# To whoever coined the word "aural"... **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [February 13, 2004, 6:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-whoever-coined-the-word-aural/229004 "2004-02-13T06:14:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Palve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a698b9/32.png) [@Palve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Palve)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2004, 6:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-whoever-coined-the-word-aural/229004/1 "2004-02-13T06:14:49Z")
You are a dumbfuck. “Aural”, which means pertaining to the ear, is pronounced exactly like “oral”, which means pertaining to the mouth. **THIS IS TOO FUCKING CONFUSING!** Sorry, I just had to take my rage out on this linguistic quirk. ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2004, 6:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-whoever-coined-the-word-aural/229004/2 "2004-02-13T06:35:22Z")
I pronounce “aural” more as AW-rul, while “oral” gets pronounced like ORE-ul. Maybe that’s just me, though. ---
**Author:** ![Geek\_Mecha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ecae2f/32.png) [@Geek\_Mecha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Geek_Mecha)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2004, 6:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-whoever-coined-the-word-aural/229004/3 "2004-02-13T06:36:16Z")
Nope. I pronounce aural _aw-ral_ and oral _o-ral_, too. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2004, 6:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-whoever-coined-the-word-aural/229004/4 "2004-02-13T06:36:31Z")
Or you could be like the moron in my 11th grade lit class who always pronounced it “a-yooral,” despite repeated corrections. ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2004, 6:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-whoever-coined-the-word-aural/229004/5 "2004-02-13T06:48:29Z")
This thread reminds me of my little sister, who couldn’t tell the difference between the names “Aaron” and “Erin.” They sounded exactly the same to her ears. “Aural” and “oral” are a little further apart than “Aaron” and “Erin,” IMO. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2004, 6:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-whoever-coined-the-word-aural/229004/6 "2004-02-13T06:59:44Z")
Or-ril Aw-ril A-rin Eh-rin ---
**Author:** ![Tradnor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/cab0a1/32.png) [@Tradnor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tradnor)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2004, 7:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-whoever-coined-the-word-aural/229004/7 "2004-02-13T07:15:35Z")
Well, I’ll back up the OP and say that I pronounce ‘oral’ and ‘aural’ the same. And I pronounce ‘Aaron’ and ‘Erin’ the same. Hooray for merged vowels! ---
**Author:** ![Enderw24](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ba9def/32.png) [@Enderw24](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enderw24)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2004, 7:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-whoever-coined-the-word-aural/229004/8 "2004-02-13T07:44:05Z")
Well, your just going to have to figure out there meaning from context, I guess. ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2004, 8:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-whoever-coined-the-word-aural/229004/9 "2004-02-13T08:06:37Z")
In general, anglophone Canadians (except English speakers born and raised in Montreal, for some weird reason) pronounce Aaron and Erin as homonyms, as well as merry, marry, and Mary (those three are all homonyms for me). ---
**Author:** ![Cerri](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3bc359/32.png) [@Cerri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cerri)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2004, 11:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-whoever-coined-the-word-aural/229004/10 "2004-02-13T11:05:33Z")
Um…Erin and Aaron aren’t supposed to sound the same? I’ve never heard it any other way, how is it supposed to sound? Same for aural and oral…they’ve always been pronounced exactly the same to me when I’ve heard them… ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2004, 11:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-whoever-coined-the-word-aural/229004/11 "2004-02-13T11:28:55Z")
Given the amount of linguistic laziness here, I suppose it’s for the best 1-900 numbers don’t advertise aural sex. I kill me. ---
**Author:** ![Bites\_When\_Provoked](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bites_when_provoked/32/18073_2.png) [@Bites\_When\_Provoked](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bites_When_Provoked)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2004, 12:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-whoever-coined-the-word-aural/229004/12 "2004-02-13T12:04:02Z")
Extended ‘aww’ (like ‘paw’) in aural. Rhymes with … nothing I can think of at present. 🙂 short ‘o’ (like ‘hot’) in ‘oral’. Rhymes with ‘coral’. They don’t sound at all alike, really. Aaron and Erin - well, both of those sound different too, though not so dramatically. Aaron tends to be pronounced ‘Arran’ here, but it’s definitely a short ‘a’ like ‘bat’, whereas Erin is very definitely an ‘eh’ (like in ‘heh’). Must be a regional quirk that makes them sound alike to some people. ---
**Author:** ![Dizzy\_Fingers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@Dizzy\_Fingers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dizzy_Fingers)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2004, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-whoever-coined-the-word-aural/229004/13 "2004-02-13T12:28:58Z")
Fond memories of the Advanced Placement Music Theory Exam: “This concludes the section with aural stimulus.” ---
**Author:** ![Shade](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2bfe46/32.png) [@Shade](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shade)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2004, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-whoever-coined-the-word-aural/229004/14 "2004-02-13T13:01:49Z")
When was aural coined relative to oral? I pronounce them differently, but apparently I’m not supposed to. But I think the vowel sounds are ones that shift enough in different accents that I wouldn’t be surprised if some people should and shouldn’t. ---
**Author:** ![Cerri](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3bc359/32.png) [@Cerri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cerri)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2004, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-whoever-coined-the-word-aural/229004/15 "2004-02-13T13:13:14Z")
_shrug_ Maybe it’s just because I’m from the Midwest, and we tend to drawl our vowels some. Still sounds the same to me. ---
**Author:** ![Bruce\_Daddy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/85f322/32.png) [@Bruce\_Daddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bruce_Daddy)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2004, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-whoever-coined-the-word-aural/229004/16 "2004-02-13T13:18:40Z")
“Ass” and “Ice” are homonyms for me, but hell, I’m a redneck. ---
**Author:** ![swampbear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/swampbear/32/467_2.png) [@swampbear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/swampbear)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2004, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-whoever-coined-the-word-aural/229004/17 "2004-02-13T13:23:35Z")
Never **ever** ask **Bruce\_Daddy** for a glass of ice for fear of what he’ll give me. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![SentientMeat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/43a26b/32.png) [@SentientMeat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SentientMeat)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2004, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-whoever-coined-the-word-aural/229004/18 "2004-02-13T13:52:31Z")
“Aural” sounds like “owl”. ---
**Author:** ![Bruce\_Daddy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/85f322/32.png) [@Bruce\_Daddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bruce_Daddy)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2004, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-whoever-coined-the-word-aural/229004/19 "2004-02-13T13:56:06Z")
> [@swampbear](#): > > Never **ever** ask **Bruce\_Daddy** for a glass of ice for fear of what he’ll give me. :eek: I’m aware of context!!! I’m aware of context!!! ---
**Author:** ![SmackFu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/53a042/32.png) [@SmackFu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmackFu)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2004, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-whoever-coined-the-word-aural/229004/20 "2004-02-13T15:31:55Z")
> [@Khiadra](#): > > Must be a regional quirk that makes them sound alike to some people. Like an accent? Omigod, people pronounce words differently! [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-whoever-coined-the-word-aural/229004.md?page=2)