Linguistic patterns in Utah (question #68779)

[Portia]

My most prominent merger is feeling/filling which I really have to enunciate to distinguish.

This reminds me of a funny story. I live in Texas (and grew up in Virginia) where there is a definite difference between fill and feel. At one of our stake conferences not too long ago, we had the local temple president and his wife speak to us, and they were obviously from Utah. The sweet wife talked about temple attendance and made a major point of her talk the fact that "when you fill the temple, you feel the temple" (saying both words the same) then took the time to explain that she meant two different things by those two words. It was obvious she thought her wordplay was very clever. I thought it was hilarious, but I'm sure many others were confused as to why she didn't just say "feel".

Classic.

[Whistler]

a similar thing happened in a talk about a "trail" being a "trial." *eyeroll

[Giovanni Schwartz]

There is a family friend whose accent includes "foul", "dowel", and I assume owl, Cowell, being said file, dial, etc.

[Katya]

My most prominent merger is feeling/filling which I really have to enunciate to distinguish.

This reminds me of a funny story. I live in Texas (and grew up in Virginia) where there is a definite difference between fill and feel. At one of our stake conferences not too long ago, we had the local temple president and his wife speak to us, and they were obviously from Utah. The sweet wife talked about temple attendance and made a major point of her talk the fact that "when you fill the temple, you feel the temple" (saying both words the same) then took the time to explain that she meant two different things by those two words. It was obvious she thought her wordplay was very clever. I thought it was hilarious, but I'm sure many others were confused as to why she didn't just say "feel".

Also did we (I) scare Yog in Neverland away? Come back, Yog!

[Zedability]

I don't think Yog spends a ton of time on this forum

[Genuine Article]

My sister had a classmate who pronounced egg "eg" (with the vowel sounding like the e in men), as opposed to "aig" (like the a in made), which really unnerved me for some reason.

[krebscout]

My sister had a classmate who pronounced egg "eg" (with the vowel sounding like the e in men), as opposed to "aig" (like the a in made), which really unnerved me for some reason.

...how have we been friends for years, lived together, driven from LA to Mesa and back together, and never noticed that we have this irreconcilable difference? Or am I reading this wrong? You really think it's supposed to be "aig?"

[Marduk]

My sister had a classmate who pronounced egg "eg" (with the vowel sounding like the e in men), as opposed to "aig" (like the a in made), which really unnerved me for some reason.

Um, yeah.... You had to go as far as a sister's classmate? As in, not everyone you know with few exceptions?

[Portia]

I pronounce it "aig" and had understood that as a marker of Western American English.

[Genuine Article]

My sister had a classmate who pronounced egg "eg" (with the vowel sounding like the e in men), as opposed to "aig" (like the a in made), which really unnerved me for some reason.

...how have we been friends for years, lived together, driven from LA to Mesa and back together, and never noticed that we have this irreconcilable difference? Or am I reading this wrong? You really think it's supposed to be "aig?"

I know it's supposed to be pronounced "aig," and now that I think about it I am a bit surprised it's never come up before, because we talked about eggs once when you did that painting I like. Listen to this English pronunciation thingus saying egg here: http://www.howjsay.com/index.php?word=egg&submit=Submit

The more you listen to it the less it sounds like a word, but this is how I pronounce it, and leg and peg as well.

[Defy V]

Huh. The way that thingus pronounced it is the way I pronounce it, but to me that sounds like the 'e' as in "men," or maybe halfway between 'ai' and 'eh'.

I had never considered it a mark of Western American English to pronounce it 'aig' with a strong 'ai' sound.

[Giovanni Schwartz]

eheig (kind of a diphthong of both), leig, and pehg.

[Genuine Article]

My sister had a classmate who pronounced egg "eg" (with the vowel sounding like the e in men), as opposed to "aig" (like the a in made), which really unnerved me for some reason.

Um, yeah.... You had to go as far as a sister's classmate? As in, not everyone you know with few exceptions?

I just wanted to join the conversation, is that so wrong Marduk?!

[Cindy]

eheig (kind of a diphthong of both), leig, and pehg.

Hey, I never noticed before that I don't pronounce "leg" and"peg" with the same vowel. There's a dipthong in "leg," but not in "peg." That's curious. And my pronunciation of "egg" is much closer to my pronunciation of "leg."

[Unit of Energy]

Egg, leg, peg all have the same vowel when I pronounce them. My linguistics major former roommate is free to step out of the shadows and correct me on this if she has noticed a difference.

[Marduk]

It is certainly a peeve of mine. I don't know anyone immediately who pronounces it as though it were spelled entirely differently.

[Digit]

I pronounce it just like the guy on Howjsay, the talking dictionary.

[Portia]

eheig (kind of a diphthong of both), leig, and pehg.

Hey, I never noticed before that I don't pronounce "leg" and"peg" with the same vowel. There's a dipthong in "leg," but not in "peg." That's curious. And my pronunciation of "egg" is much closer to my pronunciation of "leg."

Talk about a pirate out loud: "ARRRR matey thar be a peg leg." Definitely not paig laig, but peg laig. (Nor is it peg leg.)

[Katya]

eheig (kind of a diphthong of both), leig, and pehg.

Hey, I never noticed before that I don't pronounce "leg" and"peg" with the same vowel. There's a dipthong in "leg," but not in "peg." That's curious. And my pronunciation of "egg" is much closer to my pronunciation of "leg."

<Spock>Fascinating.</Spock>

What about the vowel in "beg"? "Keg"? "Meg"?

[Genuine Article]

They all have the same vowel sound to me. Egg, leg, keg, beg, Meg, Craig, Greg. Peg I pronounce differently depending on whether I'm using it as a noun or a verb, but I have no idea why that is.