When I was growing up the word either was always pronounced e-ther, it was never pronounced eye-ther, it may be because of the area that I was raised in, I don't know. Also nee-ther was never pronounced neye-ther neither, nor was it used with or, either was or, neither was nor, or was it?
I began thinking about this little pronunciation dilemma when all of a sudden out of the blue I noticed my daughter's sudden change in how she pronounces the word either.
Like I was saying I always pronounced it e-ther, so needless to say our kids did too. So why would all of a sudden the daughter start saying eye-ther and neye-ther? She has finished her many years of schooling to get her Doctorate degree so I suppose she could have picked it up there.
You know me I had to bring it up and question her about it:
Eye-ther, when did you start talking like that? I asked Melissa.
I've always pronounced it like that; eye-ther is how you say it. She replied.
It's not how I say it and you never did e-ther.
Well it's proper; eye-ther is how you are supposed to say it.
So you are telling me that I say e-ther wrong?
No you aren't wrong, but eye-ther is proper so I say it proper.
Now that you have pointed out that I'm not proper, you still didn't tell me where you learned eye-ther instead of e-ther.
Neye-ther one is wrong! You can say e-ther and I can say eye-ther it's just that I am proper.
Neye-ther! Where in the world did you hear that word?
Needless to say I never found out when she switched pronunciations, I guess that I just finally noticed it. I guess that I'm not proper and I talk funny too, but my accent is a whole other post if you want to go there it's in Say That Again
Ok is it pee-can or pee-con or even pick-can when you say Pecan, or the old toe-may-toe/toe-mah-toe argument?
Mayonnaise can be pronounced man-aze or ma-uh-naze, I say the former and since I said that, I will mention that Miracle Whip is not Mayonnaise, I know a lot of people love miracle whip but I am not one of those people.
I am the odd man out when it comes to mayonnaise in our house, I am the only one that eats it, everyone else loves miracle whip. "I can't believe Jimmy eats may-uh-naze", I hear this all the time, but I do love man-aze.
In Upstate South Carolina where I was raised, everyone I know eats mayonnaise, and not just any mayonnaise it's got to be Duke's Mayonnaise, I used to actually haul the glass jars of Duke's Mayonnaise back to New Mexico from South Carolina when I lived there because I like it so well, I still prefer Duke's but living in California they don't sell it here.
It's a regional thing I suppose; Mrs. Duke spoiled us when she created her Duke's Mayonnaise recipe back in 1917.
The last time Cindy and I flew home to South Carolina, I actually considered trying to pack an extra suitcase with Dukes Mayonnaise, but Cindy said I could buy it online and have it shipped to the house cheaper than trying to fly it home in a suitcase, and that reminds me that we have never done yet...gotta remember to remind her of that.
Anyways we were going to have a picnic up at Table Rock state park with the family, and on the way Cindy realized that she didn't remember seeing any miracle whip packed in the goodies before we left Moms house, so here we have a caravan of cars headed for the lake and suddenly we had to stop by the grocery store for Cindy to pick up "something she needed", I wasn't brave enough to say that she was looking for miracle whip.
About halfway into the "building of the burgers" I heard my niece Jen yell "Oh my God, how did this get on the table?" I was expecting to see a spider, snake, booger, or some kind of critter on the table, but when I looked over I saw her holding a plate in one hand with an open jar of Duke's sitting in front of her.
In her other hand she is holding at arms length a small jar of Miracle Whip between one finger and her thumb, like it was something nasty that she had accidentally pulled from under a couch cushion (when you have little kids, anything can end up under a couch cushion) and staring at it like she may start gagging, "Who brought this stuff?" She asked.
For the rest of the day you could hear whispers through the crowd "can you believe Aunt Cindy eats miracle whip?", Aunt is pronounced "Ant" by the way. So for this trip I wasn't the odd man out when it came to mayonnaise.
Back in California everything is back to normal, Cindy has her miracle whip, and there is no Duke's Mayonnaise in the house (still haven't made that internet order), Melissa says eye-ther like it's normal, and I am allowed to say e-ther even though it's not proper.
You have to love it when there are this many differences in one family, because being the same only goes so far before it becomes monotonous.
Celebrate your differences and whether you say e-ther or eye-ther, or whether you prefer mayo or miracle whip we are really all the same, we just want to be happy and to live a good life, it's as simple as that. I wouldn't want it any other way e-ther....eye-ther...e-ther...well you know what I mean.
I began thinking about this little pronunciation dilemma when all of a sudden out of the blue I noticed my daughter's sudden change in how she pronounces the word either.
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| Our Daughter Melissa and I several years ago |
You know me I had to bring it up and question her about it:
Eye-ther, when did you start talking like that? I asked Melissa.
I've always pronounced it like that; eye-ther is how you say it. She replied.
It's not how I say it and you never did e-ther.
Well it's proper; eye-ther is how you are supposed to say it.
So you are telling me that I say e-ther wrong?
No you aren't wrong, but eye-ther is proper so I say it proper.
Now that you have pointed out that I'm not proper, you still didn't tell me where you learned eye-ther instead of e-ther.
Neye-ther one is wrong! You can say e-ther and I can say eye-ther it's just that I am proper.
Neye-ther! Where in the world did you hear that word?
Needless to say I never found out when she switched pronunciations, I guess that I just finally noticed it. I guess that I'm not proper and I talk funny too, but my accent is a whole other post if you want to go there it's in Say That Again
Ok is it pee-can or pee-con or even pick-can when you say Pecan, or the old toe-may-toe/toe-mah-toe argument?
Mayonnaise can be pronounced man-aze or ma-uh-naze, I say the former and since I said that, I will mention that Miracle Whip is not Mayonnaise, I know a lot of people love miracle whip but I am not one of those people.
I am the odd man out when it comes to mayonnaise in our house, I am the only one that eats it, everyone else loves miracle whip. "I can't believe Jimmy eats may-uh-naze", I hear this all the time, but I do love man-aze.
In Upstate South Carolina where I was raised, everyone I know eats mayonnaise, and not just any mayonnaise it's got to be Duke's Mayonnaise, I used to actually haul the glass jars of Duke's Mayonnaise back to New Mexico from South Carolina when I lived there because I like it so well, I still prefer Duke's but living in California they don't sell it here.
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| Duke's Real Mayonnaise |
The last time Cindy and I flew home to South Carolina, I actually considered trying to pack an extra suitcase with Dukes Mayonnaise, but Cindy said I could buy it online and have it shipped to the house cheaper than trying to fly it home in a suitcase, and that reminds me that we have never done yet...gotta remember to remind her of that.
Anyways we were going to have a picnic up at Table Rock state park with the family, and on the way Cindy realized that she didn't remember seeing any miracle whip packed in the goodies before we left Moms house, so here we have a caravan of cars headed for the lake and suddenly we had to stop by the grocery store for Cindy to pick up "something she needed", I wasn't brave enough to say that she was looking for miracle whip.
About halfway into the "building of the burgers" I heard my niece Jen yell "Oh my God, how did this get on the table?" I was expecting to see a spider, snake, booger, or some kind of critter on the table, but when I looked over I saw her holding a plate in one hand with an open jar of Duke's sitting in front of her.
In her other hand she is holding at arms length a small jar of Miracle Whip between one finger and her thumb, like it was something nasty that she had accidentally pulled from under a couch cushion (when you have little kids, anything can end up under a couch cushion) and staring at it like she may start gagging, "Who brought this stuff?" She asked.
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| Can you believe Aunt Cindy eats Miracle Whip |
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| Miracle Whip found on the table hiding behind the mustard |
Back in California everything is back to normal, Cindy has her miracle whip, and there is no Duke's Mayonnaise in the house (still haven't made that internet order), Melissa says eye-ther like it's normal, and I am allowed to say e-ther even though it's not proper.
You have to love it when there are this many differences in one family, because being the same only goes so far before it becomes monotonous.
Celebrate your differences and whether you say e-ther or eye-ther, or whether you prefer mayo or miracle whip we are really all the same, we just want to be happy and to live a good life, it's as simple as that. I wouldn't want it any other way e-ther....eye-ther...e-ther...well you know what I mean.
I belong to the eye-ther, ney-ther, may-uh-naise spectrum. Which is fine.
ReplyDeleteAnd grew up with my mother's home made mayonnaise. For years I had it on toast for breakfast.
Hooray for celebrating our differences. And good lives.
Hello EC, I bet your Mom's home made mayonnaise was really good, I never tried it on toast for breakfast but when it's that good you can eat it on anything.
Delete"Hooray for celebrating our differences. And good lives." I agree with you 100% EC our differences is what makes us who we are.
I don't use the snotty fake "Proper British" accent that people seem to think sounds more educated, so it is e-ther or ne-ther for me. And Mayo is just mayo and I don't care if it is Hellman's Miricle Whip or something else...e-ther one is fine with me, mayo is mayo.
ReplyDeleteHey Joe, to tell you the truth I never heard anything other than e-ther and ne-ther until I was grown, so the other pronunciation sure sounded funny the first few times I heard it, not so much now.
DeleteI prefer Mayo over Miracle Whip but that's just me and Dukes was the preferred brand since it was made in the same town I lived at the time, I guess that either makes you love it or hate it.
Liking e-ther one like you do would sure make it easier at times, especially when the sandwiches are stacked against you.
I don't care which way someone says either. But when in doubt I check online dictionaries for pronunciations. "Ee-ther" is supposed to be the British pronunciation and the other the American but my sources says either one is correct.
ReplyDeleteI must be the only person in the world doesn't care if you serve me Miracle Whip or Mayonnaise. I just can't see enough difference to matter. I buy Mayo with Olive Oil, though.
Hi Jean, the way someone pronounces it really doesn't matter to me, I thought it funny when Melissa changed the way she was pronouncing it and had to give her a hard time ha ha
DeleteI did look it up also and couldn't find anything to say which one was wrong, so I am glad to see that everyone is right :)
I have seen the mayo with olive oil but haven't tried it yet.
No, Miracle Whip is NOT mayonaisse and I don't care how you pronounce it as long as you pass it when I ask for it lol.
ReplyDeleteHello Delores, I can see that you are a woman who knows what she likes and will not accept substitutes...reminds me of someone I know ha ha
DeleteE-ther, ne-ther, ma-uh-naze, puh-cahn. I can't stand that sugary sweet Miracle Whip. We don't have Dukes, but Kraft will do, or Save A Lot brand.
ReplyDeleteHello Val, I'd have to say Kraft is a close second to Dukes, either that or Cindy is just getting me used to it ha ha
DeleteI say things the way you do, Jimmy. I only use mayonnaise for BLT's. We don't have Dule's here. The real question...,,,,pop or soda?
ReplyDeleteDuke's
DeleteHey Bijoux, I had a feeling you may talk the same as me because we understand one another most of the time, I try my best to not type with an accent, but it slips sometimes I know.
DeletePop or Soda? that is so funny because I am right in the middle of writing a post on that exact subject ha ha, I just may have to post it next...give you a hint, it's neither one ;)
Ol' Dukes, I don't like mayo so I don't have a real opinion on the mayo wars
ReplyDeleteHey Adam, I know that you have seen good Ol' Duke's more than once where you live, but since you don't like mayo it's hard to not vote against it, that's OK we can't all like it ;)
DeleteTrying to sound British doesn't seem to make me appear smarter. It just annoys people.
ReplyDeleteHello Stephen, Sounding British is perfect when you are British, I love hearing the British accent when it is real, same with Australian, but when you try to sound like something other than what you are, just comes off as phoney.
DeleteI raised my girl saying Aunt as "ant" or "aint", but somehow she came out of college saying "ont".
ReplyDeleteSame with doughnuts.....why the Heck does she say "dawnnuts". Drives me crazy.
Lisa
Hey Lisa, the timing of when Melissa's pronunciation change happened is the same as your daughters, I guess changing the way you talk is part of the college curriculum.
Delete"Dawnnuts" I can hear it now.
I've always thought "ont" is the posh, look-down-your-nose at people style. Dawnnuts seems to be similar to the way I've heard Indian (from India) and Caribbean immigrants say doughnuts, it comes out as doornuts.
DeleteA few months ago at work I was on an account with Southern accents from Arkansas. About killed me. I eventually got the hang of it only when I tried talking like them so I could understand what the heck they were saying. Its e-ther here and no Miracle Whip. I probably wouldn't notice the difference but son, the discerning one, would know its not mayo.
ReplyDeletebetty
Hi Betty, Southern accents I am told are hard to understand, but growing up in the South I have no problem with them, although it is funny that I still hear comments on my accent but when I go home the family comments that I have lost my accent, I suppose I must have half an accent now ha ha.
DeleteI would be like your son and notice the difference, to me the flavor is really different.
In no way should it be thought that I am the "king" of my house. All things considered I have to put up with my wife's preferences on many different food items. One being her utter hatred of Hamburger Helpers and anything to do with tuna. That being said,in my house it's Duke's mayo or nothing.
ReplyDeleteShe tried to pull the Miracle Whip thing one me once and that only lasted long enough for me to trash that strange concoction.
I understand makings concessions on many things when it comes to our wives preferences, I'm right there with you.
DeleteAs for Duke's mayo I had a feeling that Duke's would be #1 in your "kingdom"
Damn straight Miracle Whip isn't may-uh-naze, but if that's people's preference, fine. Just leaves more of the real thing for the rest of us.
ReplyDeleteMan-aze is Southern Redneck speech if Jeff Foxworthy is to be believed.
In the land downunder, Aunt is pronounced Arnt or possibly Ahnt. The English way.
I had to think about the e-ther eyether, neether nyether thing. I use both: if some one says they don't like something, I say me neether, but at other times I'll say, "it's neyether one or the other" when comparing things; e-ther and eyether get a similar treatment depending on how my conversation is going. I'm wondering if your daughter thinks the "eye-nye" pronunciation is proper because the words contain the letter 'i'. In my opinion either (eyether) pronunciation is correct.
Hello River, "Just leaves more of the real thing for the rest of us" yes there you go I like that statement.
DeleteJeff Foxworthy is so close to actual people in some of his jokes that it is unreal, his imitation of Southern accents and terms are spot on because he grew up living and talking this way, with that said in my opinion I believe his material comes from real life.
This is so interesting for me to hear the pronunciations of words and the way everyone talks, we are different in small ways but more alike than we realize, I like this.
It appears the way you say either and neither totally depends on the conversation at the time, that is something you do without ever thinking of it which makes it natural, this is how conversation and pronunciation should be.
I don't have a problem with the way people talk, just think it unnatural when the way you talk is changed to make yourself sound like someone else.
P.S. now that you've read all the comments, get online and order your Duke's may-uh-naze.
ReplyDelete'snotty fake "Proper British" - that's me! I remember when at school we were told to memorise this ...either/or; neither/nor. Definitely I-ther rather than E-ther.
ReplyDeleteGosh, I'd forgotten all about that. The only mayonnaise I ever tried was too sharp for me so I left it alone. Perhaps I should have another go!
Good morning Valerie, British yes, snotty or fake I don't think so, your accent would be one that is natural and one I would love to hear, the ones I detest are the kids who have never been to the U K and try to sound British, that just doesn't work in my opinion.
DeleteMaybe we could get some Duke's Mayonnaise shipped to you and hope you Love it :)
How funny. Now that you mention it, I use both. E-ther if it is a choice between say a donut and a bagel--"e-ther is fine". But I use eye-ther if people are involved. Like, "eye-ther of you want to go with me".
ReplyDeleteHope Ant Cindy gets her credibility back:))
Hey Patti, that's an interesting way to use the pronunciations, e-ther for items and eye-ther for people. I'll have to pay more attention and see if this is what Melissa is doing.
DeleteIt's been about three years since the fateful picnic, I would think it's been long enough that they have accepted the fact Ant Cindy eats Miracle Whip ;)
First of all, is that a mullet you're sporting in that photo? E-ther way, nice pic of the two of you.
ReplyDeleteI say e-ther, may-uh-naze, pee-can, ant. But what about "coupon"? Is it coo-pon, or kew-pon? As in get some Duke's may-uh-naze, I bet there's a coo-pon.
But yes, embrace the differences. My husband's family says "umbrella" funny. I married him anyway.
Hey Abby, I had to go back and look at the picture, by golly it does look like a mullet, my hair was really long back then, but I've outgrown that now ha ha. I like that picture Melissa was just a teenager then and my beard wasn't gray.
DeleteI would be looking for a kew-pon for my Duke's man-aze ;)
Having lived all over the country--from the west well up into Yankeedom, I find myself saying it both ways. Also, as a southerner, I grew up eating mayonnaise on meat sandwiches and miracle whip on tomato sandwiches. That'll probably get me lynched, but then I also gave up sweet tea in high school and now four decades later think the sweet stuff is syrup. I should write about trying to ship my parents a case of Carolina Treat barbecue sauce when they lived in Japan!
ReplyDeleteHey Sage, you could probably get lynched for putting Miracle Whip on a tomato sandwich, I prefer mayo but won't hold your choice of MW against you, you have to eat what you like.
DeleteYes sweet tea is a big thing in the South, I remember when I was first diagnosed with diabetes Mom started making a jug of both sweet and unsweetened tea, on the unsweetened jug she marked "Jimmy's Tea", sweet tea is definitely syrupy sweet I agree with you there.
A post about you shipping the Carolina Treat barbecue sauce would be a great one to read, excellent idea Sage.
A really thought inspiring post about every day usage of words that seem simple enough. Pronunciation is a whole different matter it seems. Mayonnaise is great and tasty, yum.
ReplyDeleteGreat family photos, greetings!
Thank you Sir, there are so many words that are spelled the same but we pronounce differently, I think it interesting to see how everyone else thinks and pronounces words, also since our group here is from several countries terms would be an interesting subject to approach.
DeleteNobody is wrong in my opinion, it's fun to compare these differences with one another.
Looks like we pronounce things the same. I hate miracle whip. That's some nasty stuff. Best Foods or nothing in our house. It is interesting to see how people pronounce words. Hubby and I do almond differently. His is amond and mine is almond. He says the l is silent. The heck it is.
ReplyDeleteHave a fabulous day and weekend. ☺
I agree with you on Best Foods & almond!!
DeleteCindy actually buys Best Foods Mayo also, Cindy was buying Kraft for a while but the Best Foods is closer to the taste I like.
DeleteI say almond myself. How about Salmon, is the "L" silent in this word too? I pronounce it Salmon but others in the family here say Samon.
This story reminds me of how there are differences in how people pronounce pecans, and the Duke mayo had me actually laughing out loud because I can picture myself being there. I go up and down with mayo, but I definitely DON'T use miracle whip either. (lol) Happy Friday!
ReplyDeleteHey RO, you totally understand about the Duke's mayo I can see, yep if you had been there you would have fit right in ha ha.
DeleteI'm always interested to see how people pronounce different things. It's amazing how passionate some get about that.
ReplyDeleteHello Jen, yes some people can get really passionate about the way they speak or pronounce words, I'm sure you have seen this in the different places you and Kyle have lived.
DeleteA sweet photo of you and Melissa. This had me smiling all the way through. I have been asking for a glass of water for almost 42 years in restaurants, only to hear "Pardon me?" Husband always translates.
ReplyDeleteHey Denise, Thank you I have always liked that picture, I am happy you got a smile reading this.
DeleteAccents we grow up with stay with us, it's good to have a translator like Gregg.
Years ago, we transplanted to TN from MN. Daughter almost immediately took up the accent. A person would swear she had been brought up by the Kettles. I still want my Miracle Whip!
ReplyDeleteHey Sharon, isn't it funny how quickly the accent can be picked up, I have seen this happen more than once, one good thing is with the accent she fit right into Tennessee.
DeleteHA! This was so darn funny. The more times I read e-ther, eye-ther, nee-ther, and neye-ther. The more NONE of them look or sound correct. Having said that I think I might use all four of them. I'm not sure what that says about me.
ReplyDeleteI grew up on Miracle Whip, and I thought I really liked it. Right up until the first time I had mayonnaise (somewhere in my teens). I've never had Miracle Whip again. I even remember the exact circumstances. We used to cut up an onion into long skinny pieces, and dip it into Miracle Whip. We liked it just fine. One day my brother and I did it at my granny's house. Except, she did't have Miracle Whip, she had Mayo. I was sure I wouldn't like it, but, boy-o-boy, I LOVED it. I'm now an old man, and I still dip onion pieces into mayo.
Hey Pat, it's funny after I wrote the words out that way I had to think to pronounce them because they don't look right ha ha.
DeleteI have tried Miracle Whip on more than one occasion but just can't do it, like you I have enjoyed mayo too long to change now, I may have to dip some onion pieces into mayo just to give that a try.