Pee-can and Pee-khan
A friend told me he had a connection that he hoped would bring him a bunch of raw pecans from the South. He hoped he’d end up with enough, after shelling and roasting, to make as many as six pecan pies. (I so desired to ask him to give me one or part of one, but I held myself back.)
I’ve lived in several geographic areas in my life—the Midwest, upper Midwest and Cajun South. Each area has its own distinct pronunciation or word usage traits. For example, locals in New Orleans refer to grocery carts as buggies. In Wisconsin, locals call water fountains bubblers. There are unique words specific to the locality in every place we’ve lived.
Then there is pronunciation. For example, where I grew up, my parents' place had a crick (spelled creek) running through it. (I had a favorite spot where I would spend hours.) Even Kansas has its own unique pronunciation of the R-Kansas River (spelled Arkansas). These examples are easy because the different pronunciations are so unique.
Then there are the song words, as I call them. You know, words like potatoe/potato, tomatoe/tomato (there is a song with lyrics including these two words). But, the pronunciation of the word that messes with my mind the most is pecan. I remember when we moved to the South, the pronunciation was different than how I grew up saying it. The problem I have is that the different pronunciations are mainly centered on which syllable the emphasis is placed—Pee-can or Pee-khan. Honestly, I don’t remember anymore which pronunciation I grew up learning and which one I was exposed to in places I’ve lived.
“Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another. Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil. Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need. Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.” - Ephesians 4:25-32 ESV
“And he said, “What comes out of a person is what defiles him. For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.” - Mark 7:20-23
I’ve always tried to use the word usage and pronunciation of the locality where I’ve lived. I do this to assist in communicating with whoever I’m talking to. In my opinion, if I stubbornly pronounce the Arkansas River in the same way I pronounce the state, the person I’m talking to might stop listening and either ask for clarification or at least stop to process what I’m saying. I might lose the opportunity to communicate.
Having said this, I’ll admit I have unreasonable ticks in my communication as well. For example, I’ve never learned how to ask for a gyro correctly. I tend to revert to the toy pronunciation. I also begged the people I used to work with not to say things like twenty-fourteen (2014) because I knew twenty-twenty (2020) was around the corner. So much more I need to work on…
