# What geographic areas pronounce "because" like this? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 29, 2020, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-geographic-areas-pronounce-because-like-this/916666 "2020-07-29T01:24:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![jebert](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ec9cab/32.png) [@jebert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jebert)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2020, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-geographic-areas-pronounce-because-like-this/916666/1 "2020-07-29T01:24:12Z")
I have heard two pronunciations of the word “because.” One is be-CAUZ; the other is be-CAUSS. The first seems to be more common. Variations like this are generally geographic (but there could be other factors as well - say, parental influence). In what geographic areas is the second more common? ---
**Author:** ![FlikTheBlue](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fliktheblue/32/10972_2.png) [@FlikTheBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlikTheBlue)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2020, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-geographic-areas-pronounce-because-like-this/916666/2 "2020-07-29T01:27:22Z")
I’ve heard be-cauz, and I’ve heard be-cuz, but never be-causs. I don’t know where people speak like that. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2020, 12:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-geographic-areas-pronounce-because-like-this/916666/3 "2020-07-29T12:14:08Z")
The “ss” for “z” is famously a Chicago-region trait (parodied in comedy sketches like “Da Bearsss”). Could this be related to what you heard? ---
**Author:** ![Mark\_Finn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/34f0e0/32.png) [@Mark\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mark_Finn)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2020, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-geographic-areas-pronounce-because-like-this/916666/4 "2020-07-29T12:54:23Z")
Montreal (Canada) area - I’ve always pronounced it “bee-cuz”. ---
**Author:** ![PaperBlob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/58956e/32.png) [@PaperBlob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PaperBlob)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2020, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-geographic-areas-pronounce-because-like-this/916666/5 "2020-07-29T13:57:49Z")
I have heard only one person pronounce it be-CAUSS in my 57 years: the newest pastor at my church. He is about my age, and I believe is from central New Jersey. I’ve lived in the Philadelphia area my entire life, lived in Virginia for college, visited all up and down the East Coast, and I have NEVER heard this pronunciation from anybody else. ---
**Author:** ![Ashtura](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ashtura/32/2963_2.png) [@Ashtura](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ashtura)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2020, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-geographic-areas-pronounce-because-like-this/916666/6 "2020-07-29T15:34:24Z")
I’ve never heard a native english speaker in the US use the latter pronunciation. If you were to isolate that word and that’s all I heard I would probably assume they weren’t from the US or didn’t speak English as their first language. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2020, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-geographic-areas-pronounce-because-like-this/916666/7 "2020-07-30T04:51:19Z")
Bee-cows is how the Brazilian people on the show _90 Day Fiance_ would pronounce it. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2020, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-geographic-areas-pronounce-because-like-this/916666/8 "2020-07-30T16:40:31Z")
> [@Mark\_Finn](#): > > Montreal (Canada) area - I’ve always pronounced it “bee-cuz”. Funny I never noticed that. Is it among native Francophones? And I don’t think I ever heard becauss. From central NJ, you think. You mean around Trenton? ---
**Author:** ![jebert](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ec9cab/32.png) [@jebert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jebert)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2020, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-geographic-areas-pronounce-because-like-this/916666/9 "2020-07-30T21:01:56Z")
I’ve heard the be-CAUSS pronunciation from my former pastor and on the July 28, 2020, Diane Rehm podcast. The guest was Lawrence Douglas, an Amherst professor. > **[Diane Rehm](https://dianerehm.org/)** > > Diane Rehm is one of the most respected radio journalists of our time. Listen to her podcast “On My Mind.” Explore the Diane Rehm Show archives. Learn about Diane’s upcoming appearances. ---
**Author:** ![PaperBlob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/58956e/32.png) [@PaperBlob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PaperBlob)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2020, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-geographic-areas-pronounce-because-like-this/916666/10 "2020-08-10T17:27:08Z")
> [@Hari\_Seldon](#): > > And I don’t think I ever heard becauss. From central NJ, you think. You mean around Trenton? Oops, I was wrong about central NJ. I looked him up on WhitePages, and all the towns listed there were in Bergen County and Morris County, so really it’s northeastern New Jersey. But still! I’ve never heard that pronunciation from anyone else, and he doesn’t pronounce any other words in an odd way.