in Derbyshire scone rhymes with 'bone' & in Durham with 'gone'

September 28, 2024 8:07 PM

Scone geography (languagelog). Include the geographically distribution of cream first or jam first scone eaters. For North Americans, how do you pronounce pecan (mefi's own languagehat)? Bonus post on regional pronunciation: Lima, Ohio and Cairo, Ohio.
posted by spamandkimchi (15 comments total)

interesting. when I use the plural, its pi-Kahns but singular, pe-CAN. huh.
posted by clavdivs at 8:11 PM on September 28

I mean, I don't know what the regional split on this is, but I grew up in a region of southern New Mexico with maybe literally hundreds of acres of pecan orchards, and they are always pi-Kahns or pi-Kahn in my mind. My parents are from Ohio and people I've known there say "pee-can", so I didn't learn this from them.

Also, they are my favorite nut and I get them ordered in from NM every year and they are too expensive but I will eat them like candy out of the bag.
posted by hippybear at 8:20 PM on September 28 [1 favorite]

OK North Americans, how do you say "pasta"? Does bag rhyme with rag or rig or? How do you pronounce...pronounce?

And BTW where I live it's scone as in bone and rarely with jam.
posted by Zedcaster at 8:20 PM on September 28 [1 favorite]

Whatever you do, don't ask cortex to pronounce "dragon".
posted by hippybear at 8:22 PM on September 28 [1 favorite]

I think the Mexicans have this right, where a pecan is simply called a nut, because it's the gold standard — and all other nuts must be specified.
posted by ssg at 8:33 PM on September 28 [1 favorite]

OK North Americans, how do you say "pasta"? Does bag rhyme with rag or rig or? How do you pronounce...pronounce?

PAWstuh, rag, proNOUNtss
posted by Foosnark at 8:34 PM on September 28

Best recent radio moment:*

Nick Abbot: "Sounds like you're eating something."

Caller (chewing): "I'm sorry, just a scowne I'm finishing."

Nick Abbot: "Sconn?"

Caller: "It has done now, I've swallowed it."

I keep thinking Nick must have set that up.



*Yeah yeah, except for the O'Brien Farage Farrago the other morning...
posted by Rat Spatula at 9:36 PM on September 28

sgg: I think the Mexicans have this right, where a pecan is simply called a nut, because it's the gold standard — and all other nuts must be specified.

In Portugal the standard "noz" is walnut Juglans regia. Closely related (same botanical family) to peecan Carya illinoinensis and other hickories Carya spp.
Team scone (I made a batch yesterday and they are all) gone.
posted by BobTheScientist at 10:34 PM on September 28 [1 favorite]

I once met a girl at Girl Scout camp who pronounced scones "scums" and absolutely insisted that was how it was spelled as well. I think about her basically every time I eat a scone, which is frequent
posted by potrzebie at 11:09 PM on September 28 [1 favorite]

The map suggests my neck of the woods is split with regard to scones, which yeah, that tracks with my experience. Interesting that both "scown" and "sconn" territory are north of here.

(As someone who learned English in, well, England, I find all this peKAHN/peCAN stuff weird. To me it's always PEEcan, emphasis on the first syllable, like a WALLnut or PEAnut, unlike a wallNUT or peaNUT which would be similarly weird.)
posted by Dysk at 11:19 PM on September 28 [2 favorites]

The clear solution here is simply to stick to almonds.
posted by taz at 11:40 PM on September 28

ALmonds, or AHmonds?
posted by Dysk at 12:01 AM on September 29

Look, it's perfectly simple: before you eat it, it's scone. After you eat it, it s'gone.
posted by Paul Slade at 12:02 AM on September 29 [1 favorite]

ALmonds, or AHmonds?

uhoh. I thought I was safe there. I'm just going to sit in the corner and gnaw on some sunflower seeds.

But as to the original War of the Nuts, I must say that for me a PEE-can is something one is forced to use when the toilet is out, while a peh-CAHN is what we use to make delightful divinity and pralines ... speaking of which, this battle really cannot be considered serious without also addressing the Pray-leen, Prah-leen divide. I'm a peh-CAHN Prah-leen enjoyer, myself.
posted by taz at 12:08 AM on September 29 [1 favorite]

I must say that for me a PEE-can is something one is forced to use when the toilet is out

😂

So I guess my pronunciation is more like PEEkn. You definitely don't say "can" as part of it!
posted by Dysk at 1:35 AM on September 29