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It seems whenever orange is spoken, it is spoken as one syllable. But it appears to be two.

The Merriam-Webster online dictionary transcribes the pronunciation of orange as follows:

\ˈär-inj, ˈär(-ə)nj; chiefly Northern & Midland ˈȯr-inj, ˈȯr(-ə)nj\

So, does this mean it could it be either? If so, I am interested in knowing if any regional varieties of English have been established to pronounce orange one way or the other, and if so which regions and how do they pronounce it.

Being from central Alabama and having family in central Illinois, I almost exclusively hear "arnj" (IL) and "ornj" (AL). I have heard some people in AL pronounce it "orenj", but they say it quickly so it comes off as "ornj".

Arm the good guys in America
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Frank
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    (BTW, I didn't downvote you. Not that I wouldn't, I just didn't. I think your question could be rescued by asking specifically if any regional varieties of English have been established to pronounce it one way or the other, and if so which. Make it more broader and more interesting to a linguistic audience.) – Dan Bron Mar 01 '16 at 22:12
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    or-ange - two syllables where I speak it. – Simon B Mar 01 '16 at 22:23
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    It is difficult for a word containing as many distinct sounds as "orange" to be considered a single syllable. What you're sensing is the lack of distinct "breaks" in the word (usually sensed as fairly noticeable tongue movements), but such breaks are not the only determiner of syllable boundaries. – Hot Licks Mar 01 '16 at 22:56
  • Dan Bron, your second comment was helpful. Sorry I was assuming people would be able use some intuition with this question. Simon B, where are you from? – Frank Mar 01 '16 at 22:57
  • @Frank Cool, I'm looking forward to the answers to this question now! +1. – Dan Bron Mar 01 '16 at 23:01
  • Of course, the bigger question is what rhymes with "orange". – Hot Licks Mar 01 '16 at 23:01
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    This whole forum is about the vagaries and variations of language; it is the last place you should make assumptions about intuition (which is another way of asking others to read your mind). Even when I can guess, I often ask for clarification because I don't want to impose my context and assumptions (and I am a native English speaker) – Richard Haven Mar 01 '16 at 23:02
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    @HotLicks Blorange. Also I can't even imagine how to pronounce orange as one syllable. :P – John Clifford Mar 01 '16 at 23:31
  • @JohnClifford - I'm certain I've heard the word pronounced, roughly, "urnj" on several occasions, but the speakers were not exactly folks that Funk and Wagnalls (much less Oxford) would use for reference. – Hot Licks Mar 01 '16 at 23:35
  • My quick examination of some "dialect survey" sites did not answer this. They do not seem to use "orange" as one of their tests. The only mention of "orange" I found there was "Orange County" (which may have a dialect all its own?). Interestingly http://www4.uwm.edu/FLL/linguistics/dialect/staticmaps/q_22.html did have "poem" classified as one or two syllables. – GEdgar Mar 02 '16 at 00:55
  • You should say where you come from, or which region/s you hear this, because I've never heard anyone say "orange" as a single syllable – Mari-Lou A Mar 02 '16 at 05:57
  • @DanBron This is a sensible and interesting phonetics question. It deserves to be reopened. I don't really see how any research is going to help it. Any chance of retracting your close vote? – Araucaria - Him Mar 04 '16 at 14:14
  • Hi Frank. Welcome to EL&U. Where do you live btw? – Araucaria - Him Mar 04 '16 at 14:15
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    @Araucaria I'm ok to reopen it, as Frank did what I suggested: edited his question to ask for a detailed response which compares pronunciations of regional varieties of English. In this form, it is a legitimate question. But I always want to see evidence that the OP has done first-pass research first, and for syllabication, that means checking a dictionary. The question in its original form was wanting, precisely because it was lacking any evidence of personal research. – Dan Bron Mar 04 '16 at 14:16
  • I live in the Pacific Northwest. I hear both the two syllable version and a monosyllabic sounding vocalization like 'ornj' or maybe 'ornch' (it seems to be mostly a spoken discrepancy). – Jesse M Mar 13 '16 at 21:18
  • @Frank from South East UK. My pronunciation would be more like "orinj". – Simon B Mar 14 '16 at 00:42
  • 3: or ran j like tomato toe may toe – lbf May 03 '18 at 22:07

2 Answers2

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To judge from the dialect that Andy Griffith uses when he says "big orange drink" (at roughly 0:35, 0:48, 3:03 of the video) in his comedy piece "What It Was Was Football," at least some people in rural northwestern North Carolina pronounce orange as a single drawled syllable that resembles "arnj." Griffith was from Mount Airy, North Carolina, close to the border with Virginia.

In southeast Texas and central California, I've heard some people pronounce orange as if it were spelled "ornj." But I've also heard many people in both places pronounce the word as two syllables ("orenj")and in Maryland and New York I've heard a different two-syllable pronunciation (akin to "arenj"). The upshot of all this is that pronunciations of orange vary considerably in the United States. Merriam-Webster's online dictionary, for example, lists four principal pronunciations:

or·ange \ˈär-inj, ˈär(-ə)nj; chiefly Northern & Midland ˈȯr-inj, ˈȯr(-ə)nj\

If you've never heard the two-syllable ˈȯr(-ə)nj pronunciation in the wild, you can click the audio button on that page to hear it loud and clear.

Sven Yargs
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  • In parts of New York, I've heard something akin to "ointch." – Rob_Ster Mar 02 '16 at 01:06
  • @Rob-Ster: I lived in Staten Island for a couple of years, so I was exposed to the Big-Apple-by-way-of-Jersey-Shore pronunciation. But orange is such an oddball word anyway that I would not be surprised to learn that there are a dozen or more local and regional pronunciations in the U.S. alone. Even so, "ointch" is truly an impressive way to say it. – Sven Yargs Mar 02 '16 at 03:01
  • @SvenYargs: I edited the original post to add a dictionary entry, without realizing that you had already cited it here. I'm sorry if it makes it look like you're repeating things! – herisson Mar 04 '16 at 16:12
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    Of course, it must be noted that Andy Griffith spent a lifetime perfecting and embellishing his Smokey Mountain accent. It's really a potpourri of real and invented pronunciations only vaguely representative of a specific region. – Hot Licks Mar 04 '16 at 19:47
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Say it. Does your jaw open twice, or does it open once? When I say it, even pronouncing it or-ange, my jaw lowers once while my mouth widens to pronounce the last part of the word. Almost as if I were mimicking a fish. Say orange, then say button. Button hits twice, orange once. The separation helps with initial pronunciation, but after that it feels like it would be one. I'd ask about the definition of 'jerk', but I think some of these answers have already covered that.

SheThatIsMe
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