Posted on 12/20/2017 1:07:03 PM PST by Red Badger
See this nut? We’ve posted about how pecans are grown, their nutritional benefits and our favorite pecan recipes, but we’ve never really discussed a popular topic of debate: Are they pee-KAHNs, pee-CANs, PEE-cans, pick-AHNs or some other pronunciation? How do YOU say pecan?
====================================================================================================================
Turns out, it depends on where you’re from. Joshua Katz, a doctoral student studying statistics at NC State University, recently created interactive dialect maps using data from Bert Vaux at the University of Cambridge. For example, check out the map showing how people pronounce “pecan”:
===================================================================================================================
It shows that pee-KAHN is dominant nationwide, but in areas of Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana and Mississippi, pick-AHN reigns supreme. PEE-can is popular on the East Coast and in New England, while folks from Wisconsin, northern Minnesota and Michigan’s Upper Peninsula go with PEE-kahn.
The linguistics department at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee just also shared a pecan pronunciation map that gives another option – where people may say pee-KAHN by itself, but then say PEE-can when using a compound word, like pecan pie.
We found this research fascinating, so we’ve compiled a few of these dialect maps related to food. We had no idea that some people never refer to coleslaw as simply “slaw,” if other people also use “caramel” and “carmel” interchangeably, or if there really is a difference between frosting and icing. We did, however, know that The Great Soda/Pop/Coke/Soft Drink Debate will never be resolved.
Take a look at these maps, and learn if you pronounce mayonnaise like the masses, which syllable gets the emphasis in Thanksgiving, or if you’re the odd one out who says something not even provided as an option. Then, leave us a comment to let us know how you say pecan. (For the record, my parents are from Texas and Oklahoma, so I stand firmly with pick-AHN.)
pah-KHAN
I say “pecan”.
Does that help?
Ahn
Pee-Can is what grandpa keeps under the bed at night because he can’t make it to the bathroom in time!
I was born in Alabama. My relatives and I all say puh-KAHN. I have lived in Texas for 48 years. Everybody I know here likewise says puh-KAHN.
Thanks for playing the game. You get a free copy of our home edition and a year’s supply of Rice-A-Roni, the San Francisco treat..........................................
Same experience (except that my parents are the ones born in Alabama). That map is severely flawed. Puh-kahn.
Once I got into a discussion on exactly this subject. There were 6 of us college age kids sitting around a bunch of food warmers we were cleaning.
Every single person had a slightly different pronunciation. The only one who said pee-CAN with an emphasis on the second syllable was a little cutie from SE, Georgia.
It’s a Native American Indian word, so we might ask Elizabeth ‘Fauxcahontas’ Warren...................
That’s where my wife and her folks are from..................
There are a dozen pecan trees in my yard. This year they produced only a handful of pecans. Last year even less.
Maybe next year.
When I was growing up and the family went from NJ down to South Carolina, and we stopped in NC at a roadside stand. Upon seeing a particularly nice pie that we wanted to buy (unmarked as to contents), my mother asked if it was made with PEE-cans.
She was told that “the PEE-cans were in the back near the shed, and that polite folks mostly use the facilities. However, if y’all are interested in buying this here pe-KAHN pah, we’ll gladly sell it to you.”
Well, now I say pe-KAHN, even though I still say things like “yous guys” and “youts.”
PEE-CAN here in MA .
We also pronounce “route” as ROOT.
.
Should they not be trimmed every so often to encourage new growth like we do citrus trees? They quit making and we have to trim them back drastically to spur new growth.....................
I also proudly say Pee-CAN, as it is shown for my region. Unlike some of my relatives who’ve moved out of state and have been intimidated into changing to pee-cahn, I refuse to change. It wouldn’t come out of my mouth any other way!
PEE-CAN is a rusty metal bucket out behind the barn! LOL
I don’t actually know. I have never trimmed them and they sometimes produce huge amounts.
Now I have a plum tree in back which has developed some kind of scale on the bark. It is always peeling and hard. No plums in several years. I wonder if there is anything I can do?
Anyone.
People who do not live where pah-kauns are grown don’t know what they are talking about.
We have a national pie whisperer who knows
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.