Set the record straight, how do you say Tomato? This has caused many conflicts in my life. Lets settle this shit.

I say Tomaito, what you say?

11/2/2011 9:19:21 PM

mater

11/2/2011 9:20:19 PM

Shit. An unexpected option.

11/2/2011 9:21:33 PM

Tormato

11/2/2011 9:23:10 PM

ketchup

11/2/2011 9:25:32 PM

11/2/2011 9:25:34 PM

i never just say tomato, i always say "and no tomato please"

[Edited on November 2, 2011 at 9:26 PM. Reason : f]

11/2/2011 9:26:25 PM

i've never met anyone who actually pronounces it "tomahto"

[Edited on November 2, 2011 at 9:30 PM. Reason : typo]

11/2/2011 9:30:01 PM

I usually say, "Bring me your finest blood fruit dwarf!"

11/2/2011 9:31:48 PM

japanese people say to-mah-to

without the emphasis on "mah"

sick burn

11/2/2011 9:33:06 PM

all I know is thank god they exist... otherwise we wouldnt have BBQ sauce right!?

11/2/2011 9:40:26 PM

You say tomato, I say another stupid ass merbig thread

11/2/2011 9:42:49 PM

^^ Well yeah. Can you make BBQ Sauce any other way?

And why can you people never reach a fucking consensus?

11/2/2011 10:00:30 PM

of course not

11/2/2011 10:00:58 PM

eastern>western

11/2/2011 10:07:17 PM

I thought this whole thing related to how Americans talk and British talk

11/2/2011 10:08:43 PM

vinegar is used for cleaning and douches

11/2/2011 10:09:03 PM

mayters

Lets throw this one out there as well. pee-can or pea-con

I'm from the south. I saw pee-can.

11/2/2011 10:13:28 PM

tuh-mae-da

11/3/2011 12:02:30 AM

The way the Brits and Aussies say it (tuh-MAH-toh) is closer to the etymology (Spanish tomate, from Nahuatl tomatl), while the pronunciation where I grew up and in the Northeast and West Coast is "tuh-MEY-toh"; also in the South it's "tuh-MEY-tuh" and in Canada it's either the New England pronunciation or "tuh-MA-toh"

As for "potato" the only real regional difference is in the long "o" sound, which happens in most uses: American English uses the Spanish "o" sound followed by the "w" sound, while British English uses the schwa followed by the "w" sound. The pronunciation "puh-TAH-toh" is nonstandard wherever you go; also the etymology is a bit different, from Spanish patata, from Taino batata.

(BTW, there's also a noticeable difference in rhoticization, so that in pronouncing "her," speakers on each side of the Atlantic use a vowel that people on the other side do not use; a similar issue explains why hearing a native Bostonian talk about Harvard Yard sounds so funny.)

11/3/2011 12:48:32 AM

^sounds about right.

I really do enjoy linguistics... for some strange reason

11/3/2011 9:10:08 AM

Tomaito

11/3/2011 9:17:24 AM

Tuh-MAY-toe

Puh-KAHN

11/3/2011 9:23:07 AM

to-may-to

pee-can

11/3/2011 9:30:21 AM