Different pronunciations I've heard for words in different parts of America: Caramel = "carra-mel" vs. "car-ml" Lawyer = "law-yer" vs. "loy-er" Syrup = "seer-up" vs. "sirrup" Aunt = "ant" vs. "ahnt" Almond = "al-mond" vs. "ahll-mend" vs. "am-end" Pecan = "puh-kahn" vs. "pee-can" Coyote = "ky-o-tee" vs. "Ky-ote" Mayonnaise = "man-aze" vs. "may-uh-naze" vs. "my-nez" Adult = "uh-dult" vs. "add-ult" Caribbean = "kar-ruh-bee-en" vs. "kar-rib-ee-en" Crayon = "cray-ahn" vs. "cray-awn" Salmon = "sal-mon" vs. "sammon" Coupon = "koo-pahn" vs. "kyoo-pon" Poem = "poh-em" vs. "pome" (rhyme with "Rome") Flourish = "flore-ish" vs. "fluh-rish" Been = "bean" vs. "ben"
Yes, because some of the elements have the -um ending like platinum and talcum, while the others have the -ium ending. Both were used in the 1800s, but ultimately commercial industries in America and Britain determined which became common in each region.
Let's just face it, we're all just a bunch of fruit loops in a world of Cheerios. I did however laugh myself silly when you said aluminum. Sure glad I didn't have a mouthful of water. 🤣 Great video Shaun. 💜
I love this comparison you’ve been doing between culture of the US and Scotland. I’m an anthropology major so this is vastly entertaining! Keep up the great stuff!
😄 Love the oven mitt! It's kind of a joke - the state of Michigan is shaped like a mitten. Whenever you meet a Michigander and ask where they're from they pop up their hand and say, "If this is Michigan, I live..." and point to the spot that corresponds to their town on the map. 🤚😁
I have a T-shirt that has "Smitten With the Mitten" on it. Maybe someone will send Shaun one. They're for sale on Michiganisawesome.org. I don't have Shaun's address.
You should visit Michigan! I had my honey moon in Traverse City and it was marvelous. You should also come to Alma Michigan. There is a Scottish festival here called the Highland Festival.
The American pronunciation of Herb originated in Great Britain. In the past The British pronounced Herb exactly as Americans do. However, over time, the British changed the pronunciation and Americans continued using the original pronunciation.
I was just watching Laurence from Lost in the Pond & he mentioned your channel! I thought it was pretty funny because I was thinking you should watch some of his videos because he explains a lot of reasons why some words are pronounced differently in the US & the UK.
So in the US, to pronounce vitamin with a short i we need two ts. "vittamin" would have that short i as you pronounce it. "vitamin" with one t, gets a long i. A vowel followed by two of the same consonants is short, a vowel followed by one consonant is long. nibble is short; bible is long,
@@JoeBlow_4, to many, it seems to be! I lived in southern New Jersey for over 20 years, and you would not believe how they talked and what they didn't know or care to know.
I believe "controversy" is pronounced differently as well. We put the accent on "con" whereas in the UK the accent is on the second syllable. I like the new facial hair 😊
I love these types of comparison videos!!! It was a fun to listen to. As Andrew Campbell mentions below, Ad for Advertisement is very common, as in, "There are way too many Ads on TV." I also live in Michigan and was just in Traverse City!!! We just moved here last year and are still learning the Mitten State! It's exciting to know you have fans so close by to us. You should definitely visit Michigan it is so pretty. We are surrounded by 4 great lakes and have more lighthouses than any other state in the US. In fact there are 124 lighthouses, some with museums. My husband and I have endeavored to see all the lighthouses we can this summer. We have already seen over 40!!! By the way, my husband just sprung a surprise on me last night. He wants to visit Scotland next year!!!! I am overjoyed! I have only been to Europe one time and it was to England for our son's wedding. Your videos will help us decide where to visit. My hubby was stationed in Holy Loch many years ago when he was a submariner. He was in the Navy for 20 years (and he's been retired from the Navy for 20 years now). I always wanted to visit while he was there, but we couldn't afford it with our three chilidren (who are now all grown). I really can't wait to visit Scotland!!! Love your videos and have been a fan for quite some time. :-)
Michigan box!!!! How awesome!!!! I live south of Traverse in Saginaw but its still awesome! You said it right! Love the necklace :) way to represent our state!!
Hello from Michigan! I loved watching your reaction to things from my home state. I live in the thumb (near Frankenmuth) (yes we use parts of a mitten to describe location and geography) so there are some very different things to try from this part of the state. Hopefully you can make your way over to these parts and visit our 5 beautiful Great Lakes.
Herb was originally pronounced erb in the UK but for some reason it evolved in the UK to Herb but stayed erb in the US. Why this happened I have no idea but remember learning this some years ago.
Do you get the significance of the oven ‘mitt’ from Michigan? People from Michigan will say you can tell people where you are from in the state by holding your hand 🖐 like a mitt...being the shape of the state!
ANOTHER EXPORT FROM TRAVERSE CITY, MICHIGAN--- Me! Lol. That is where my mom's mother is from. I live in West Virginia, now, but my parents were from Michigan. There is a different accent there than where I am, now, but I love how upper mid-west people talk, talking about different ways of saying things. Maureen
I was taught that alot of our pronunciations derive from middle english rather than modern english. Also that some were changed by early colonists to separate themselves more fully from England.
Yes! Finally I have been vindicated I have always been made fun of for the way I announce certain words. Thank you so so much for putting this video out there! Big Texas thanks and hugs!
There is a wonderful Monty Python skit in which someone sings "Let's Call the Whole Thing Off." He's looking at the lyrics and sings, "You say to-mah-to, I say to-mah-to; you say po-tah-to, I say po-tah-to -- to-mah-to, to-mah-to, po-tahto,, po-tah-to, let's call the whole thing off." All the while, he's looking more and more confused. Hilarious.
Hey, Shawn a wee Glaswegian, living in Southern California responding ....I say "skedule", "ate", "cell", "herb pronouncing the h!", "wader" (I had to change...no one understood me here, could die of thirst :), vitamin....the way you say it. Other words pronounced differently; controversy, Edinburgh, bottle, mirror (meer in USA). The differences are interesting and I enjoy embracing it all! Great videos, tfs.
You pronounced Petoskey correctly. You should come visit Michigan. Depending on what kind of weather you like winter lots of snow. Spring is pretty with flowering trees. Summer is great for water and going the beach. Fall has great color when the leaves change.
I love how you sound Shaun! Getting back to Herb..I think you guys say it correctly because if there's a man in America and his name is Herbert, his nickname would be Herb not "erb"..
Yes, in our American pronunciation it is a "voiced, alveolar-flap" which is a [d] sound. Some say it almost as if there's a soft "r" before the "d"= war-der for "water" (I had a classmate in college who was from New Jersey, who said it that way). I am from Illinois, and we day "wadder". The surrounding consonants and vowels modify our "t" from voiceless to voiced. (Put your hand on your throat when you say "very" and you'll feel the vvvvibrations from the "voicing". Keep that hand there - and say, "Ta ta!" (Good-bye!) The "t" here is voiceless - no vibrating the vocal cords.) Okay, class is over for today . . . There will be a test tomorrow on voiced and voiceless consonants! (LOL!)
Roger Quarton I was reading your response and started laughing over the detailed description you sent and thought “is this a class?!” And then you finish with the whole test thing!! HYSTERICAL!!!
Yeah, but it's all about what you're used to. Their cold temps would probably freeze those of us who live in the South. When I go home to Michigan to visit, I'm shivering whereas my family will be fine in shorts.
As someone who has lived in Georgia most of my life, I have fond memories from childhood when I lived in Indiana & used to go on summer vacation in Michigan. My grandparents had some fishing cottages in Traverse City on Lake Leelanau, so I can tell you it's beautiful in that part of Michigan! We used to walk the shores of Lake Michigan looking for Petoskey stones too. So cool that you got one. You were right about the reason Cherry seemed to be a theme of your box, Traverse City is known as the "Cherry Capitol of the World". It's a sight to behold in cherry season and to stop at the roadside stands selling cherries, so good. Fun to hear the words you discussed. IDK why we don't pronounce the H in herb. haha Another word I thought of might explain why Americans pronounce Edinburgh wrong a lot of times - we see the burgh and think of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It's pronounced "burg" and so I think a lot of people do the same when they go to Scotland instead of "bur-ah" as is the proper way to say Edinburgh. haha Thanks for the fun Shaun!
Hi Shaun, Love your videos! Greetings from Pennsylvania...( my Great Grandfather was born and raised in Auchtermuchty !) Keep up the great work! Turner
You got the word water right! The 't' is kind of a cross between a 'd' and a 't.' However, here, at least here in Florida, the 't' in vitamin is pronounced the same. You used a hard 't' sound. And you pronounced petoskey correctly. (All of my family is from Michigan.)
Shaun, My Father was from the Carolina's (USA) and always pronounced aluminum the way you do. One thing I think is interesting is that if someone has the name Herb, the H is not silent. As for your box of goodies, I'm from Michigan so I can identify with all of the items that you received. I just thought I'd point out that even the beef sticks are cherry, just so you know! Take care and I enjoy your channel.
I somehow missed seeing this one before! Just watched today. Enjoyed the comparisons. You got a box from Michigan already! I believe we were starting to put one together for you about the time you opened this one. Great that you got a Petosky stone! That was a great idea to send. We collect those when we go Up North. Love the the oven mitt!
Funny story - we met a Scottish lady who was staying near us for the winter and when we said our surname was "Craig", she looked confused. We repeated it "Craig"... then she lit up and said "OHHHHH you're saying CRAYG!! (and rolled her "r" a bit) I thought you were saying "CREGG" like "egg"!! We laughed so hard... so nice to hear the "proper way" to pronounce our name!
I say herb with the 'h', but I pronounce the vowel differently. To me, your pronunciation sounds more like 'hairb', whereas my pronunciation would be more like 'hurb'.
Just got back from Scotland last night. I did pretty well with the language differences. Spoke with an older man at the bus stop and got most of what he was saying. Very friendly people. Fell in love with the people and landscape.
Router versus “rooter”. Stayed in a serviced apartment in England and there was problem with the internet service. I would say router and the manager said rooter. She laughed at my pronunciation.
In some parts of the southern USA you can sometimes hear " we just ett (for ate) especially in parts of the south where a lot of Scottish immigrated to.
Michigander here too! Traverse city is like the cherry capitol of the word! One thing that bothers me with at least aussies. Is they say petrol. Then make fun because we say gas. But gasoline is put into your car. Petrol is what it's made out of. Drives me nuts!
Shaun, you're so much fun! I love watching your vids, they are always interesting and adventurous! Its pretty interesting how different we speak and for the water/wa'er difference, I've noticed a lot of us in the US have a hard time understanding British/Scottish/Irish people who ask for "wa'er" 😀 too funny! And no idea why we prounounce herb the way we do? Now you have me wondering too! Keep up all the videos, you are a blast to watch! Much love from Indiana ❤
One pronunciation difference that is on frequent display in this very video is y'all tend to pronounce "us" with the /z/ sound--/uz/--while in the U.S. it's pronounced with the /s/ sound--/us/. Really like these happy, optimistic videos!
Lawrence, who has the very interesting vlog "Lost in the Pond," has covered a lot of these words and more from the perspective of an Englishman living in the States. Check it out!
When I was a child my grandmother from the south, Arkansas at the time she was from originally Illinois. She told me to “Warsh” (wash) my hands. I didn’t know what she meant so I didn’t. She came back yelling at me to warsh my hands I burst into tears “ I don’t know what warsh is” I knew wash like squash kind of a long a sound.
The words: soda, pop, and coke are all used differently in certain states. I live in Washington state and the people here use "pop" compared to California, where I lived for a while, where they say "soda".
If you're going to visit Michigan be sure to cross the lake and come to Central Wisconsin! We're known as a German state but us American Scots here have taken over lol. We're known for our fried foods... cheese curds (the best you'll have), fish fries (fish and chips).... I think you'd love it. Keep up the videos! I love to connect to my heritage listening to you!!!
I love Traverse City Michigan. You will want to live there:). They have the Cherry Festival in July but not this year due to the pandemic. The Petosky stones are very cool! It is nestled on two beautiful bays off Lake Michigan, amazing world class winery’s, golf courses, boating, hiking the National Lakeshore at Sleeping Beat Dunes ( once voted most beautiful place in America by a Good Morning America TV show). We are Michiganders we live in. Mi...shee...ghan! Ha!
In the UK they started pronouncing the "h" in certain words to differentiate between classes. Lower class people regularly dropped the "h" so because of that members of the higher class started pronouncing it. This didn't cross over into the U.S so that's why we continue to say "erb" and not "herb" 😊
Great video again Shaun! It’s 33 C in North Texas today and that’s very mild for this time of year. Usually over 38 C this time of year. I was in Scotland about two months ago and it was very nice and quiet warm actually.
Hey Shaun! Fun video! I love watching you open gifts! Beautiful necklace for Teka! I think the word herb originated from France. I speak some french. So the h should not be there, it should be silent. Herb is short for Herbert. Heure is french for hour. H is silent. Here in the small town I live in, people do say et for ate. Crick for creek. Warsh for wash. And other cowboy slang! Instead of swearing, my ex would say, 'fish piss'! First time I heard that I spit my coffee out! Heavily used is 'ain't'. That one drives me nuts! Isn't not ain't. "Put yer boots on fore ya go down to that there creek to warsh yer face!" "Ain't gonna happen, aye don't wanna Pa". It felt like the Andy Griffith show when I first moved here! Lol! Thanks for the video! ☮
In the US, we usually say "ad" instead of advertisement, to eliminate syllables. We usually pronounce our "h", but the silent "h" in "herb" is influenced by French. Question: Do you pronounce the letter "h" as "hay-ch" or "ay-ch"? We say "ay-ch" in the US. I am curious because I have heard Londoners say "hay-ch" and found it interesting.
We pronounce herb with the silent H more in the French fashion. We tend to pronounce some words with a T in the middle with a soft D sound: butter, water, better. You are lucky to have a Petosky stone as they are hard to find. Travers City is a beautiful place!!!
Nearly a hundred thousand subscribers Shaun... awesome.... We will be there in August from OZ, i think we will bring tim tams for you, and show you how to slam them lol.... Keep up the great work
Certain parts of the states say "warsh" for wash (your hands) some of us say "soda" some of us say "pop" others still will say "soda pop" or just "coke" for blanket coverage of any carbonated drink that's dark.
Here’s an interesting one. I’ve noticed that British people tend to add an “R” where there isn’t one. For example, “loverly” instead of lovely, “idear” instead of idea, etc.
Enjoyed the language comparisons. Aluminum gets me every time! Off topic, but couldn't help but notice the sewing items on the table behind you. Does Tekka sew or quilt? Would be interested to know. Thanks again for a great video!
In the Appalachian mountains, a number of older words and pronunciations persisted. "Et" for "eat" is one. The phrase "stinks like cairn" pronounced "kyarn" in Southern Appalachia (maybe only my Carolina part) refers to the smell of long-stored contents of a container used to urinate in before indoor plumbing became widely available. You will probably recognize the container word "cairn"
I would love to see you do a collab with Joel and Lia! They do a lot of language videos and such like you do comparing to America. They are in London and Chichester.
We just watched your video and agree that people in the UK and the U. S. say a lot of words differently. But that happened because way back during colonial days, the colonists were separated by distance from the Mother Land. Gradually pronunciation softened and changed because the colonists were no longer in contact with the British. The same thing happened when people began to move westward. The areas like Boston and New York didn't change as much because the colonists were in touch with people from the UK who were involved in shipping. It made things difficult when folks began to emigrate from other countries. My great-great grandfather was Scotch-Irish (okay, Scottish) and his name was MacPherson. The immigration authorities probably didn't understand him when he told his name, so the name was soon McPierson, and then Pierson. By the way, I'm from Michigan and have been to Traverse City a number of times. You pronounced 'petoskey' perfectly. There's a town north of Traverse City called Petoskey.
Me: "I have VERY Scottish ancestry, a really cool friend is from Scotland, I live in a place literally named "New Scotland" (Nova Scotia), a castle is held by the Malcolm clan and is still lived in I so wanna see that, it looks BEAUTIFUL everywhere, I'd LOVE to go there or even possibly move there some day." Shaun: "We just don't have good coffee here in the UK." Me: "LOL nevermind." I really do want to visit, though. I'll just have to bring my own coffee, I guess 😂
Another michigander here! You would love Michigan is so beautiful. Similar climate to Scotland we're surrounded by water we've got the Great Lakes is where we are 2 peninsula and you've got the ocean. Also that coffee was from Meijer but for some reason we add an "s" to the end of the names of alot in Michigan, so we so we call it Meijer's. Meijer is a big store where you can get almost anything.
When you go to school, is it to skool or to shool? When you set sail aboard a schooner, is it on a skooner, or a shooner? So why is there confusion about the correct way to pronounce schedule?
Shaun, it really depends what part of the US you come from. In the South, we do not pronounce the "h". However, in the North, I have heard it with the "h" sound. So, as you can see, even the US regions pronounce words differently. The word wash is sometimes pronounced with the letter "r" in it, as in warsh. My northern roommate at college pronounced it that way. Drove me crazy. BTW, speaking of pronunciation, did you know that the word "often" is supposed to be pronounced with a silent "t", as in "ofen". However, most people pronounce it with an emphasis on the hard "t" sound.
I'm from Texas and will say et for ate instead of eaten sometimes... like that was the best thing I ever et. Nobody does that probably, and it's just me being country 🤣
It’s now 85 degrees Fahrenheit (30 Celsius) in North Carolina and that’s cool for around here now. It should be around in the upper 90’s F. next week and July. Now that’s hot!
If you’d like to search for more information about some of these language phenomena: the pronunciation of ‘herb’ as ‘erb’ is called h-dropping and pronouncing ‘water’ without the ‘t’ you’re actually replacing the ‘t’ with what is called a glottal stop (a short obstruction of airflow in the vocal tract). Hope this helps 😋
As my aunt used to say - "You put your emPHASIS on the wrong syllABLE" ;) Most of the differences are just that. I used to laugh at her saying hot dog. We empasize the 'hot' & she was empasizing the 'dog' as in hot DOG. I said it sounded like a dog sweating in the corner! :D
@@MichaelTheophilus906 It's less red than a carrot-top, slightly redder than sandy if you want to be technical, but people seem to have begun using it as a catch-all for anyone with reddish hair.
As an American, listening to non-Americans do an "American Accent" (There are as many American accents as there are British accents...) is hilariously awesome. I love it.
Back in the 1980’s there was a club I went to in Paisley and the two girls I went with called it the Garage but I didn’t understand what they were saying until we got there. They looked at me like I was crazy when I used the American pronunciation for garage. I did laugh when you said aluminum. I sure enjoy your podcasts and planning to visit Edinburgh in a couple of years.
Lots of us in The South say "wa-er". Depends how far in the mountains you are 🙂😁 In the North: they take showers (shau'- ers) to get clean. From the Mid-Atlantic states and south, we take "shaurs" (one syllable).
My mother's folks are from Southern Appalachia, western North Carolina and eastern Tennessee specifically, and the accent is much like yours. Many will say "et" rather than "eet". There are many words which linger from the Scotch Irish migration in the 1700's and early 1800's. Their mountainous terrain and independent attitudes tended to isolate the people and their language from modern changes.
Different pronunciations I've heard for words in different parts of America:
Caramel = "carra-mel" vs. "car-ml"
Lawyer = "law-yer" vs. "loy-er"
Syrup = "seer-up" vs. "sirrup"
Aunt = "ant" vs. "ahnt"
Almond = "al-mond" vs. "ahll-mend" vs. "am-end"
Pecan = "puh-kahn" vs. "pee-can"
Coyote = "ky-o-tee" vs. "Ky-ote"
Mayonnaise = "man-aze" vs. "may-uh-naze" vs. "my-nez"
Adult = "uh-dult" vs. "add-ult"
Caribbean = "kar-ruh-bee-en" vs. "kar-rib-ee-en"
Crayon = "cray-ahn" vs. "cray-awn"
Salmon = "sal-mon" vs. "sammon"
Coupon = "koo-pahn" vs. "kyoo-pon"
Poem = "poh-em" vs. "pome" (rhyme with "Rome")
Flourish = "flore-ish" vs. "fluh-rish"
Been = "bean" vs. "ben"
Bayou Maccabee Been = bin
Flour-ish
Crayons= crans if you're my dad lol. I've always said "crowns" for some reason.
@@sarahwithanhyouheathen3210 my ex and my kids say crown. I say cray-on
In the US we even spell aluminum differently so that may explain why we pronounce it differently too.
Yes, because some of the elements have the -um ending like platinum and talcum, while the others have the -ium ending. Both were used in the 1800s, but ultimately commercial industries in America and Britain determined which became common in each region.
@William Mills A guy who eats it calls it aluminumnumnum.
check the history, I think the difference started as a typo , and stuck
I'm from the deep south in the U.S. I was taught the "H" in Herb is silent - in school.
New England here, same
Indiana, same.
Same here. I am from Alabama. How did we get this wrong?! Lol
Thomas Parker same.
@The real glasgow I think the folks from Yorkshire drop the h in the front a lot too. Am I right Yorkshiremen?
Let's just face it, we're all just a bunch of fruit loops in a world of Cheerios. I did however laugh myself silly when you said aluminum. Sure glad I didn't have a mouthful of water. 🤣
Great video Shaun. 💜
I can't pronounce aluminum the way the UK says it 🙄😏
@@tagyouritification yeah, I have a difficult time saying it. I actually have to think about it before I say it 😂
@@amethystrosemaclaren5853 😂🤣😂😁
Im from America and was raised that Herb (with h) is a persons name and herb (without h) is spices
erbs 🌿 in LA slang is weed lol
I love this comparison you’ve been doing between culture of the US and Scotland. I’m an anthropology major so this is vastly entertaining! Keep up the great stuff!
Brian Dennis even within America we all say words different. I live in a small state . If I travel not to far from home people talk differently.
Then of course there's Mobile Alabama pronounced "Mobeel"
Yes I live about 40 miles West of there.
This is also what Americans call the spinning musical toy you hang over a crib.
I'm from Michigan :) Michigan welcomes you Sean I hope you can come here.
😄 Love the oven mitt! It's kind of a joke - the state of Michigan is shaped like a mitten. Whenever you meet a Michigander and ask where they're from they pop up their hand and say, "If this is Michigan, I live..." and point to the spot that corresponds to their town on the map. 🤚😁
Truth! I'm from SW MI (a long time ago) and I'd point to the palm of my right hand, way over toward the edge 'cause, yanno...near Lake Michigan. 😄
@@ltp9019 🤣👍
I was going to say the same thing!
I have a T-shirt that has "Smitten With the Mitten" on it. Maybe someone will send Shaun one. They're for sale on Michiganisawesome.org. I don't have Shaun's address.
I came from the thumb area. It's commonly referred to as...the Thumb Area.
I think those Petoskey stones are supposedly a gazillion years old. Seems like you have a good fan base from Michigan. Thanks Shaun.
MI is one of those states with a pretty deep and rich Scottish history I believe. You see that guy who found a 50 lbs Petoskey stone?
@@holyCaptnjack that must be a record size for a Petoskey stone!
I am!
You should watch Lost in the Pond. Lawrence explains a lot of the origins of words and pronunciations.
Tonya Dull, I too watch Lost in the Pond. Great info on pronunciation.
Yep I agree, Lawrence is great with that sort of thing. That dude is well educated on that kind of stuff.
🇺🇸 My grandmother would call her cat a wee beastie. Now I call my dogs that!🏴
😯
You should visit Michigan! I had my honey moon in Traverse City and it was marvelous. You should also come to Alma Michigan. There is a Scottish festival here called the Highland Festival.
The American pronunciation of Herb originated in Great Britain. In the past The British pronounced Herb exactly as Americans do. However, over time, the British changed the pronunciation and Americans continued using the original pronunciation.
I was just watching Laurence from Lost in the Pond & he mentioned your channel! I thought it was pretty funny because I was thinking you should watch some of his videos because he explains a lot of reasons why some words are pronounced differently in the US & the UK.
Jennifer Bush
AGREE 😊
So in the US, to pronounce vitamin with a short i we need two ts. "vittamin" would have that short i as you pronounce it. "vitamin" with one t, gets a long i. A vowel followed by two of the same consonants is short, a vowel followed by one consonant is long. nibble is short; bible is long,
Perfect, Joe! You nailed it!
@@maryozee6135 it's not rocket science ;)
Spot on. The "i" in "Bite" is the same "i" as the "i" in "Vitamin."
@@JoeBlow_4, to many, it seems to be! I lived in southern New Jersey for over 20 years, and you would not believe how they talked and what they didn't know or care to know.
I believe "controversy" is pronounced differently as well. We put the accent on "con" whereas in the UK the accent is on the second syllable. I like the new facial hair 😊
Traverse City is nice - worth a visit and trip across to Michigan's Upper Peninsula. Fall colours are a great time to go.
The National Cherry Festival in Traverse City, Michigan starts this week.
One of the funnier words that I've heard is squirrel, especially the first time I heard Stephen Fry say it on QI.
I love these types of comparison videos!!! It was a fun to listen to. As Andrew Campbell mentions below, Ad for Advertisement is very common, as in, "There are way too many Ads on TV." I also live in Michigan and was just in Traverse City!!! We just moved here last year and are still learning the Mitten State! It's exciting to know you have fans so close by to us. You should definitely visit Michigan it is so pretty. We are surrounded by 4 great lakes and have more lighthouses than any other state in the US. In fact there are 124 lighthouses, some with museums. My husband and I have endeavored to see all the lighthouses we can this summer. We have already seen over 40!!! By the way, my husband just sprung a surprise on me last night. He wants to visit Scotland next year!!!! I am overjoyed! I have only been to Europe one time and it was to England for our son's wedding. Your videos will help us decide where to visit. My hubby was stationed in Holy Loch many years ago when he was a submariner. He was in the Navy for 20 years (and he's been retired from the Navy for 20 years now). I always wanted to visit while he was there, but we couldn't afford it with our three chilidren (who are now all grown). I really can't wait to visit Scotland!!! Love your videos and have been a fan for quite some time. :-)
I LOVE coffee... it's ALWAYS coffee-time for me LoL! Nice gift package, Lindsey.
Michigan box!!!! How awesome!!!! I live south of Traverse in Saginaw but its still awesome! You said it right! Love the necklace :) way to represent our state!!
Ashleigh Touchet and the oven mitten is pretty clever, too
Way to go, Lindsay!! (From another Michigander.) Wonderful gifts for Shaun from our State and especially, from Traverse City!
Hello from Michigan! I loved watching your reaction to things from my home state. I live in the thumb (near Frankenmuth) (yes we use parts of a mitten to describe location and geography) so there are some very different things to try from this part of the state. Hopefully you can make your way over to these parts and visit our 5 beautiful Great Lakes.
Herb was originally pronounced erb in the UK but for some reason it evolved in the UK to Herb but stayed erb in the US. Why this happened I have no idea but remember learning this some years ago.
@The real glasgow I thought it was a Cockney pronunciation, just like 'ain't'.
Honestly, honor the herb.
Traverse City is known for their wines and cherries. Jerky is amazing. Lake Michigan makes most scotland's lochs look small. and yes it's freshwater
Yes! It is Petoskey! You said it correctly. It can only be found around the Petoskey, Michigan area. My family is from the area.
Do you get the significance of the oven ‘mitt’ from Michigan? People from Michigan will say you can tell people where you are from in the state by holding your hand 🖐 like a mitt...being the shape of the state!
ANOTHER EXPORT FROM TRAVERSE CITY, MICHIGAN--- Me! Lol. That is where my mom's mother is from. I live in West Virginia, now, but my parents were from Michigan. There is a different accent there than where I am, now, but I love how upper mid-west people talk, talking about different ways of saying things.
Maureen
My mother was a Yooper (translation: someone born in the Upper Peninsula) and she sounded Canadian sometimes.
@@maryozee6135 yea, I spent most of my time in the Southwest Mich (Kalamazoo, South Haven) and they talk more like Chicago people!
@@maureenbennett7995 I grew up near Lansing, and it amazes me when I hear people from near Detroit speak. Words like "doorwall" are foreign to me
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I was taught that alot of our pronunciations derive from middle english rather than modern english. Also that some were changed by early colonists to separate themselves more fully from England.
Traverse City is known for its cherries in Michigan
Just in Pennsylvania, there are different ways of saying "water". In Pittsburgh it's "wutter", in Philadelphia it's "worter".
Yes! Finally I have been vindicated I have always been made fun of for the way I announce certain words. Thank you so so much for putting this video out there! Big Texas thanks and hugs!
There is a wonderful Monty Python skit in which someone sings "Let's Call the Whole Thing Off." He's looking at the lyrics and sings, "You say to-mah-to, I say to-mah-to; you say po-tah-to, I say po-tah-to -- to-mah-to, to-mah-to, po-tahto,, po-tah-to, let's call the whole thing off." All the while, he's looking more and more confused. Hilarious.
Glacier: American - glay-sher, UK - gla-cier or so I’ve heard
We pronounce aluminum differently because we spell it differently (aluminium for you.) Great vid.
Hey, Shawn a wee Glaswegian, living in Southern California responding ....I say "skedule", "ate", "cell", "herb pronouncing the h!", "wader" (I had to change...no one understood me here, could die of thirst :), vitamin....the way you say it. Other words pronounced differently; controversy, Edinburgh, bottle, mirror (meer in USA). The differences are interesting and I enjoy embracing it all! Great videos, tfs.
Garage huh, well aren't you fancy. We say car hole. Love the videos btw.
“Car hole”. That’s a new one on me!
@The real glasgow no, a car port doesn't have walls, just basically a roof over your car. Garages have walls, a roof and doors. At least in the USA.
You pronounced Petoskey correctly. You should come visit Michigan. Depending on what kind of weather you like winter lots of snow. Spring is pretty with flowering trees. Summer is great for water and going the beach. Fall has great color when the leaves change.
Michigan cherry coffee! My favorite. Can't wait to see how you like it.
I love how you sound Shaun! Getting back to Herb..I think you guys say it correctly because if there's a man in America and his name is Herbert, his nickname would be Herb not "erb"..
And just to clear up the confusion... water is pronounced wah-der . A soft “t” or a “d” sound...
I'm from Boston. "w (awe) duh
Yes, in our American pronunciation it is a "voiced, alveolar-flap" which is a [d] sound. Some say it almost as if there's a soft "r" before the "d"= war-der for "water" (I had a classmate in college who was from New Jersey, who said it that way). I am from Illinois, and we day "wadder". The surrounding consonants and vowels modify our "t" from voiceless to voiced. (Put your hand on your throat when you say "very" and you'll feel the vvvvibrations from the "voicing". Keep that hand there - and say, "Ta ta!" (Good-bye!) The "t" here is voiceless - no vibrating the vocal cords.) Okay, class is over for today . . . There will be a test tomorrow on voiced and voiceless consonants! (LOL!)
or wadder
In Philly it’s “wudder” and it makes me cringe every time as someone from New York 😂
Roger Quarton
I was reading your response and started laughing over the detailed description you sent and thought “is this a class?!” And then you finish with the whole test thing!! HYSTERICAL!!!
You are worried about 28 degrees being terribly hot? The "feels like" temperature here today was 105 degrees.... That's right.... 105-32÷1.8=40.56
Yeah, but it's all about what you're used to. Their cold temps would probably freeze those of us who live in the South. When I go home to Michigan to visit, I'm shivering whereas my family will be fine in shorts.
Yes, when I first moved down South I thought I might die!
As someone who has lived in Georgia most of my life, I have fond memories from childhood when I lived in Indiana & used to go on summer vacation in Michigan. My grandparents had some fishing cottages in Traverse City on Lake Leelanau, so I can tell you it's beautiful in that part of Michigan! We used to walk the shores of Lake Michigan looking for Petoskey stones too. So cool that you got one. You were right about the reason Cherry seemed to be a theme of your box, Traverse City is known as the "Cherry Capitol of the World". It's a sight to behold in cherry season and to stop at the roadside stands selling cherries, so good. Fun to hear the words you discussed. IDK why we don't pronounce the H in herb. haha Another word I thought of might explain why Americans pronounce Edinburgh wrong a lot of times - we see the burgh and think of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It's pronounced "burg" and so I think a lot of people do the same when they go to Scotland instead of "bur-ah" as is the proper way to say Edinburgh. haha Thanks for the fun Shaun!
Hi Shaun, Love your videos!
Greetings from Pennsylvania...( my Great Grandfather was born and raised in Auchtermuchty !)
Keep up the great work!
Turner
You got the word water right! The 't' is kind of a cross between a 'd' and a 't.' However, here, at least here in Florida, the 't' in vitamin is pronounced the same. You used a hard 't' sound.
And you pronounced petoskey correctly. (All of my family is from Michigan.)
Here in NC, we say it more like wah-der, or if you're my dad it sounds like warter.
Shaun, My Father was from the Carolina's (USA) and always pronounced aluminum the way you do. One thing I think is interesting is that if someone has the name Herb, the H is not silent. As for your box of goodies, I'm from Michigan so I can identify with all of the items that you received. I just thought I'd point out that even the beef sticks are cherry, just so you know! Take care and I enjoy your channel.
Or venison?
Interesting at times when I see a TV shows on BBC America, I thinks it cute to hear your English (British) enunciated words. Thanks for sharing.
I somehow missed seeing this one before! Just watched today. Enjoyed the comparisons. You got a box from Michigan already! I believe we were starting to put one together for you about the time you opened this one. Great that you got a Petosky stone! That was a great idea to send. We collect those when we go Up North. Love the the oven mitt!
Funny story - we met a Scottish lady who was staying near us for the winter and when we said our surname was "Craig", she looked confused. We repeated it "Craig"... then she lit up and said "OHHHHH you're saying CRAYG!! (and rolled her "r" a bit) I thought you were saying "CREGG" like "egg"!! We laughed so hard... so nice to hear the "proper way" to pronounce our name!
I say herb with the 'h', but I pronounce the vowel differently. To me, your pronunciation sounds more like 'hairb', whereas my pronunciation would be more like 'hurb'.
Just got back from Scotland last night. I did pretty well with the language differences. Spoke with an older man at the bus stop and got most of what he was saying. Very friendly people. Fell in love with the people and landscape.
the oven mit because Michigan is famously shaped like an oven mit
Well, the lower peninsula anyway.
Router versus “rooter”. Stayed in a serviced apartment in England and there was problem with the internet service. I would say router and the manager said rooter. She laughed at my pronunciation.
In some parts of the southern USA you can sometimes hear " we just ett (for ate) especially in parts of the south where a lot of Scottish immigrated to.
Michigander here too! Traverse city is like the cherry capitol of the word! One thing that bothers me with at least aussies. Is they say petrol. Then make fun because we say gas. But gasoline is put into your car. Petrol is what it's made out of. Drives me nuts!
Shaun, you're so much fun! I love watching your vids, they are always interesting and adventurous! Its pretty interesting how different we speak and for the water/wa'er difference, I've noticed a lot of us in the US have a hard time understanding British/Scottish/Irish people who ask for "wa'er" 😀 too funny! And no idea why we prounounce herb the way we do? Now you have me wondering too! Keep up all the videos, you are a blast to watch! Much love from Indiana ❤
I hope to meet you when I get there next there next month and discuss these differences of pronunciations, word uses, customs, etc.
One pronunciation difference that is on frequent display in this very video is y'all tend to pronounce "us" with the /z/ sound--/uz/--while in the U.S. it's pronounced with the /s/ sound--/us/.
Really like these happy, optimistic videos!
Lawrence, who has the very interesting vlog "Lost in the Pond," has covered a lot of these words and more from the perspective of an Englishman living in the States. Check it out!
When I was a child my grandmother from the south, Arkansas at the time she was from originally Illinois. She told me to “Warsh” (wash) my hands. I didn’t know what she meant so I didn’t. She came back yelling at me to warsh my hands I burst into tears “ I don’t know what warsh is” I knew wash like squash kind of a long a sound.
The words: soda, pop, and coke are all used differently in certain states. I live in Washington state and the people here use "pop" compared to California, where I lived for a while, where they say "soda".
My husband and I fight about that constantly.
Another thing we share is a love of Fiddle Music...in fact, I mostly play Scottish Fiddle Tunes...
If you're going to visit Michigan be sure to cross the lake and come to Central Wisconsin! We're known as a German state but us American Scots here have taken over lol. We're known for our fried foods... cheese curds (the best you'll have), fish fries (fish and chips)....
I think you'd love it. Keep up the videos! I love to connect to my heritage listening to you!!!
I love Traverse City Michigan. You will want to live there:). They have the Cherry Festival in July but not this year due to the pandemic. The Petosky stones are very cool! It is nestled on two beautiful bays off Lake Michigan, amazing world class winery’s, golf courses, boating, hiking the National Lakeshore at Sleeping Beat Dunes ( once voted most beautiful place in America by a Good Morning America TV show). We are Michiganders we live in. Mi...shee...ghan! Ha!
“ Done Et” is a funny southern way to say you ate.
In the UK they started pronouncing the "h" in certain words to differentiate between classes. Lower class people regularly dropped the "h" so because of that members of the higher class started pronouncing it. This didn't cross over into the U.S so that's why we continue to say "erb" and not "herb" 😊
Great video again Shaun! It’s 33 C in North Texas today and that’s very mild for this time of year. Usually over 38 C this time of year. I was in Scotland about two months ago and it was very nice and quiet warm actually.
Hey Shaun! Fun video! I love watching you open gifts! Beautiful necklace for Teka! I think the word herb originated from France. I speak some french. So the h should not be there, it should be silent. Herb is short for Herbert. Heure is french for hour. H is silent. Here in the small town I live in, people do say et for ate. Crick for creek. Warsh for wash. And other cowboy slang! Instead of swearing, my ex would say, 'fish piss'! First time I heard that I spit my coffee out! Heavily used is 'ain't'. That one drives me nuts! Isn't not ain't. "Put yer boots on fore ya go down to that there creek to warsh yer face!" "Ain't gonna happen, aye don't wanna Pa". It felt like the Andy Griffith show when I first moved here! Lol!
Thanks for the video! ☮
In the US, we usually say "ad" instead of advertisement, to eliminate syllables.
We usually pronounce our "h", but the silent "h" in "herb" is influenced by French.
Question: Do you pronounce the letter "h" as "hay-ch" or "ay-ch"? We say "ay-ch" in the US. I am curious because I have heard Londoners say "hay-ch" and found it interesting.
We pronounce herb with the silent H more in the French fashion. We tend to pronounce some words with a T in the middle with a soft D sound: butter, water, better.
You are lucky to have a Petosky stone as they are hard to find. Travers City is a beautiful place!!!
Nearly a hundred thousand subscribers Shaun... awesome.... We will be there in August from OZ, i think we will bring tim tams for you, and show you how to slam them lol.... Keep up the great work
Certain parts of the states say "warsh" for wash (your hands) some of us say "soda" some of us say "pop" others still will say "soda pop" or just "coke" for blanket coverage of any carbonated drink that's dark.
Traverse City is the "Cherry Capitol" ; ) Great place!
Actually, my friend from CORK IRELAND has sent me coffee (I'm from Minnesota but living in S Dakota) and it was EXCELLANT !!!
To knock someone up has a very different meaning here in the states .
Here’s an interesting one. I’ve noticed that British people tend to add an “R” where there isn’t one. For example, “loverly” instead of lovely, “idear” instead of idea, etc.
Rhiahl Not sure. I just remember that in the musical “My Fair Lady,” the protagonist sings “Wouldn’t It be Loverly.” 😝
Enjoyed the language comparisons. Aluminum gets me every time! Off topic, but couldn't help but notice the sewing items on the table behind you. Does Tekka sew or quilt? Would be interested to know. Thanks again for a great video!
In the Appalachian mountains, a number of older words and pronunciations persisted.
"Et" for "eat" is one.
The phrase "stinks like cairn" pronounced "kyarn" in Southern Appalachia (maybe only my Carolina part) refers to the smell of long-stored contents of a container used to urinate in before indoor plumbing became widely available. You will probably recognize the container word "cairn"
I would love to see you do a collab with Joel and Lia! They do a lot of language videos and such like you do comparing to America. They are in London and Chichester.
I agree. That could be really cool
My Grandparents were from Glasgow! #5 made me smile in how you pronounced Garage!! How about "Composite"
We just watched your video and agree that people in the UK and the U. S. say a lot of words differently. But that happened because way back during colonial days, the colonists were separated by distance from the Mother Land. Gradually pronunciation softened and changed because the colonists were no longer in contact with the British. The same thing happened when people began to move westward. The areas like Boston and New York didn't change as much because the colonists were in touch with people from the UK who were involved in shipping. It made things difficult when folks began to emigrate from other countries. My great-great grandfather was Scotch-Irish (okay, Scottish) and his name was MacPherson. The immigration authorities probably didn't understand him when he told his name, so the name was soon McPierson, and then Pierson. By the way, I'm from Michigan and have been to Traverse City a number of times. You pronounced 'petoskey' perfectly. There's a town north of Traverse City called Petoskey.
Me: "I have VERY Scottish ancestry, a really cool friend is from Scotland, I live in a place literally named "New Scotland" (Nova Scotia), a castle is held by the Malcolm clan and is still lived in I so wanna see that, it looks BEAUTIFUL everywhere, I'd LOVE to go there or even possibly move there some day."
Shaun: "We just don't have good coffee here in the UK."
Me: "LOL nevermind."
I really do want to visit, though. I'll just have to bring my own coffee, I guess 😂
Another michigander here! You would love Michigan is so beautiful. Similar climate to Scotland we're surrounded by water we've got the Great Lakes is where we are 2 peninsula and you've got the ocean. Also that coffee was from Meijer but for some reason we add an "s" to the end of the names of alot in Michigan, so we so we call it Meijer's. Meijer is a big store where you can get almost anything.
When you go to school, is it to skool or to shool? When you set sail aboard a schooner, is it on a skooner, or a shooner? So why is there confusion about the correct way to pronounce schedule?
Moddey Dhoo I don’t think it’s a matter of who is correct, so much as Shaun is pointing out differences
Shaun, it really depends what part of the US you come from. In the South, we do not pronounce the "h". However, in the North, I have heard it with the "h" sound. So, as you can see, even the US regions pronounce words differently. The word wash is sometimes pronounced with the letter "r" in it, as in warsh. My northern roommate at college pronounced it that way. Drove me crazy. BTW, speaking of pronunciation, did you know that the word "often" is supposed to be pronounced with a silent "t", as in "ofen". However, most people pronounce it with an emphasis on the hard "t" sound.
I'm from Texas and will say et for ate instead of eaten sometimes... like that was the best thing I ever et. Nobody does that probably, and it's just me being country 🤣
I totally forgot that one hahaha
I’m originally from Texas, but I’ve never heard that. Maybe it’s a west Texas thing?
@@PockASqueeno Nope I'm from West Texas and we don't say it there.
Wherever Scots settled at least. "Et" was in use in western Carolinas years ago and probably still.
Not all the time but sometimes.
US: "smart phone" is surplanting cell phone or mobile. Most people I know say smart phone (a wifi enabled phone)
It’s now 85 degrees Fahrenheit (30 Celsius) in North Carolina and that’s cool for around here now. It should be around in the upper 90’s F. next week and July. Now that’s hot!
If you’d like to search for more information about some of these language phenomena: the pronunciation of ‘herb’ as ‘erb’ is called h-dropping and pronouncing ‘water’ without the ‘t’ you’re actually replacing the ‘t’ with what is called a glottal stop (a short obstruction of airflow in the vocal tract). Hope this helps 😋
As my aunt used to say - "You put your emPHASIS on the wrong syllABLE" ;) Most of the differences are just that. I used to laugh at her saying hot dog. We empasize the 'hot' & she was empasizing the 'dog' as in hot DOG. I said it sounded like a dog sweating in the corner! :D
I love the fact y'all say "ginger" instead of red-head.
@@MichaelTheophilus906 It's less red than a carrot-top, slightly redder than sandy if you want to be technical, but people seem to have begun using it as a catch-all for anyone with reddish hair.
On a train from Edinburgh to Dumfries I heard "teabol" for "table" lol
My Grandmother grew up in the Appalachians (south), she said et, of ate.
As an American, listening to non-Americans do an "American Accent" (There are as many American accents as there are British accents...) is hilariously awesome. I love it.
Back in the 1980’s there was a club I went to in Paisley and the two girls I went with called it the Garage but I didn’t understand what they were saying until we got there. They looked at me like I was crazy when I used the American pronunciation for garage. I did laugh when you said aluminum. I sure enjoy your podcasts and planning to visit Edinburgh in a couple of years.
In Philadelphia water is pronounced WOODER.
David Downie That’s better than the backwoods of the Appalachians where some people call it “warder.” 🤦🏻♀️ Makes my skin crawl lol
David Downie in Massachusetts we say watta! Our Bostonian accent.
Uggggg.... I live about an hour North of Philly. We say water. The Philly way makes me want to like my eardrums out!
Lots of us in The South say "wa-er". Depends how far in the mountains you are 🙂😁
In the North: they take showers (shau'- ers) to get clean. From the Mid-Atlantic states and south, we take "shaurs" (one syllable).
My mother's folks are from Southern Appalachia, western North Carolina and eastern Tennessee specifically, and the accent is much like yours. Many will say "et" rather than "eet". There are many words which linger from the Scotch Irish migration in the 1700's and early 1800's. Their mountainous terrain and independent attitudes tended to isolate the people and their language from modern changes.