List of 50 Words People Say Differently

adult	Can be pronounced with the emphasis on either syllable.
almond	"Al-mond," "am-end," and "ahl-mend" are all acceptable pronunciations of this word.
aunt	Pronounced "ant" in many parts of the US, whereas in the UK and parts of the Northeast including Boston, it is pronounced to rhyme with "daunt."
bag	Usually has a hard a; however, it is pronounced "bayg" in Wisconsin.
bagel	Pronounced "bay-gull" in most places, but "bah-gull" in many parts of the Midwest.
been	Pronounced "bin" in most of the US, "ben" in North Central states, and with a long e sound in the UK.
bit	Usually rhymes with "sit," but in Colorado is often pronounced "bet."
bowie knife	Most frequently pronounced "bow-ie," but in the Northeast "boo-wie" is common.
can't	Usually rhymes with "aren't," but in many parts of the Southern US it rhymes with "paint."
caramel	In the West and Midwest, this is a two-syllable word ("car-ml"), whereas on the East Coast and in other English-speaking countries, all three syllables are articulated ("car-a-mel").
Caribbean	Can be pronounced either with equal stress on all syllables or with emphasis on the second syllable.
caught/cot	These two words are pronounced the same on the West Coast and in the Midwest, and elsewhere are pronounced distinctly.
cauliflower	Pronounced "caul-ee-flower" in the Northeastern US and "caul-ih-flower" in the rest of the country.
coupon	Usually pronounced "koo-pon" but many people use "kyoo-pon."
coyote	In Colorado and Wyoming, "kai-ote" is common; the rest of the world usually uses "kai-o-tee."
crayon	Can be pronounced "cray-awn" or "cray-ahn."
downtown	In Pittsburgh, this is pronounced "dahntahn"; in most other places, the word rhymes with "brown."
drawer	Usually rhymes with "bore," but in NYC, it rhymes with "straw."
egg	Usually pronounced with a hard e, but "ayg" is common in the Pacific Northwest.
envelope	The initial e is usually a hard e sound, but "awn-vel-ope" is sometimes used.
et cetera	Usually pronounced "e[ts]etera," but "e[ts]etra," "eksetera," and "eksetra" are also common.
Florida	Pronounced "flore-ri-da" by Floridians and most others, but "flow-ri-da," "flah-ri-da," and "flaw-ri-da" are also heard.
flourish	"Flore-ish," "fluh-ish," and "flurr-ish" are all common pronunciations.
get	Usually rhymes with "yet," but in the Southern US "git" is common.
handkerchief	Can be pronounced either "han-ker-chif" or "han-ker-cheef."
huge	In most places the inital h is sounded, but in the Northeast a silent h is common.
insurance	In most parts of the world, the emphasis is on the second syllable, but in the Northeast and Midwestern US, it is common to emphasize the first.
iron	Usually pronounced "eye-urn," but in Pittsburgh, PA, it is often a one-syllable word ("arhn").
lawyer	Usually pronounced "loy-er," except in the Southern US, where "lahw-yer" is more common.
lilac	Most people say "lie-lack," but in parts of upstate New York, "lie-lock" is used.
mayonnaise	Most people say "may-uh-naze," but in some parts of the US, the word has been truncated to "man-aze."
miracle	Usually pronounced "mih-ra-cul," but in the Northeastern US "meer-a-cul" is common.
mirror	In most of the world this is a two-syllable word, but in many parts of the US it sounds like "mere."
mischievous	Generally pronounced with three syllables ("mis-che-vous"), but some Americans add an extra syllable ("mis-chee-vi-us").
Monday	Days of the week usually rhyme with "say," but in the Southern and Midwestern US, the second syllable often ryhmes with "see."
museum	This has two common pronunciations: "mew-zee-um" and "mew-zam."
New Orleans	The name of this famous city has three common pronunciations: "new oar-lins," "new or-leans," and "new or-lee-uns."
oil	Usually rhymes with "spoil," but in the Southern US, it often rhymes with "all."
pajamas	Can be pronounced either "pa-jam-as" or "pa-jah-mas."
pecan	Can be pronounced either "pee-can" or "puh-kahn." The pronunciation varies between regions as well as within them.
pen	Usually rhymes with "ten," but in the Southern US, it often rhymes with "tin."
picture	In most of the world the pronunciation is "pik-cher," but in some parts of the US it sounds more like "pitcher."
poem	In most of the world the pronunciation is "poh-em," but in some parts of the US "pome" is common.
really	This word is pronounced in various ways, including "reely," "rilly," and "ree-l-lee."
realtor	In the Northeastern US this is usually pronounced with two syllables ("reel-ter"), whereas in the Midwest or South three syllables are more common ("reel-uh-ter" or "ree-l-ter").
route	In the Northeastern US this is usually pronounced "root", whereas in the Midwest "rowt" is more common. Some people pronounce it both ways.
salmon	The correct pronunciation is with a silent l; however, the l is often pronounced by those learning English as a second language.
Texas	Most people pronounce it with a normal s sound, but some people in the North and Midwest use a z sound.
tour	Can be pronounced either "tore" or "toor," though Merriam-Webster and Macmillan both advise "toor."
water	Usually pronounced "wah-ter," but "wooder" or "wooter" are sometimes heard in the Philadelphia area.

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