(no subject)

[doyle]

Just a heads-up - anybody doing that American English meme, could you put it behind a cut-tag? It's screwing up my layout...

ETA: trying to take it myself, and this question -

16. The second syllable in pajamas sounds like:

The A in jam
The A in father

*weeps* Those two sounds are identical in my accent! How do I pick?!

Comments

[bailunrui.livejournal.com]

In America, "a in jam" is a hard-ish a where the jaw isn't dropped and instead the lips are spread to the sides of the mouth. Like saying "a.m.". It's almost like saying j-a.m., but quicker. ;-) That's the best way that I can think to explain it.

[owl]

Like jaym? How do you say gem, then?

[bailunrui.livejournal.com]

Gem has a more gutteral vowel sound.

[bailunrui.livejournal.com]

Phonetically, it's along the lines of g-eh-m, only it's one syllable and not three. :)

[moireach.livejournal.com]

Hee, I'm American and that's not at all how I say it! I think you mean you draw it out to almost two syllables, right? That's very Southern. ;) I say it to rhyme with "damn," a short a, a la "cat".

[bailunrui.livejournal.com]

No - I say it with one syllable. ;-) Maryland isn't that Southern. I never thought to explain it that way - rhyming with "damn". That makes more sense.