=2)