Married guys can relate. There is always something that a married couple argues about continuously. My wife and I are no exception. We'll be 80 years old and still debating this issue. And it is so trivial, it's hardly worth the time and energy that we waste discussing it at least weekly.

So. How do you say the word 'caramel'?

Spelling it phonetically, I say:

car - muhl

My wife insists that it is (again phonetically):

care - ah - mel

She is very careful to pronounce every single letter in the word - hence the extra "ah" sound that she adds.

It's sorta funny because my mother-in-law agrees with me. So we gang up on my wife on the issue. I say that 'car' cannot possibly be pronounced as the word 'care', rather as 'car', a thing you drive.

Perhaps both right?

Car-ah-mel?

Just like Tomato or Potatoe.Different saying for both words.

Sorry Beck, I'm with your wife on this one. You lose in my mind!

Well, I'll tell ya Beck. Being a married guy myself. I think that this is a great opportunity for you, since this is so trivial, TO YOU, that you should just give in and tell her she's absolutely right. I think you would prolly get extra bonus points from wifey poo considering the fact that momma and law is on the same side as you. Basically, use the psychological ju-jitsu on her.

I'm way too stubborn for that.

Besides - it's not me that calls her out - she calls me out and laughs at me when I say "car-muhl". I would just let it be, but I'm the one who is abused here.

Webster says you are both correct.

Caramel

2 or 3 syllables is acceptable.

Is you wife from the North? Southerners never say 3 syllables on this one. Odd, but true. Most of the time, we attempt to stretch one syllable into two, or three. : )

Just call it CARMEL as we do - easier

PS.

Your version BECK sounds hella better then your wife's.

Both of us are from Colorado. My wife's paternal side is from Texas, but she doesn't speak with a southern accent or anything (unlike her Dad). So theoricially, we have the same "dialect" or accent.

I'm with you Beck. Your wife and Quizzle are crazy. Only two syllables here.

sum1else out.

Wikipedia just adds to the confusion by listing not 2, but 3 pronounciations:

WikiPedia wrote: › Caramel (/ˈkærəmɛl/ and /ˈkɑrməl/ and /ˈkɑrəmɛl/)

But according to Webster's unabridged which I trust a bit more, you're both right:



I think the difference lies in excactly what you said: Your wife's family is from Texas which is not the midwest.

-P9

EDIT: DAMMIT Nerv, that's twice in half an hour I post before reading everything .... Sorry

family pronounciation duh...

I agree with you though beck. 2 syllables...

Its a freaking word... lol


I dont know i just say car-mel?

Carmel is a town near where I live. Car-a-mel is how you say the candy thing.

This thread should have included a vote. Is it too late to add?

I use the 3 syllable version. I happened to use this word once tonight already, describing to a friend that the "Ah Caramel" things are disgusting. Three syllables.

Quizzle wrote (View Post): › Sorry Beck, I'm with your wife on this one.

^^