# U.S. Dopers, are cot / caught pronounced the same to you? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 23, 2010, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-dopers-are-cot-caught-pronounced-the-same-to-you/554823 "2010-09-23T23:35:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Wolverine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ba9def/32.png) [@Wolverine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wolverine)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2010, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-dopers-are-cot-caught-pronounced-the-same-to-you/554823/1 "2010-09-23T23:35:36Z")
Every so often on the SDMB, people are astonished to hear that cot and caught (don/dawn, not/naught) are homophones or conversely, they have different pronunciations. You can read about the phenomenon hear on Wikipedia. [Cot-caught merger](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cot-caught_merger#Cot-caught_merger). I’m not going to get into the explanation of the merger since I already am aware and understand it. Instead, I want to hear from Dopers because we haven’t done a poll on the merger yet. Here’s a map to familiarize yourself with where the merger exists and where they are still separate. [Map](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0a/Cot-caught_merger.png) Please forgive my fat fingers in the poll. It should be _an_ “ah” and “aw” sound. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2010, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-dopers-are-cot-caught-pronounced-the-same-to-you/554823/2 "2010-09-23T23:43:13Z")
I’m not sure what the question is: “Are they pronounced the same?” (Yes, when I speak) or “Do they sound the same?” (Depends on who’s speaking) ---
**Author:** ![Nzinga\_Seated](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5ac83/32.png) [@Nzinga\_Seated](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nzinga_Seated)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2010, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-dopers-are-cot-caught-pronounced-the-same-to-you/554823/3 "2010-09-23T23:43:37Z")
I answered option 2. I’m from upstate New York, and there is a clear difference to me. Of course, you are going to get a lot of different responses based on where folks live. I always find these kind of differences interesting. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2010, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-dopers-are-cot-caught-pronounced-the-same-to-you/554823/4 "2010-09-23T23:48:15Z")
They’re the same to me. But then I am not in the US. ---
**Author:** ![Wolverine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ba9def/32.png) [@Wolverine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wolverine)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2010, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-dopers-are-cot-caught-pronounced-the-same-to-you/554823/5 "2010-09-23T23:50:00Z")
> [@hogarth](#): > > I’m not sure what the question is: “Are they pronounced the same?” (Yes, when I speak) or “Do they sound the same?” (Depends on who’s speaking) That’s why I created option 3 in the poll for you. For myself, I grew up in SE Michigan and can clearly hear the difference. I have a few other regional accent quirks as well but am not as far down the Great Northern Cities Vowel Shift as my wife or extended family. ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2010, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-dopers-are-cot-caught-pronounced-the-same-to-you/554823/6 "2010-09-24T00:02:10Z")
Cot rhymes with hot. Caught rhymes with fought. ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2010, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-dopers-are-cot-caught-pronounced-the-same-to-you/554823/7 "2010-09-24T00:03:27Z")
> [@Wolverine](#): > > For myself, I grew up in SE Michigan and can clearly hear the difference. I have a few other regional accent quirks as well but am not as far down the Great Northern Cities Vowel Shift as my wife or extended family. I live in SE Michigan and I know there is a difference because I have had weird miscommunication issues over that sound (a coworker and I once had a bizarre back-and-forth where I was talking about a _pond_ and she was hearing me talk about a _pawn_), but I’m from Northern California and I can neither hear nor pronounce the difference. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2010, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-dopers-are-cot-caught-pronounced-the-same-to-you/554823/8 "2010-09-24T00:03:31Z")
> [@Oakminster](#): > > Cot rhymes with hot. > > Caught rhymes with fought. This is the correct answer. ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2010, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-dopers-are-cot-caught-pronounced-the-same-to-you/554823/9 "2010-09-24T00:05:29Z")
> [@Oakminster](#): > > Cot rhymes with hot. > > Caught rhymes with fought. All four of those words rhyme to me. ---
**Author:** ![Alice\_The\_Goon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Alice\_The\_Goon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alice_The_Goon)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2010, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-dopers-are-cot-caught-pronounced-the-same-to-you/554823/10 "2010-09-24T00:23:05Z")
> [@friedo](#): > > > [@Oakminster](#): > > > > Cot rhymes with hot. > > > > Caught rhymes with fought. > > This is the correct answer. This. But in Michigan, where I grew up, they are pronounced the same. ---
**Author:** ![sitchensis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sitchensis/32/4892_2.png) [@sitchensis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sitchensis)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2010, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-dopers-are-cot-caught-pronounced-the-same-to-you/554823/11 "2010-09-24T00:23:40Z")
From Spokane Wa. All four rhyme to me ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2010, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-dopers-are-cot-caught-pronounced-the-same-to-you/554823/12 "2010-09-24T00:29:11Z")
Chicago dialect here, where the words are not homophones. ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2010, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-dopers-are-cot-caught-pronounced-the-same-to-you/554823/13 "2010-09-24T00:33:07Z")
Sound exactly alike to me. I was raised in southeastern Ohio. ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2010, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-dopers-are-cot-caught-pronounced-the-same-to-you/554823/14 "2010-09-24T00:37:17Z")
I made a [very short sound file](http://www.mediafire.com/?z6xxex5410xu8yz). I couldn’t find a place to host it where you could just press play and it would play, without downloading. Hm. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2010, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-dopers-are-cot-caught-pronounced-the-same-to-you/554823/15 "2010-09-24T00:39:15Z")
I’m from South Carolina and they’re pronounced the same. I’m not sure if I’ve ever heard an American say them differently. Then again, my boyfriend made merciless fun of me last night for saying “I was going to get a quart of milk…” because evidently my “quart” has no “q”. It does to me! I am told that I say “caught of milk” and “terlet paper”. ---
**Author:** ![ExTank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/35a633/32.png) [@ExTank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ExTank)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2010, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-dopers-are-cot-caught-pronounced-the-same-to-you/554823/16 "2010-09-24T00:48:43Z")
> [@Oakminster](#): > > Cot rhymes with hot. > > Caught rhymes with fought. As it ever was, shall it ever be. Born/raised in southern Illinois (St. Louis Metro), with 15 years of Texas livin’ under my belt before moving back to the St. Louis area 7 years ago. Cot ~ hot. Caught ~ fought. ---
**Author:** ![Jimmy\_Chitwood](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f475e1/32.png) [@Jimmy\_Chitwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jimmy_Chitwood)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2010, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-dopers-are-cot-caught-pronounced-the-same-to-you/554823/17 "2010-09-24T01:07:03Z")
Philadelphia-ish accent (I don’t have it as bad as others), very clear distinction between the two. I made another version of **Kyla** ’s [reading](http://www.mediafire.com/?0dppeobrm7x04pa) for anybody who doesn’t think they can hear the difference. ---
**Author:** ![NinetyWt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/cc9497/32.png) [@NinetyWt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinetyWt)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2010, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-dopers-are-cot-caught-pronounced-the-same-to-you/554823/18 "2010-09-24T01:21:29Z")
> [@Oakminster](#): > > Cot rhymes with hot. > > Caught rhymes with fought. Also, caught takes longer to say. It’s more drawn out. But people here don’t sleep on cots. They sleep on pallets. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![NinetyWt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/cc9497/32.png) [@NinetyWt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinetyWt)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2010, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-dopers-are-cot-caught-pronounced-the-same-to-you/554823/19 "2010-09-24T01:22:45Z")
**Sunspace** where is that previous thread where you had all the recordings of us saying “cot” and “caught” in a sentence? ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2010, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-dopers-are-cot-caught-pronounced-the-same-to-you/554823/20 "2010-09-24T01:25:35Z")
> [@ExTank](#): > > > [@Oakminster](#): > > > > Cot rhymes with hot. > > > > Caught rhymes with fought. > > As it ever was, shall it ever be. > > Born/raised in southern Illinois (St. Louis Metro), with 15 years of Texas livin’ under my belt before moving back to the St. Louis area 7 years ago. > > Cot ~ hot. > > Caught ~ fought. Well, obviously! But, and I hate to break this to you, hot and fought also rhyme. Same sound in all four words. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-dopers-are-cot-caught-pronounced-the-same-to-you/554823.md?page=2)