# "Iron" - one syllable?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iron-one-syllable/44487>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [December 7, 2000, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iron-one-syllable/44487 "2000-12-07T16:10:46Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 14\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![AWB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bb73d2/32.png) [@AWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AWB)\
**Post date:** [December 8, 2000, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iron-one-syllable/44487/21 "2000-12-08T03:52:04Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by poohpah chalupa \*  
> \*\*Oops. Forgot my smilie.  
> 🙂  
> …errr, that was supposed to be _funny_, **AWB**. Sorry.  
> 😃 \*\*

I knew you were joking, PC. I just wanted to show you guts the rest of my quiz.

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**Author:** ![AWB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bb73d2/32.png) [@AWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AWB)\
**Post date:** [December 8, 2000, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iron-one-syllable/44487/22 "2000-12-08T03:53:19Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by AWB \*  
> \*\*I knew you were joking, PC. I just wanted to show you **guts** the rest of my quiz. \*\*

Er… guys, not guts. :rolleyes:

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**Author:** ![CurtC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ce73a5/32.png) [@CurtC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CurtC)\
**Post date:** [December 8, 2000, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iron-one-syllable/44487/23 "2000-12-08T04:43:59Z")

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The common (non-Texan) pronunciation of the long-i sound is a diphthong, which is considered to be two vowel sounds smeared together in one syllable. The word “iron” is universally (in my experience) pronounced (long-i)-r-n, so I would call that one syllable, with the first being a diphthong.

Now let me educate you yankees on the Texan long-i sound. When a sound is not part of your dialect, you’re generally not able to distinguish it from another sound which is close and in your dialect. I was having a beer in Germany a few years ago, and I asked my English friend how to pronounce the name “Koenigen” on the side of the beer glass. He said what sounded like “koonigen.” So I repeated back, “koonigen.” He said no, “koonigen.” We did this a few more times when he stopped my and pointed out that he was saying the sound differently from me, like the “eeeee” sound, except with your lips rounded. I didn’t notice the difference because that sound is not in my dialect, and my brain converted it to something I recognized.

I think this is the same story with the Texas long-i sound. It’s not a diphthong, like the “ahh-eee” sound you yankees say. It’s a simple vowel sound, but when someone not familiar with the sound hears it, their brain converts it to the closest thing in their dialect, which is “ah.” So when I say “iron,” you might interpret it as “arn,” but a fellow Texan would clearly hear the difference between that and the first syllable of “Arnie.”

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**Author:** ![2sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/2/e47774/32.png) [@2sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/2sense)\
**Post date:** [December 8, 2000, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iron-one-syllable/44487/24 "2000-12-08T05:00:41Z")

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Not to be nebby or nothing but if yinz want to learn abaht how people in picksburg talk, n’at, hauscome don’t yinz go to [Pittsburghese.com](http://www.pittsburghese.com/translator.shtml)?

* * *

Just my 2sense _n’at_

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**Author:** ![brad\_d](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@brad\_d](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brad_d)\
**Post date:** [December 8, 2000, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iron-one-syllable/44487/25 "2000-12-08T05:08:17Z")

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Actually, Merriam-Webster hedges its bets. As **MEBuckner** pointed out, the M-W online dictionary gives:

> [@](#):
>
> Pronunciation: 'I(-&)rn

Digging deeply into their [Guide to Pronunciation](http://www.m-w.com/pronguid.htm), they indicate that

> [@](#):
>
> Parentheses are used in pronunciations to indicate that whatever is symbolized between them is present in some utterances but not in others…

IOW, they’re cool with 'Irn (one syllable) or 'I-&rn (two).

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**Author:** ![beergeek279](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7ea924/32.png) [@beergeek279](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beergeek279)\
**Post date:** [December 8, 2000, 7:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iron-one-syllable/44487/26 "2000-12-08T07:23:02Z")

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> [@](#):
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> This is starting to drift a bit, but the second-person plural pronoun is properly spelled “you’uns”, not “yins”

Actually, it’s properly spelled y’ns 🙂

I was born in da Burgh (in 79, the year of champions 🙂 ), but growing up in Washington County I missed out on the Pittsburghese. So I certainly know plenty of people with that accent and consider myself at least a fair translator. Certainly right now I could go for a Primanti and a cold 'Arn…up here in Erie a couple of places have substitutes, but there’s no thing like the real thing (for the unitiated, a Primanti is a sandwich where you take meat, place French Fries and coleslaw on top of it with ketchup, vinegar and hot sauce as the “official” condiments, although personally I never liked the ketchup on there…it may sound rather disgusting but it’s one of the most delicious sandwiches and a Pittsburgh favorite!)…any one of you 'burghers care to send me one 🙂

> [@](#):
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> As I think about what I wrote, you wouldn’t pick up your “arns” there. This being PA, you would have to go to the beverage distributor, buy a case of them, and swing by the “iggle” for the snacks. I offer as an excuse that I haven’t lived in PA for many years.

Nope…still the same. The People’s Republic of Pennsylvania still owns the liquor stores and the beer stores enjoy their monopoly and inflate their prices.

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**Author:** ![2sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/2/e47774/32.png) [@2sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/2sense)\
**Post date:** [December 8, 2000, 7:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iron-one-syllable/44487/27 "2000-12-08T07:54:44Z")

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**RugbyMan** doesn’t worship Heinz ketchup?!  
That’s almost as bad as being indifferent to da Stillers.

No wonder he was exiled to the great white north.

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**Author:** ![Badtz\_Maru](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e36b37/32.png) [@Badtz\_Maru](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Badtz_Maru)\
**Post date:** [December 8, 2000, 8:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iron-one-syllable/44487/28 "2000-12-08T08:00:52Z")

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Well, the dictionary says it’s two syllables. That’s good enough for me!

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**Author:** ![beergeek279](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7ea924/32.png) [@beergeek279](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beergeek279)\
**Post date:** [December 8, 2000, 8:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iron-one-syllable/44487/29 "2000-12-08T08:04:56Z")

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That’s no fair…I love my Heinz ketchup (would never dream of usin anything else, not even iggle brand)…just more selective about where I use it, that’s all 🙂

As for da Stillers, check aht dis post

[http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=49863](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=49863)

they got da nerve to say da Stillers aren’t goin all the way

Hey…stuck up here with Browns and Bills fans is its own punishment…never mind da snow and cold!!!

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**Author:** ![AxeElf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e99b99/32.png) [@AxeElf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AxeElf)\
**Post date:** [December 8, 2000, 11:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iron-one-syllable/44487/30 "2000-12-08T11:30:27Z")

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> [@](#):
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> \*Originally posted by MEBuckner \*  
> \*\*
> 
> > [@](#):
> >
> > I"ron
> 
> \*\*

I Ron? Did Reagan write this dictionary? Who says “I Ron”??? Do you suppose there’s a chance that Do Ron (as in, Da Do Ron Ron Ron, Da Do Ron Ron) is axually pronounced with one syllable too?

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**Author:** ![LateComer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b5ac83/32.png) [@LateComer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LateComer)\
**Post date:** [December 8, 2000, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iron-one-syllable/44487/31 "2000-12-08T16:27:36Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by mouthbreather \*  
> \*\*Yinz jaggoffs woutent no nuttin abaht no one sillabull words or no two sillabull words if Dawnie Iris himself came dahn and told yinz.
> 
> What yinz shood do is go dahn SahSide and see if Joe Greshecky an da hahserawkers are playin dahn at Nicks Fat City. Ol’ Joe’d never steer yinz wrowng about no two siilabulls. \*\*

Hey, don’t you jagoffs know that this is GQ? If Yinz wanna talk like that, go dahn MPSIMS. Here, yinz gotta use prahper Inglish.  
-“Somebody hit that guy with a Polish Sausage or something!” -Myron Cope.

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**Author:** ![DZ42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c0e974/32.png) [@DZ42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DZ42)\
**Post date:** [December 8, 2000, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iron-one-syllable/44487/32 "2000-12-08T16:51:45Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> Yinz jaggoffs woutent no nuttin abaht no one sillabull words or no two sillabull words if Dawnie Iris himself came dahn and told yinz.
> 
> What yinz shood do is go dahn SahSide and see if Joe Greshecky an da hahserawkers are playin dahn at Nicks Fat City. Ol’ Joe’d never steer yinz wrowng about no two siilabulls.

OK: so how many people (from the 'Burgh at least) automatically read this quote with a Jim Krenn accent? (besides me, of course)

Note: Jim Krenn is the local radio morning-show guy. See [http://www.dve.com](http://www.dve.com) for further details.

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**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\
**Post date:** [December 8, 2000, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iron-one-syllable/44487/33 "2000-12-08T18:46:30Z")

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Bravo, **CurtC**!!!

Damn fine explanation of the Southern long “i”. (Not just a Texas phenomenon, of course.)

I tried to explain the same thing for four years to my Northern roommates in college, but never with the concise clarity of your post.

And yeah, iron is one syllable down here in Georgia, too.

(Diphthongs are just too much work in a hot climate.)

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**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\
**Post date:** [December 8, 2000, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iron-one-syllable/44487/34 "2000-12-08T20:38:43Z")

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Yeah, I second that, CurtC.

We have a similar thing going on up here in the northern city of New York. (I, being a transplanted Southerner, became aware of this). The sound that folks in the south make when pronouncing words like saw, lawyer, bought, or aww poor baby is a diphthong. Folks from here in the city can’t hear this sound since they don’t use that diphthong in their speech and think I’m saying sew, low year, boat, or oh poor baby.

(For non-southerners: the southern “aw” sound starts off like the “a” in father then tapers off towards a closed-off vowel that is almost a “w”).

The sound folks from around here use is a pure (if somethat foul-sounding) sound that sounds like the “o” before the “r” in born or the “o” before the “i” in boil.

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