Given that it's Chocolate Pecan Pie Day today.
Chatting with my brother, whose fiancee is from the USA about the pronunciation of "pecan". He said he's *never* heard an American pronounce it PEEcan. Only ever PeCAHN.
So with that in mind, US friends, how do *you* say it?
Elaborate in comments with the state you live/grew up in if you're comfortable doing that.
I think he'll find the results fun and informative.
@stueytheround I usually say peCAHN or peeCan. I've heard some people (in the south) say PEEK-an.
@stueytheround PeCahn, Alabama. I've only ever heard people say PEE can if they were taking the piss, either figuratively or literally.
@awnaves 🤣 I'm wondering if there's a North/South or East/West divide.
I couldn't imagine anyone with a Southern accent saying PEE can. Doesn't fit right in my imagination.
@stueytheround No idea. I can't recall ever having heard anyone say PEEcan either unless they were mocking Andy Griffith.
@awnaves I would say PEEcan *if* I said it, which I don't, because it sounds horrible! And PeCAHN sounds like I'm putting on fancy airs, so no pie for me! 😔 @stueytheround
@awnaves @stueytheround It's pronounced puh-can where I am from.
@stueytheround grew up in Iowa/Wisconsin. PeCAHN
I've heard both over here. Sometimes from the same person.
Friend might also be interested in this article on it.
https://www.rd.com/article/pecan-pronunciation/
@misterfive Turns out this is a really fun little rabbit hole! That article is great. Thanks.
For me, it's a bit contextual. I tend to say puh-CAHN when talking about just the nut, and PEE-can when following it with an object the nut is used in, like pecan pie.
@stueytheround
The south, NC. I never heard anything but peCAHN
@CinnamonGirlE Brother's GF is from NC.
I have heard it pronounced PEE-can but can't recall what area of the country. I say PeCAHN but I also say AHH-unt and not Ant, for Aunt, like a good chunk of the country does. I prefer that I not call my relatives insects, although some of them deserve much worse. 😏
@see_the_sus @stueytheround
LOL! I never had any aunts, so I think I always pronounced it as my friends did: ant. I used to think AHH-nt was trying to be special! I understand a lot more since I sort of grew up and traveled some.
I'm not entirely sure when I started pronouncing it that way cause, like you, I grew up with everyone around me saying Ant. I also pronounce Vase as Vaaahhs. It just sounds more interesting and elegant to me. 🤷
@stueytheround I'm kind of a mess, in this regard. Mom & Dad were from Illinois and so mostly "midwestern" in speech. My first 4 years were in Bermuda (Dad active duty USAF). I got a lot of Britspeak, island style. Next 4 in GA, where I acquired a drawl. When we landed in CA when he retired, everyone said I talked funny. We had 7 of those trees in our yard in GA, and we always said pee-CAHN. 🤷♀️
@stueytheround Just to screw your poll up, @ShazzaRazza (North Carolina) says "Pee Cahn". I, of course, have corrected her for 20 years that it's Pee Can, even though she always reminds me that that's what you use on long trips when you can't pull over and there are no toilets 🤣
As my favorite aunt says, a peecan is something you pee in. 🤣
@JoyfullyDazed @stueytheround Is that AHH-nt? lol
Lol..yes, ahhnt, not ant. 😁
@stueytheround My family is from North Carolina, although I never lived there. They always pronounced it PEEcan. I’ve heard it pronounced like that, as well as puhKAHN, PEEkahn, and puhCAN.
@th3j35t3r Are you *sure* you're not from Liverpool? 🤣
@BillyBones wut! the odds of the international man of mystery commonly known as @th3j35t3r being a British citizen?
I think that is epic!
@th3j35t3rHoly hell! I was going to post that saying "The Battle of Wits has begun" but didn't know whether anyone would know why! 🍻
An extra 2 million cool points to you, mate
@stueytheround PEEcan sounds rough & brash.
I will also say Soda instead of Pop because I can’t stand the word Pop.
@stueytheround I thought you guys pronounced it "pecanium." No?
@Damobius Only in the plural. Otherwise its pecanius! 🤣🤣
UK tends toward peecan.
@stueytheround
p-can… there’s barely a difference between the strength of syllables. And it’s can, like can of beans lol
I’ve never said pe-KAHN
Grew up in Northern Maine & Ontario.
The conflict is when you are raised in the north then move to the south. PeKAHN
@LnzyHou @stueytheround
And furthermore….
I grew up saying aunt like flaunt
Now? Pennsylvania has me sometimes saying ant
😁
@stueytheround let me help you see clearly. Here, let me light this match for you... https://www.rd.com/article/pecan-pronunciation/
@stueytheround PeeCAHN. Upstate NY.
@stueytheround BTW, dear friend, ew. No chocolate in my pee-KAHN pie, thanks! Chocolate in every other way but not that. Ew.
^^^ my guess is that it's a regional thing, by the way.