Syrup

[Geist]

A friend of mine and I conducted an informal survey at school about this the other day. So, here's the question for Unilang: How do you pronounce "syrup"? Are you a native English speaker? Where are you from? Does your current pronunciation of the word reflect the way you were taught to pronounce it in your youth, or is it an adopted pronunciation?

I'm a native speaker; I've grown up in the northeast US, and I (like my parents and their parents), pronounce "syrup" as if its first syllable rhymes with "see".

I'm sorry I can't describe the sound relationships better - that area of linguistics is not (yet) my speciality.

[Psi-Lord]

I'm not a native speaker (my first language is Portuguese), and I wouldn't really know when or how I was taught the pronunciation of syrup. I pronounce it with a short i, like the i in sick, sin or sit.

[Nukalurk]

I'm not a native speaker but I pronounce it "see.."; so nearly like in German where it's "zee...".

[Car]

I was never taught it, but I'd pronounce it as "see".

[dorenda]

I'm a native speaker of Dutch and I have no idea where I was taught how to pronounce this word (if I ever was). I pronounce it like Psi-Lord, so with a short i.

[Le Serpent Rouge]

I say “sir”, just an influence of where I grew up. I don’t know anyone who says “see”.

[Mark W]

I always say syrup with the "see" pronunciation, though I've heard both. I've also heard differing pronunciations when people say "zero".

[JackFrost]

How do you pronounce "syrup"? Are you a native English speaker? Where are you from? Does your current pronunciation of the word reflect the way you were taught to pronounce it in your youth, or is it an adopted pronunciation?[/size]

"Sir-up"

Yes I'm a native speaker from the northeastern US. Yes it reflects how I was taught in my youth.

Funny, I never heard anyone saying it as "see-rup"

[Stan]

I pronounce it as "sir-up".

[alois]

I'm not a native speaker either, but I would pronounce it like "sir-up".

[reflexsilver86]

I say it closer to "seerup" It's definitely not anywhere near "surrup"

I'm from Long Island, but then I no longer have a New York accent so I'm not indicative... however we still pronounced it like that there.

[bluechiron]

I'm from the South where we say sear-up; in the Midwest it's sir-up

[Kirk]

A friend of mine and I conducted an informal survey at school about this the other day. So, here's the question for Unilang: How do you pronounce "syrup"? Are you a native English speaker? Where are you from? Does your current pronunciation of the word reflect the way you were taught to pronounce it in your youth, or is it an adopted pronunciation?

I'm a native speaker; I've grown up in the northeast US, and I (like my parents and their parents), pronounce "syrup" as if its first syllable rhymes with "see".

I'm sorry I can't describe the sound relationships better - that area of linguistics is not (yet) my speciality.

I'm a native speaker from California and say the first vowel in "syrup" with the same vowel in "sir" or "fur" so I say [ˈs3˞əp] for those familiar with IPA. I grew up saying it this way (both of my parents are California natives and say [ˈs3˞əp]) and that's how I hear the vast majority of people here pronounce it, but I have heard it to rhyme with "cheer up." I've never considered changing my pronunciation of it, tho, as I'm quite content with [ˈs3˞əp].

[Moonshadow]

I'm a native speaker, originally from the Midwest (Cincinnati, Ohio), and I've always said "seerup". I think the first time I ever heard "sirrup" was on TV, because everybody I remember speaking to personally said "seerup" as well.

[linglover]

Well I'm from north carolina, born and raised, and I pronounce it "sir-up." or more accurately - "sirp"

[Stan]

sir-up seems to be more common (I use it as well). It's like that old saying "you say poh-tay-toh, I say poh-tah-toh, you say toh-may-toh, I say toh-mah-toh."

There are all sorts of these words with differences in pronunciation, that vary from place to place. Some people (especially TV new journalists) will pronounce the -stan in Uzbekistan as "stahn".

[JackFrost]

Tomayto,potayto. Very common here.

Tomahto, potahto...are very Southern to me.

[Stan]

Tomayto,potayto. Very common here.

Tomahto, potahto...are very Southern to me.

Actually, you will never hear "tomahto" around here. I think it's more of a British thing.

[Geist]

Some people (especially TV new journalists) will pronounce the -stan in Uzbekistan as "stahn".

As opposed to what?

There doesn't seem to be any geographic pattern regarding the pronunciation of "syrup" - it really does differ from individual to individual.

[Kirk]

Some people (especially TV new journalists) will pronounce the -stan in Uzbekistan as "stahn".

As opposed to what?

I would guess as opposed to having "-stan" rhyme with "can." So, in IPA [stæn] as compared to [stɑn].

There doesn't seem to be any geographic pattern regarding the pronunciation of "syrup" - it really does differ from individual to individual.

Right. It doesn't to be as regional a difference as some words or pronunciations, but I would imagine region still plays some role in many cases. I almost always hear "sir"-up [ˈs3˞əp] here in California, but a few people do say "sear"-up [ˈsɪɹəp].