# How to pronounce "Twinings"?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-pronounce-twinings/748615>\
**Category:** Cafe Society\
**Created:** [March 11, 2016, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-pronounce-twinings/748615 "2016-03-11T02:49:30Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 10\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\
**Post date:** [March 11, 2016, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-pronounce-twinings/748615/1 "2016-03-11T02:49:30Z")

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The tea company.

Is the first syllable pronounced like “twin” or “twine”?

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**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\
**Post date:** [March 11, 2016, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-pronounce-twinings/748615/2 "2016-03-11T02:52:31Z")

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I’ve always heard it pronounced with a long i, like twine.

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**Author:** ![Ruken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f475e1/32.png) [@Ruken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruken)\
**Post date:** [March 11, 2016, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-pronounce-twinings/748615/3 "2016-03-11T03:36:11Z")

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/ˈtwaɪnɪŋz/

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**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\
**Post date:** [March 11, 2016, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-pronounce-twinings/748615/4 "2016-03-11T04:37:17Z")

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sorry, that means nothing to me.

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**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\
**Post date:** [March 11, 2016, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-pronounce-twinings/748615/5 "2016-03-11T04:39:42Z")

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What \*\*silenus \*\*said. Long “I”. If it were a short “I” it would be “Twinnings”.

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**Author:** ![armedmonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@armedmonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/armedmonkey)\
**Post date:** [March 11, 2016, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-pronounce-twinings/748615/6 "2016-03-11T04:43:34Z")

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You just have to remember that the “q” is silent.

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**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\
**Post date:** [March 11, 2016, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-pronounce-twinings/748615/7 "2016-03-11T05:14:26Z")

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> [@Northern\_Piper](#):
>
> sorry, that means nothing to me.

Basically, “long i.” /aɪ/ represents the sound that corresponds to to word “I” in English. Same as in “buy,” “die,” “fly,” etc.

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**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\
**Post date:** [March 11, 2016, 8:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-pronounce-twinings/748615/8 "2016-03-11T08:07:51Z")

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“Twine-ings.” According to my mother, my grandmother and the young lady who ran the shop where I used to get my Irish Breakfast Tea.

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**Author:** ![Teuton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/teuton/32/3864_2.png) [@Teuton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Teuton)\
**Post date:** [March 11, 2016, 9:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-pronounce-twinings/748615/9 "2016-03-11T09:06:16Z")

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Stephen Fry pronounced it [like this](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=emV2rVfsgTE) in the adverts. Long I, if you can’t watch.

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**Author:** ![Mollie\_Magill](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mollie_magill/32/20882_2.png) [@Mollie\_Magill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mollie_Magill)\
**Post date:** [March 11, 2016, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-pronounce-twinings/748615/10 "2016-03-11T14:15:13Z")

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My mother’s family are Twinings (less famous ones). They all pronounce it with a long I.