# Your Pronunciation **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 23, 2021, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-pronunciation/949375 "2021-08-23T15:27:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 13
**Author:** ![eschrodinger](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschrodinger/32/122_2.png) [@eschrodinger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschrodinger)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2021, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-pronunciation/949375/241 "2021-09-15T17:43:57Z")
> [@alovem](#): > > Maybe we pronounce it the same and you’re just choosing a different way of dividing up the four syllables in written form. Funny you should mention how many syllables it has. In my everyday sort of pronunciation, I think I only give it 3. Like “ex-” plus the word “spearmint,” like the herb. It’s not quite as long an e as in spearmint, but closer to that than to “pair,” and the vowel between the r and the m is pretty much just swallowed, so that syllable gets lost. ---
**Author:** ![alovem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@alovem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alovem)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2021, 9:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-pronunciation/949375/242 "2021-09-16T09:15:40Z")
> [@eschrodinger](#): > > Like “ex-” plus the word “spearmint,” Ah, you prounounce it like they do on The Big Bang Theory, then? I never heard that in the Midwest and have assumed it’s a West Coast thing. In post #125, I noted that it’s US pronunciation but I don’t know if it’s limited to certain parts of the country. ---
**Author:** ![eschrodinger](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschrodinger/32/122_2.png) [@eschrodinger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschrodinger)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2021, 9:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-pronunciation/949375/243 "2021-09-16T09:28:49Z")
I don’t give it quite the long e in spearmint, but it’s closer to that than to the “pair” version. I don’t watch the Big Bang Theory, so I can’t say if it matches. I have a mixed (mild) southern and western US accent. ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2021, 10:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-pronunciation/949375/244 "2021-09-16T10:01:45Z")
> [@TRC4941](#): > > Yes, that’s how I pronounce them Then the teacher should be aware of local pronunciations - they’re not “wrong.” Kids’ spellings can be really revealing of how local pronunciation works. In Essex (the English one) I had a teacher friend who was mystified by most of the kids writing that they took a “tah” to the beach, till she saw that one of the kids had managed to spell it towel and “tah” is how it’s pronounced there (sort of - it’s not tah like in aah [ɑ:], it’s a long a like in how we say man [mæ:n]. It’s one of those accents that drops a _lot_ of sounds. ---
**Author:** ![alovem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@alovem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alovem)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2021, 10:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-pronunciation/949375/245 "2021-09-16T10:29:32Z")
> [@eschrodinger](#): > > I don’t watch the Big Bang Theory, so I can’t say if it matches. Yeah, the cast pronounce it with an “ee” sound. I wonder if there’s a linguistic map that shows the pronunciation of “experiment” by region. Anyone? I don’t know where posters find those maps and even less about how they’re put together, but they’re usually interesting. ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2021, 11:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-pronunciation/949375/246 "2021-09-16T11:11:38Z")
> [@alovem](#): > > Ah, you prounounce it like they do on The Big Bang Theory, then? Did they all say it that way? My memory is that only Sheldon said it that way - and I always thought it supposed to be part of a Texas accent. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2021, 11:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-pronunciation/949375/247 "2021-09-16T11:22:14Z")
My memory is that it was only the first syllable vowel that was changed; the 3rd syllable “i” wasn’t dropped. ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUBv.2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanubv.2/32/3260_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUBv.2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUBv.2)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2021, 11:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-pronunciation/949375/248 "2021-09-16T11:33:50Z")
> [@doreen](#): > > Did they all say it that way? My memory is that only Sheldon said it that way - and I always thought it supposed to be part of a Texas accent. That’s how I remember it as well. Coincidentally, I watched an episode of TBBT last night where Sheldon said it and I thought of this thread. On a kinda sorta related note, after years of watching reruns of TBBT, I only just recently noticed that Raj pronounces the " th" sound as “t” (as in “Tor and Dr. Jones”) and only then because the others were mocking him. ---
**Author:** ![alovem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@alovem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alovem)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2021, 11:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-pronunciation/949375/249 "2021-09-16T11:50:07Z")
Most if not all. I also thought it was just Sheldon and a Texas thing, but even Penny says it that way, and Amy, too, as I recall. ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2021, 11:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-pronunciation/949375/250 "2021-09-16T11:59:30Z")
I’m certain that Penny doesn’t say it the same way as Sheldon - perhaps this is one of those things where due to our own accents , you can’t hear a difference but I can. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2021, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-pronunciation/949375/251 "2021-09-16T13:22:44Z")
> [@WOOKINPANUBv.2](#): > > On a kinda sorta related note, after years of watching reruns of TBBT, I only just recently noticed that Raj pronounces the " th" sound as “t” (as in “Tor and Dr. Jones”) and only then because the others were mocking him. Raj’s pronunciation of “th” seemed to change quite often (unlike his pronunciation of “MOO-stache”. ---
**Author:** ![eschrodinger](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschrodinger/32/122_2.png) [@eschrodinger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschrodinger)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2021, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-pronunciation/949375/252 "2021-09-16T15:21:10Z")
I don’t hear it as a long e sound at all, from any of them. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/hm5n8XFjcMI/maxresdefault.jpg "Sheldon and Amy Experiments on Howard's Baby | The Big Bang Theory TBBT") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hm5n8XFjcMI) ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUBv.2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanubv.2/32/3260_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUBv.2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUBv.2)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2021, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-pronunciation/949375/253 "2021-09-16T15:26:12Z")
Funny, he (Sheldon) doesn’t use the “expeeriment” pronunciation there, but I know I’ve heard it many times (but never from the others). ---
**Author:** ![alovem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@alovem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alovem)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2021, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-pronunciation/949375/254 "2021-09-16T15:48:25Z")
Hmmm, well dang it, the video proves me wrong, although it’s something I’ve been noticing for a few years now and I’m sure I’ve heard it pronounced as I say in other (earlier?) episodes. I’ll see if I can find a video that supports my case. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2021, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-pronunciation/949375/255 "2021-09-16T16:01:25Z")
> [@Hari\_Seldon](#): > > But I am reminded of a lecture by Richard Feynman that I went to. He lectured in pure Brooklynese. Then he took questions. In answering, he lost the Brooklyn accent and sounded more like west coast, which I assume he had adopted. Not sure what point he was trying to make. But it was striking. That is absolutely fascinating. I’m really curious why he did that, and if it was conscious. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2021, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-pronunciation/949375/256 "2021-09-16T16:15:19Z")
“Experiment” is an interesting one. It’s one of those words where I may say it either way, but I never noticed until you guys brought it up. Playing aroudn with it, it seems I usually use the “spear” pronunciation, but will sometimes use the other pronunciation for the noun version, generally referring to something more formal, like a science experiment. I would also add that, for me at least, spearmint is one of those words where I can wind up with an extra very short syllable, between the r and m. I can just wind up having a bit of a gap between moving my tongue out of the way for the R and closing my lips for the M. I also can often make the I in experiment very short. So they can wind up sounding the same, even though I always pronounce the I in experiment. ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUBv.2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanubv.2/32/3260_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUBv.2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUBv.2)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2021, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-pronunciation/949375/257 "2021-09-16T16:22:02Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > I would also add that, for me at least, spearmint is one of those words where I can wind up with an extra very short syllable, between the r and m. I can just wind up having a bit of a gap between moving my tongue out of the way for the R and closing my lips for the M. I also can often make the I in experiment very short. So they can wind up sounding the same, even though I always pronounce the I in experiment. Holy cow! You just made me recall that growing up I definitely said it “spear a mint”, with the “a” just barely pronounced. I think once I was old enough to see it in print and associate the spelling, I then pronounced it the “correct” way. And while I’m blathering about childhood pronunciations, gingerale was something more like “jinjarale”. I didn’t parse it as an ale with the essence of ginger. It was just a name(if that makes sense). ---
**Author:** ![california\_jobcase](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@california\_jobcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/california_jobcase)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2021, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-pronunciation/949375/258 "2021-09-16T16:28:38Z")
> [@WOOKINPANUBv.2](#): > > And while I’m blathering about childhood pronunciations, gingerale was something more like “jinjarale”. I didn’t parse it as an ale with the essence of ginger. This is the first time I’ve ever seen it spelled as one word. Did you not see it spelled back then? Was there a local brand that spelled it that way? ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUBv.2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanubv.2/32/3260_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUBv.2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUBv.2)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2021, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-pronunciation/949375/259 "2021-09-16T16:32:46Z")
> [@california\_jobcase](#): > > This is the first time I’ve ever seen it spelled as one word. Did you not see it spelled back then? Was there a local brand that spelled it that way? Oops. Fat fingered it. Of course it is and has always been two words, but as a kid I guess I never saw it in print. Not being aware of the separate words “ginger” and “ale” must have made me think I was hearing “jinjarale” and it stuck. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2021, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-pronunciation/949375/260 "2021-09-16T16:51:45Z")
> [@WOOKINPANUBv.2](#): > > > [@california\_jobcase](#): > > > > This is the first time I’ve ever seen it spelled as one word. Did you not see it spelled back then? Was there a local brand that spelled it that way? > > Oops. Fat fingered it. Of course it is and has always been two words, but as a kid I guess I never saw it in print. Not being aware of the separate words “ginger” and “ale” must have made me think I was hearing “jinjarale” and it stuck. For me, at least, I would write it more like jinja-rail. It definitely sounded to me like the last syllable started with an R. That’s why it took me a while to associate it with the word “ginger ale.” And, even then, it was a while before I noticed it was basically the same sort of word as “root beer,”–i.e. a non-alcoholic drink using the name of an alcoholic one. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-pronunciation/949375.md?page=12) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-pronunciation/949375.md?page=14)