The "ea" sound - when to use which?

[Blind_Justice]

As most of you might know by now, I'm not an English native speaker. As such, things which might be no-brainers or second nature to the Brits, Yanks or Aussies out there sometimes give me a bit of a headache.

This time, it's the word "wheat" which opened up a whole can of worms for me.

One would think that the "ea" sound is a rather cut-and-dry affair. There are enough words around which use it, like "fear", "hear", "near", "feat" or "teal".

BUT:

"Bear", although written very similar, is generally spoken differently, as is "pear" or "shears".

Where does "wheat" belong to? Is the generally accepted pronounciation more like "weed" or like "bear"?

And the all important question which will drive you guys nuts: WHY? Is there a rule of thumb when to use which? Is it regional? I wanna know and level up my English skill!

Thanks for any and all input!

 

[mynameisben]

As most of you might know by now, I'm not an English native speaker. As such, things which might be no-brainers or second nature to the Brits, Yanks or Aussies out there sometimes give me a bit of a headache.

This time, it's the word "wheat" which opened up a whole can of worms for me.

One would think that the "ea" sound is a rather cut-and-dry affair. There are enough words around which use it, like "fear", "hear", "near", "feat" or "teal".

BUT:

"Bear", although written very similar, is generally spoken differently, as is "pear" or "shears".

Where does "wheat" belong to? Is the generally accepted pronounciation more like "weed" or like "bear"?

And the all important question which will drive you guys nuts: WHY? Is there a rule of thumb when to use which? Is it regional? I wanna know and level up my English skill!

Thanks for any and all input!

"Wheat" is pronounced like "eat" and like "weed". At least, that's the way it's pronounced in the western part of the US. Pronunciation may vary in different parts of the US, and I can't say at all how it may be pronounced in the UK or in Australia.

Why, you ask? There is no rhyme or reason. That's just the whimsical, brutal reality of the English language.


Ben

 

[Bramblethorn]

"Wheat" is pronounced like "eat" and like "weed". At least, that's the way it's pronounced in the western part of the US. Pronunciation may vary in different parts of the US, and I can't say at all how it may be pronounced in the UK or in Australia.

Same in Australia.

Just to complicate things further, there are at least three other "ea" sounds in English:

Short e: "bread", "head", "wealth", etc. etc.
Short i: "bream" (the fish) - apparently some places do use a long e instead, though I haven't encountered those. Not sure if there are any other examples here.
"ay" sound: "great", "break", "steak".

The discrepancies seem to be due to the Great Vowel Shift: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Vowel_Shift

 

[Handley_Page]

The snag is that a great many of our English words came from a foreign language;
examples include old Danish, Latin, & Norman French, with a smattering of Gaelic & Pictish.
There will, therefore, be a few words which don't make much sense.

Wheat is pronounced with a EE sound.

Good Luck.

 

[yowser]

All good advice, English is a frightful mongrel language to learn.

In this case wheat has ancient Old English roots: hwǽte, the oldest usage of it before 1000CE.

 

[KeithD]

All good advice, English is a frightful mongrel language to learn.

In this case wheat has ancient Old English roots: hwǽte, the oldest usage of it before 1000CE.

This. English words are derived from so many different languages that there sometimes are more exceptions to the rules on issues like this than words that follow the "rules."

 

[Blind_Justice]

I learned Latin alongside English and a handful of programming languages as well. That's why I tend to look for rules or structure first when tackling language-related issues. It's a bit frustrating when it boils down to "learning the exceptions". At least I don't have to deal with French. According to my lady love, that language is basically more exceptions than rules.

Thanks for the help. Usually I spend more time reading and writing English than actually speaking it, but since I'm trying my hand at song lyrics, I'm trying to get my spoken English into a passable shape.

 

[AlphaLyon]

"The problem with defending the purity of the English language is that English is about as pure as a cribhouse whore. We don’t just borrow words; on occasion, English has pursued other languages down alleyways to beat them unconscious and rifle their pockets for new vocabulary."
--James D. Nicoll

 

[Voboy]

I married into a family of Rhode Islanders.

When they speak, the following words all sound identical:

bear
beer
bare
bier

So, to them, "bear" is pronounced BEER. But "wheat" is not pronounced WAITE. It's quite queer.

Or quare.

 

[Kumquatqueen]

Same in Australia.

Just to complicate things further, there are at least three other "ea" sounds in English:

Short e: "bread", "head", "wealth", etc. etc.
Short i: "bream" (the fish) - apparently some places do use a long e instead, though I haven't encountered those. Not sure if there are any other examples here.

Sorry, are you saying that Australians say 'brim' when describing the bream fish?

I've never heard that - I've eaten a fair few in UK restaurants but it's always had a long E. Some accents pronounce long Es quite short, but that word isnt unusual IME.

You've also got sounding like ay - 'yea' as in the Bible or hymns is pronounced 'yay'. Though I hear kids online are now using it to mean 'yeah' and saying it like that (so another EA sound...)

 

[Zeb_Carter]

There was someone... I forget his name now... that did a thing on English word that didn't make sense. Things like comb and bike, etc.

It was the guy who smashed watermelons. His name is at the tip of my brain.

 

[Bramblethorn]

Sorry, are you saying that Australians say 'brim' when describing the bream fish?

Yep. See first pronunciation here: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bream

 

[mynameisben]

There was someone... I forget his name now... that did a thing on English word that didn't make sense. Things like comb and bike, etc.

It was the guy who smashed watermelons. His name is at the tip of my brain.

Gallagher was a guy who smashed watermelons. Is he at the tip of your brain?


Ben

 

[HappySpouse]

There is a reason that our spelling bee champions always ask for the country of origin.

 

[SimonDoom]

I've got another one to throw into the confusing mix.

"Ah" as in "Sean," the name that sounds the same as Shawn or Shaun. Sean Connery.

Sean breaks bread and sears bream.

 

[Kumquatqueen]

"Ah" as in "Sean," the name that sounds the same as Shawn or Shaun. Sean Connery.

Sean breaks bread and sears bream.

Do Americans also call the bream fish 'brim'? (caveat that US vowels are hugely varied...)

The name Sean is Irish not English so we have to let it off, though technically the Irish name is Seán and the fada on the a makes all the difference (makes a long not short a)

Though I imagine like many Brits, Sean Connery didn't worry about Irish spelling when adopting the name.
"Take a simple example of Seán and "sean". With the fada, it's one of the most common names in Ireland. Without the fada, it's the Irish word for "old".

 

[SimonDoom]

Do Americans also call the bream fish 'brim'? (caveat that US vowels are hugely varied...)

The name Sean is Irish not English so we have to let it off, though technically the Irish name is Seán and the fada on the a makes all the difference (makes a long not short a)
.

I have no idea how Americans pronounce "bream." I've never eaten it, caught it, or thought about it. I'm an American who's lived to this point blissfully unaware of how to pronounce it.

To the English, "Sean" may be Irish (although Connery is Scottish), but to an American, it's just another American name. Here you'll find Sean Cohens and Sean Wolfgangs and Sean Amirs and Sean Smiths. And here there's no nuanced pronunciation, it's just a simple, flat one-syllable "Shawn" (broadcaster American, anyway).

 

[Handley_Page]

I have no idea how Americans pronounce "bream." I've never eaten it, caught it, or thought about it. I'm an American who's lived to this point blissfully unaware of how to pronounce it.

.

Bream is not a fish caught for food, as a regular thing.
It requires a long soak in salt-water to rid it of the 'mud' taste, according to a couple of sources

It is pronounced with a double E sound, rhyming with 'cream'.

 

[Zeb_Carter]

Gallagher was a guy who smashed watermelons. Is he at the tip of your brain?


Ben

Dat was him. Thank you.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A-wK-RLlWKA

 

[Zeb_Carter]

Do Americans also call the bream fish 'brim'? (caveat that US vowels are hugely varied...)

The name Sean is Irish not English so we have to let it off, though technically the Irish name is Seán and the fada on the a makes all the difference (makes a long not short a)

Though I imagine like many Brits, Sean Connery didn't worry about Irish spelling when adopting the name.
"Take a simple example of Seán and "sean". With the fada, it's one of the most common names in Ireland. Without the fada, it's the Irish word for "old".

Isn't Sean Connery Scottish? And isn't Sean(the singer) English?

 

[Kumquatqueen]

Isn't Sean Connery Scottish? And isn't Sean(the singer) English?

Connery is Scottish but some great-grandparents were Irish which presumably is where they got the name from.(Scottish for John is Iain).

Only singing Sean I know is Sean Puff Diddy Combs, who sure isn't English!

 

[Zeb_Carter]

Connery is Scottish but some great-grandparents were Irish which presumably is where they got the name from.(Scottish for John is Iain).

Only singing Sean I know is Sean Puff Diddy Combs, who sure isn't English!

Well, she pronounces it Shnae.

 

[Zeb_Carter]

Bream is not a fish caught for food, as a regular thing.
It requires a long soak in salt-water to rid it of the 'mud' taste, according to a couple of sources

It is pronounced with a double E sound, rhyming with 'cream'.

Here (America) that would be described at a Long E. As opposed to a Short E.

 

[JaxRhapsody]

As most of you might know by now, I'm not an English native speaker. As such, things which might be no-brainers or second nature to the Brits, Yanks or Aussies out there sometimes give me a bit of a headache.

This time, it's the word "wheat" which opened up a whole can of worms for me.

One would think that the "ea" sound is a rather cut-and-dry affair. There are enough words around which use it, like "fear", "hear", "near", "feat" or "teal".

BUT:

"Bear", although written very similar, is generally spoken differently, as is "pear" or "shears".

Where does "wheat" belong to? Is the generally accepted pronounciation more like "weed" or like "bear"?

And the all important question which will drive you guys nuts: WHY? Is there a rule of thumb when to use which? Is it regional? I wanna know and level up my English skill!

Thanks for any and all input!

Vowels my friend. A,E, I, O, U, sometimes Y come in short and long sounds.
A: short is "a" as the the letter is pronounced, long is "ah".
E: short is "eh", long is "eeee", like pronounced
I: short is "eye", like pronounced, short is... well... the word "is" uses a short I, "Like" uses a long I.
O: short is "oh", long is "ooo". Look uses two long O's, Lock uses one short O.
U: short is "uh", long is "yew", like pronounced. "cute" has a long U, "Cut" has a short U.

Bear has a short E and short A, wordsike this typically rhyme with "air". Fear has a long E and short A, words like this typically rhyme with "ear", even if it doesn't actually rhyme, or makes a Eeeee sound like "wheat". It's mainly the "eeya" sound. I might be wrong but "EA" words the E can be long or short, but the A is always a short A.

 

[Trionyx]

Great Britain and the United States are two countries separated by a common language. Can’t remember who said that but it really does apply when reading this site. Then throw in Australia, New Zealand, etc and you can get things really shagged up, no, I mean fucked up!