Pronunciation of "asphalt"

[westerninterloper]

Western Indiana here; ass-fault.

My folks are from around the Vincennes area, and several of them say "warsh". There seems to be an interesting line of that particular pronunciation from Baltimore west toward St. Louis. I always thought that "warsh" was something particular about the Hoosier Apex, but maybe it's more common to southern Midland speech.

[english si]

I've always said ass-fault. Would the British say arse-fault?

Ash-falt, though someone might say as-falt (or is that az-falt? certainly a hard-s). And the falt bit depends a little on accent - mine is probably actually felt (or even feld or fel, as I drop/glottal stop my 't's) - it's never the same as fault would be pronounced by that person.

And as it isn't 'ass' (a donkey), we wouldn't use 'arse' (a bottom, and we spell it that way and put an 'r' in - it's very definitely 'ar' rather than a broad 'a'), which have different etymologies anyway. And 'ass' uses short-a, even in Southern English English where -ass words (glass, grass, class) almost all use the broad-a (crass doesn't, and probably a couple of others) that northerners confuse with r-inserting*. Grass might sound a like 'grarse' if you heard me say it, but ass sounds like ass, not arse, though Americans use 'ass' for bottom with an 'a' that sounds similar to 'ar' in Southern English English, hence the confusion.

*the confusion is that bath and scarf almost rhyme (the difference is very small with both the vowel and the th/f sound (ɑːθ vs ɑ˞ð), and often is indistinguishable to even those attuned) thanks to the trap-bath split in Southern English English and the non-rhotic nature of the dialects too meaning that r-colouring vowels is almost nothing and therefore ɑ˞ is basically the same as ɑː. It's more that we barely pronounce the r in scarf than we put one in bath. And θ and ð have very little difference most of the time in most southern English dialects.

[Henry]

Ass-fault! DUH!!!

[jemacedo9]

There have been some radio commercials here in Rochester NY where it's been pronounced ash-fault...and I believe that in watching episodes of Holmes Makes It Right (based in Canada), I've heard ash-fault as well.

[Brandon]

I've always said ass-fault. Would the British say arse-fault?

Ash-falt, though someone might say as-falt (or is that az-falt? certainly a hard-s). And the falt bit depends a little on accent - mine is probably actually felt (or even feld or fel, as I drop/glottal stop my 't's) - it's never the same as fault would be pronounced by that person.

And as it isn't 'ass' (a donkey), we wouldn't use 'arse' (a bottom, and we spell it that way and put an 'r' in - it's very definitely 'ar' rather than a broad 'a'), which have different etymologies anyway. And 'ass' uses short-a, even in Southern English English where -ass words (glass, grass, class) almost all use the broad-a (crass doesn't, and probably a couple of others) that northerners confuse with r-inserting*. Grass might sound a like 'grarse' if you heard me say it, but ass sounds like ass, not arse, though Americans use 'ass' for bottom with an 'a' that sounds similar to 'ar' in Southern English English, hence the confusion.

*the confusion is that bath and scarf almost rhyme (the difference is very small with both the vowel and the th/f sound (ɑːθ vs ɑ˞ð), and often is indistinguishable to even those attuned) thanks to the trap-bath split in Southern English English and the non-rhotic nature of the dialects too meaning that r-colouring vowels is almost nothing and therefore ɑ˞ is basically the same as ɑː. It's more that we barely pronounce the r in scarf than we put one in bath. And θ and ð have very little difference most of the time in most southern English dialects.

"Crass" most certainly sounds like and rhymes with "grass", "glass", and "class".

How do "bath" and "scarf" almost rhyme?  One very distinctly has an "r" after the "a", but of course, I'm speaking from an Inland North (NCVS) point of view.

[english si]

"Crass" most certainly sounds like and rhymes with "grass", "glass", and "class".

Trap-bath split and inconsistent application of it to each ending.

How do "bath" and "scarf" almost rhyme?  One very distinctly has an "r" after the "a"

Indeed - hence why, for me, it's an almost. I R-color vowels that are followed by 'r'.

For southern English accents that don't R-color vowels, and are (like mine) non-rhotic (the further west, the more likely that the person pronounces 'r's more solidly and tuner and tuna sound different in more than just where the stress is), then it's a case of how they deal with th/f sounds as to whether its an exact rhyme or not, as the vowels would be the same. I have a distinction, but many don't.

[Brandon]

"Crass" most certainly sounds like and rhymes with "grass", "glass", and "class".

Trap-bath split and inconsistent application of it to each ending.

How do "bath" and "scarf" almost rhyme?  One very distinctly has an "r" after the "a"

Indeed - hence why, for me, it's an almost. I R-color vowels that are followed by 'r'.

For southern English accents that don't R-color vowels, and are (like mine) non-rhotic (the further west, the more likely that the person pronounces 'r's more solidly and tuner and tuna sound different in more than just where the stress is), then it's a case of how they deal with th/f sounds as to whether its an exact rhyme or not, as the vowels would be the same. I have a distinction, but many don't.

Quite interesting.  While for those who speak a non-rhotic variety, they would be almost, if not a rhyme.  Meanwhile, you'd think I'm saying "beeyth" and "scahrrrf".  What we perceive here (Great Lakes region) as "ass-fault" would sound to others as "eeyss-fahlt".  And we completely lack the trap-bath split.  But, due to the NCVS, you'd probably hear "greeyss", "gleeyss", "cleeyss", etc.

[lordsutch]

ass-fault here. British people would pronounce it "tar-mack."

[noelbotevera]

I've pronounced it asp-fault occasionally, but mostly I just say ass-fault.

[CNGL-Leudimin]

As it is written: as-fal-to. Problem is, I don't speak the same language.

[Brandon]

As it is written: as-fal-to. Problem is, I don't speak the same language.

The convenience of a language with an academy.  A bit of a primer of English accents and dialects:

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/UsefulNotes/AmericanAccents
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/UsefulNotes/BritishAccents
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/UsefulNotes/CanadianAccents
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/UsefulNotes/AustralianAccent

[lordsutch]

The convenience of a language with an academy.  A bit of a primer of English accents and dialects:

An academy doesn't necessarily help. Get an Argentinian, a Mexican, and two Spaniards from Madrid and Valencia in the same room and they'll pronounce the exact same Spanish words differently (although like most accented varieties of English, they'll get used to the differences fairly quickly).

[empirestate]

Those of you who answered "ash-fault", do you mean that's what you would typically say, or is that what you would consider to be correct when the word is being carefully pronounced? In other words, if you were giving a formal oration or in some other context where your speech was more precise than it is in casual conversation, would you still say "ash-fault" or would you shift to something more closely suggested by the spelling?

[7/8]

Those of you who answered "ash-fault", do you mean that's what you would typically say, or is that what you would consider to be correct when the word is being carefully pronounced? In other words, if you were giving a formal oration or in some other context where your speech was more precise than it is in casual conversation, would you still say "ash-fault" or would you shift to something more closely suggested by the spelling?

For me personally, I would still say "ash-fault" in formal speech because it's the common pronunciation where I live. Even my civil engineering professors (the ones born and raised in Canada) say "ash-fault".

[billtm]

OMG! This is the first time I've heard somebody say 'ash-fault'!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WAdTDKgDy5M
Skip to 1:58

[7/8]

OMG! This is the first time I've heard somebody say 'ash-fault'!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WAdTDKgDy5M
Skip to 1:58

Oh yeah, he's definitely Canadian! Did you hear his pronunciation of "out"? 

[billtm]

OMG! This is the first time I've heard somebody say 'ash-fault'!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WAdTDKgDy5M
Skip to 1:58

Oh yeah, he's definitely Canadian! Did you hear his pronunciation of "out"? 

Wow, I didn't notice that at first!

[Roadrunner75]

I haven't heard someone call it "ash-phalt" in years, and then as soon as this thread comes along, somebody comes to our office for a meeting this week and calls it exactly that.

[sparker]

Have some friends living in Bennington, VT; in a discussion about the construction work on VT 279, they referred to it as "AZ-FAULT".  That would be the only variation on the "ass-fault" pronunciation common here in CA that I've encountered so far.