How do you say "Pecan?"...

Although I spent the majority of my childhood south of the Mason Dixon line, I was born in Ohio and raised by two (wonderful) parents who had lived in Ohio and Michigan all of their lives. In a home with predominantly northern accents and verbiage, more of that "stuck" than the environment around me. I suppose if I had friends who picked on my more northern accent or words, I may have developed the middle Tennessee "drawl" more, but that wasn't the case.

Pronunciations and word selection, not to mention accents, are very different - not just in the north or south, but all of America. Take the word, Pecan…I have heard it said three different ways, my pronunciation of the word varies between two of these: Pick-AHN and Pee-KAHN…as my favorite pie, I will call it whatever the baker would like! The third is PEE- can. Apparently, Pee-KAHN is the nationwide dominant pronunciation. PEE-can is popular up the East Coast and New England. It is Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Oklahoma were the pick-AHN is used - this is odd, because neither of my parents or family are from these states, yet they use pick-AHN!

That brings me to my son's pronunciation of the word syrup. Almost the entire United States pronounces it as Sir-up. Only parts of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and New York areas use Sear-up. Despite the fact that no one in his immediate and extended family pronounce it that way, he says Sear-up. So why is that? And why do I say pecan differently? Who knows!

The reference of carbonated beverages also varies. A teacher of my son's did a FaceBook poll on what it is called and where the person was from. Over one hundred responses and all but two fit the "mold." The term "soda" is used in the Southwest, New England, FL, Georgia, the Carolinas, the Virginias, PA, and Missouri; "pop" in the north - coast to coast, minus New England; and "coke" in Southern Texas through Tennessee, with the states south of these. After we moved from Ohio to Tennessee, my dad once ordered a coke (assuming the brand - "Do you have coke?" "Yes," "Ok, I will have a coke."), but received a Pepsi. It was then that we learned that anything that is dark and carbonated is called a coke!

How do you express to someone that you would like to help relocate them from one position to another? Do you "take them to the store," "bring them to the store," or "carry them to the store?" Or how about working the lights - Do you "turn the lights on," "flip the lights on," or "cut the lights on?" The last of both of those was a North Carolina thing that we adjusted to, after moving there. You carry people to the store and you cut the lights on…odd - because you aren't physically carrying anything and cutting the lights usually goes with off, not on…anyway!

So - how do you say "Pecan?"