Do you have the cot–caught merger?

[Progressive Pessimist]

I don't pronounce these two the same, but weirdly in spite of that I do pronounce the "aw" sound in "caught" and "coffee" pretty similarly. So it's not really that simple.

[RINO Tom]

I'm pretty damn close to pronouncing them the same (Illinoisan), but there is a very subtle difference.

[Lechasseur]

I don't pronounce these two the same, but weirdly in spite of that I do pronounce the "aw" sound in "caught" and "coffee" pretty similarly. So it's not really that simple.

Well isn't that normal? I pronounce the au in caught as "aw" and the o in coffee as "aw" as well.

How else are they to be pronounced? Caht and cahfee?

[Progressive Pessimist]

I don't pronounce these two the same, but weirdly in spite of that I do pronounce the "aw" sound in "caught" and "coffee" pretty similarly. So it's not really that simple.

Well isn't that normal? I pronounce the au in caught as "aw" and the o in coffee as "aw" as well.

How else are they to be pronounced? Caht and cahfee?

The "aw" sound is a little more exaggerated and drawn out by some of us in the New York area. Have you ever heard of the 'Saturday Night Live' sketch "Coffee Talk?" That sketch largely involves making fun of thick New York accents.

[Mr. Smith]

I don't pronounce these two the same, but weirdly in spite of that I do pronounce the "aw" sound in "caught" and "coffee" pretty similarly. So it's not really that simple.

Well isn't that normal? I pronounce the au in caught as "aw" and the o in coffee as "aw" as well.

How else are they to be pronounced? Caht and cahfee?

Here's an example:

Cathy went camping with a friend, and his friend had a caht. If they went fishing, I dunno what they cawt.

[Esteemed Jimmy]

I pronounce them the same.

[Hope For A New Era]

Yes, they are the same. I discovered this a few years ago and was baffled - I could not imagine any way they could possibly be pronounced differently.

[Gracile]

No, I pronounce them differently.

[Antonio the Sixth]

Same vowel for me, but the one in "caught" is longer.

[100% pro-life no matter what]

No, but I do have the pin-pen merger.  I also don't have the sure-shore merger.

[Lechasseur]

No, but I do have the pin-pen merger.  I also don't have the sure-shore merger.

I have neither of those mergers

Seems like I merge nothing lol

[Kyng]

No (practically nobody here in the UK has it).

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

No, but I do have the pin-pen merger.  I also don't have the sure-shore merger.

I have neither of those mergers

Seems like I merge nothing lol

So you're one of those drivers who has trouble with interstate-style highways?

You have to be able to merge to get on to them.

[𝕭𝖆𝖕𝖙𝖎𝖘𝖙𝖆 𝕸𝖎𝖓𝖔𝖑𝖆]

In theory, I have learned how to pronounce English basing mostly on RP, so hell no.
But since I don't have to speak English for a living and I don't record myself when speaking, maybe sometimes I have it (the "cot" vowel doesn't exist in Italian, the "caught" one does, so it's easy to inadvertently merge the two).

[Lechasseur]

In theory, I have learned how to pronounce English basing mostly on RP, so hell no.
But since I don't have to speak English for a living and I don't record myself when speaking, maybe sometimes I have it (the "cot" vowel doesn't exist in Italian, the "caught" one does, so it's easy to inadvertently merge the two).

Well isn't the "o" in cot pronounced like "a" in other languages?

At anyrate I pronounce it as "ah"

[𝕭𝖆𝖕𝖙𝖎𝖘𝖙𝖆 𝕸𝖎𝖓𝖔𝖑𝖆]

In theory, I have learned how to pronounce English basing mostly on RP, so hell no.
But since I don't have to speak English for a living and I don't record myself when speaking, maybe sometimes I have it (the "cot" vowel doesn't exist in Italian, the "caught" one does, so it's easy to inadvertently merge the two).

Well isn't the "o" in cot pronounced like "a" in other languages?

At anyrate I pronounce it as "ah"

I don't exactly understand what you mean.

But:
The /ɒ/ of cot is in my perception like halfway between an A and an O.
The /ɔ/ of caught is just the open O of Italian. Like in cosa, rosa, toro (first O) etc.

[Lechasseur]

In theory, I have learned how to pronounce English basing mostly on RP, so hell no.
But since I don't have to speak English for a living and I don't record myself when speaking, maybe sometimes I have it (the "cot" vowel doesn't exist in Italian, the "caught" one does, so it's easy to inadvertently merge the two).

Well isn't the "o" in cot pronounced like "a" in other languages?

At anyrate I pronounce it as "ah"

I don't exactly understand what you mean.

But:
The /ɒ/ of cot is in my perception like halfway between an A and an O.
The /ɔ/ of caught is just the open O of Italian. Like in cosa, rosa, toro (first O) etc.

In UK English that's correct

But in American English there's the father-bother merger so the "o" in cot is pronounced like the "a" in father

[𝕭𝖆𝖕𝖙𝖎𝖘𝖙𝖆 𝕸𝖎𝖓𝖔𝖑𝖆]

In theory, I have learned how to pronounce English basing mostly on RP, so hell no.
But since I don't have to speak English for a living and I don't record myself when speaking, maybe sometimes I have it (the "cot" vowel doesn't exist in Italian, the "caught" one does, so it's easy to inadvertently merge the two).

Well isn't the "o" in cot pronounced like "a" in other languages?

At anyrate I pronounce it as "ah"

I don't exactly understand what you mean.

But:
The /ɒ/ of cot is in my perception like halfway between an A and an O.
The /ɔ/ of caught is just the open O of Italian. Like in cosa, rosa, toro (first O) etc.

In UK English that's correct

But in American English there's the father-bother merger so the "o" in cot is pronounced like the "a" in father

Ah yes I understand, I know that.
But I don't have the father-bother merger either.

[KoopaDaQuick 🇵🇸]

Dang, never expected the results to be literally tied.

[SevenEleven]

Those three extra letters aren't there just to make spelling more difficult ..

[Cokeland Saxton]

No

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

Those three extra letters aren't there just to make spelling more difficult ..

Only two are.  If English had some mechanism to reform spelling, "caught" would be "caut".

[Lechasseur]

Those three extra letters aren't there just to make spelling more difficult ..

Only two are.  If English had some mechanism to reform spelling, "caught" would be "caut".

The "gh" was pronouned back in the day and was pronounced like the German "ch".

English spelling simply hasn't evolved much since the Renaissance (our spelling essentially corresponds to the pronounciation of the Tudor era due to the introduction of the printing press in England leading to a more or less standardization of English spelling).

That being said, I like English spelling.

[Lechasseur]

Those three extra letters aren't there just to make spelling more difficult ..

And yeah agreed

[Alcibiades]

No (practically nobody here in the UK has it).