CREEK. Do you say crick or creak?

[Laura Corin]

as is this the correct pronunciation. 

 

As I mentioned I now pronounce some words as indicated by spelling to make life less confusing when I'm teaching reading/spelling. I now say been with long E and again with long A as they do in British English. Makes more sense. 

 

I realised after I posted that I used two different pronunciations for 'been', depending on its place in the sentence.  In 'Where have you been?' it's a long 'e'.  In 'I've been to town' it's often a short 'i'.

[eternalsummer]

but there are some vowel combinations in English that are pronounced differently depending on the word (or even depending on the *meaning* of the word!) in all dialects.  How, in those cases, do you determine what is the "correct" pronunciation?  Moreover, how do you know which dialect of spoken English is the correct one?  Are all New Zealanders speaking English incorrectly?  Are all Americans speaking English incorrectly?  what a weird idea.

[SparklyUnicorn]

long e (NY)

 

[Night Elf]

I grew up in Louisiana and Georgia and have only ever heard the long e in creak. I have no idea what my grandparents called it. We've never lived near one so it wasn't something mentioned I suppose.

[JFSinIL]

Creak. From S. California

[Katy]

I say Creak.  DH (from rural midwest) says Crick.

[DawnM]

Very regional.

 

I say creak.  If it were meant to be pronounced crick, it would be spelled that way!  

 

(hehe)

[poppy]

Double EE always says long E. I do not say crick. I actually make it a point to pronounce words correctly because I work with dyslexic kids and it helps them. 

 

I would say it's regional. 

 

My daughter's dyslexic.  I do not pronounce all words phonetically? I mean, we live in Massachusetts near Worcester and Rhode Island. Also, I am a Colonel. 

 

(I'm not really a Colonel.)

 

as is this the correct pronunciation. 

 

As I mentioned I now pronounce some words as indicated by spelling to make life less confusing when I'm teaching reading/spelling. I now say been with long E and again with long A as they do in British English. Makes more sense. 

 

The dictionary says either pronunciation is fine.    Kind of like the crayfish / crawfish you often find in..... creeks!

 

This is interesting everyone, thanks!

[SparklyUnicorn]

I realised after I posted that I used two different pronunciations for 'been', depending on its place in the sentence.  In 'Where have you been?' it's a long 'e'.  In 'I've been to town' it's often a short 'i'.

 

I don't pronounce been either of those two ways. 

[regentrude]

creak.

 

Like I also pronounce the double e in feet as a long ee, not i.

[Carrie12345]

Long E, from NJ.

Except I'm much more likely to say "stream".

[kewb]

Creak. New York. However, I know people from upstate NY who say crick. Two Es, long sound.

A crick is what you get in your neck when you sleep funny.

Edited March 17, 2017 by kewb

[SparklyUnicorn]

Creak. New York. However, I know people from upstate NY who say crick. Two Es, long sound.

A crick is what you get in your neck when you sleep funny.

 

they must be WAY WAY upstate

 

LOL

 

Never heard anyone pronounce it that way around here.

Edited March 17, 2017 by SparklyUnicorn

[maize]

I use both.

[creekland]

Creak for both hubby and I.  I come from Canadian border upstate - St Lawrence River area.  He comes from near Richmond, VA, but spent the latter half of his childhood near Wilson, NC.

 

I can't say I've paid attention to how others say it.  I suppose we travel enough now that I overlook most dialect things when spoken by others and just fill in the meaning mentally.

 

The only two I can think of that still get me with hubby are his calling a potato (or tomato) a potatah/tomatah and not being able to distinguish whether he wants a pin or pen because he pronounces both words the same (pen).  Even playing Boggle the boys and I have to ask him to spell which one he means for the latter.   :lol:  He grew up saying "ink pen" for pen, which alone sounds ridiculous since quill pens (or any other type) are pretty rare, but I suppose that's how they distinguish the two words in his family.

[Granny_Weatherwax]

Long e. Grew up in Colorado

[solascriptura]

"Creak".

[Guest]

I grew up in NW Penna, and grew up saying crick.

 

I've changed that, and now say creak.

[Paige]

I say creek, although I know the older generation makes a distinction between a crick and a creek. I am from KY. 

 

As for locations and names of towns, I think deference to pronunciation should be given to the locals. Just because Versailles is pronounced differently in France does not mean that the local pronunciation of a place named Versailles somewhere else is wrong. 

 

 

[Stratford]

I say creek, with a long E.  I live in PA, but grew up in northern VA, where most of our creeks are called runs (like the famous Bull Run of Civil War fame.)  Just to confuse the issue a bit.  

[poppy]

Oh yes, I grew up not far from a town pronounced Ver-Sails. I didn't know there was more than one in the US.

 

 

I don't pronounce been either of those two ways. 

 

If  you don't say "been" as "bean" or "Bin" --- how do you say it??

 

[gardenmom5]

I say creek, although I know the older generation makes a distinction between a crick and a creek. I am from KY. 

 

As for locations and names of towns, I think deference to pronunciation should be given to the locals. Just because Versailles is pronounced differently in France does not mean that the local pronunciation of a place named Versailles somewhere else is wrong. 

 

 

this.

 

we have a number of towns in our state that are not pronounced the way someone from elsewhere would expect.  (that doesn't include the indian names)   or towns of the same name on the east coast/south.

pronouncing it the way a person "thinks" it should be pronounced merely broadcasts you're not from around here. 

if the person insists their pronunciation is correct and the locals are wrong just comes off as arrogant.  and stupid - because they *are* pronouncing it wrong.

 

the PNW is an area we hear various national media types refer to places in various media (from news to entertainment) - and there are those who do pronounce things wrong. (oregon is the most common mispronounced, but not the only one.)  

[creekland]

As for locations and names of towns, I think deference to pronunciation should be given to the locals. Just because Versailles is pronounced differently in France does not mean that the local pronunciation of a place named Versailles somewhere else is wrong. 

 

:iagree: 100%.  Locals have pronunciation of local places correct.  Outsiders have it wrong - esp if they're basing their thoughts on somewhere else.  No one made that other place the "correct" pronunciation.

 

Many dialects and pronunciation options came about as ways to know the natives from the non-natives.  It still works.  ;)

 

We try hard to figure out (and use) native pronunciation of places.  Words - not so much - too much variance, but I know our dialect automatically shifts some when we travel.

[Tanaqui]

On the subject of using local places, my mother noticed about a decade ago that "all of a sudden" people on TV were saying Appalachia with the a in hat rather than the a in hate. I've been assured this is the local pronunciation, so it makes sense, but what she couldn't figure out is how the heck all the people on TV decided to go with local pronunciation simultaneously like that!

[Guest]

I say it with the long e; most do (central Maryland). I associate "crick" with rural people, as a regionalism. I haven't noticed it used for different types of streams. My MIL said my husband "learned to swim in the crick when we were up home [in Missouri]." So I'm thinking that's a pretty substantial body of water, if children learned to swim in it.

[Library Momma]

We have a few towns that changed their name pronunciation during WWI to distinguish themselves from from the European cities of origin.   Berlin, CT is not pronounced like Berlin Germany it is Buur-lin.  There are a few others that I learned about in school.

 

I also say stream but if I had to say creek I'd pronounce it with a long e.

 

 

[Lady Florida.]

Creak. I'm from Northern New Jersey. Dh's family from east Tennessee also says creak, unless they're being silly and pretending to "act Southern". Here in Florida I hear creak. 

[Lanny]

I do *not* say "crick". That would never occur to me. I say "creek" or possibly "creak".

[Tanaqui]

Lanny, are you saying that there is a distinction in your dialect between how you pronounce "creek" and how you pronounce "creak"?

[Jackie in AR]

Long e, no matter the size of the water. (Arkansas and Texas)

 

[Lady Marmalade]

Here it's pronounced with the long EE when you're talking about the body of water.

 

When you're discussing the community nearby with Creek in it's name, it's always Crick. 

 

People who grew up in that community tend to call everything a crick.  But if you're visiting the town and mistakenly say Creek when pronouncing the name, you will be quickly corrected and told the correct pronounciation is crick. 

[kewb]

they must be WAY WAY upstate

 

LOL

 

 

Never heard anyone pronounce it that way around here.

Lol, they were from way upstate. Granted for me, anything north of the city is upstate, but these people were way up.

[Lady Florida.]

Both. Where I grew up, the two pronunciations designate two different sizes of waterways. A crick is smaller than a creek.

 

Where I grew up a brook was what you called a small creek. 

[Rebel Yell]

I say creek, although I know the older generation makes a distinction between a crick and a creek. I am from KY.

 

As for locations and names of towns, I think deference to pronunciation should be given to the locals. Just because Versailles is pronounced differently in France does not mean that the local pronunciation of a place named Versailles somewhere else is wrong.

Right, it's just a little weird in my mind when I spent a lifetime pronouncing a word differently.

Kinda like having a friend named Alana who pronounces her name Uhh lay nuhh then you meet an Alana who is really Uhh lawn uhh. Not always easy to make the switch.

[poppy]

I say crick among family, creek with everyone else...becauseof getting made fun of. Honestly, the older I get the more pissed off it makes me that a rural or Southern accent is automatically a signal for "stupid person." When is the last time you saw a cartoon character use that accent that wasn't a quick way of showing the audience they were dumb? Maybe I should start saying crick in public to fight stereotypes. ;)

It's funny, I've been more isolated for the last few months and I've noticed my accent getting a lot stronger since I'm not switching back and forth all the time.

 

I don't think it's Southern, I think it's rural Appalachian.

[gardenmom5]

We have a few towns that changed their name pronunciation during WWI to distinguish themselves from from the European cities of origin.   Berlin, CT is not pronounced like Berlin Germany it is Buur-lin.  There are a few others that I learned about in school.

 

I also say stream but if I had to say creek I'd pronounce it with a long e.

 

is that like the difference in pronunciation between stadt and staadt?  (for the latter, my teacher said: if it sounds too long, you're probably there.)

 

Right, it's just a little weird in my mind when I spent a lifetime pronouncing a word differently.

Kinda like having a friend named Alana who pronounces her name Uhh lay nuhh then you meet an Alana who is really Uhh lawn uhh. Not always easy to make the switch.

 

considering the different spellings - people should just suck it up and spell it the way they want it pronounced - and NOT take offense.   my brother gave his daughter the name (and spelling) of one of the most famous women alive (now deceased).  then insisted it have a spanish pronuciaiton - to the point he'd get really insulting if you gave it an *english* (she was english) pronunciation.   considering there are common variations that give a spanish pronunciation . . . (oh, and he got ticked becasue the school principal pronounced their german last name with a spanish accent for a family member who was born in columbia . . . )

[Library Momma]

is that like the difference in pronunciation between stadt and staadt?  (for the latter, my teacher said: if it sounds too long, you're probably there.)

 

 

considering the different spellings - people should just suck it up and spell it the way they want it pronounced - and NOT take offense.   my brother gave his daughter the name (and spelling) of one of the most famous women alive (now deceased).  then insisted it have a spanish pronuciaiton - to the point he'd get really insulting if you gave it an *english* (she was english) pronunciation.   considering there are common variations that give a spanish pronunciation . . . (oh, and he got ticked becasue the school principal pronounced their german last name with a spanish accent for a family member who was born in columbia . . . )

 

The emphasis is on the Bur not the lin.

[Lady Florida.]

I Honestly, the older I get the more pissed off it makes me that a rural or Southern accent is automatically a signal for "stupid person." When is the last time you saw a cartoon character use that accent that wasn't a quick way of showing the audience they were dumb? Maybe I should start saying crick in public to fight stereotypes. ;)

It's funny, I've been more isolated for the last few months and I've noticed my accent getting a lot stronger since I'm not switching back and forth all the time.

 

I get it. The same thing happens with a northeastern NJ accent. People with that accent are either stupid, criminals (The Sopranos), or self-centered and have no morals (Jersey Shore). Although I lost my NJ accent long ago I have family who talk like that and the stereotype irritates me.

 

I don't think it's Southern, I think it's rural Appalachian.

 

Dh's family is from that area. He and his siblings grew up in Florida (his youngest sister was born here) but his parents still have a strong accent and yet they say long E creek. Maybe it's micro-regional? (If that isn't a real word, it should be)

[mommyoffive]

creek

[Word Nerd]

Lanny, are you saying that there is a distinction in your dialect between how you pronounce "creek" and how you pronounce "creak"?

I had the same question.

[Word Nerd]

Double EE always says long E. I do not say crick. I actually make it a point to pronounce words correctly because I work with dyslexic kids and it helps them. 

 

I would say it's regional. 

 

It's not like people who say "crick" don't know that double E is pronounced with a long E. I know the correct pronunciation of "going" and "doing," but that doesn't mean I never say I'm "goin' to the store" in informal speech.

[poppy]

?

 

Been and Bean rhyme

 

 

I can't see this.

 

I've bean working on the railroad, all the livelong day

Bean there, done that.

[Word Nerd]

?

 

Been and Bean rhyme

 

Not in most parts of the U.S.

 

ETA: Here's a map. 

Edited March 17, 2017 by GalaxyGal

[Mom-ninja.]

It's not like people who say "crick" don't know that double E is pronounced with a long E. I know the correct pronunciation of "going" and "doing," but that doesn't mean I never say I'm "goin' to the store" in informal speech.

Never indicated you didn't.

[Mom-ninja.]

My daughter's dyslexic.  I do not pronounce all words phonetically? I mean, we live in Massachusetts near Worcester and Rhode Island. Also, I am a Colonel. 

 

(I'm not really a Colonel.)

 

 

The dictionary says either pronunciation is fine.    Kind of like the crayfish / crawfish you often find in..... creeks!

 

This is interesting everyone, thanks!

 

I didn't say one pronunciation was not fine while another was. I simply stated that when teaching phonics and spelling to people who struggle it is easier for them to pronounce words the way they are spelled. It helps them remember how to spell it. Even if they pronounce it differently in everyday speaking, it helps them to know how to pronounce it phonetically when reading/spelling. Of course, there are many words that simply are not phonetic but I cut down that list by pronouncing words phonetically when possible.

 

For example, the word crayfish is phonetically pronounced with long A as the 'ay' grapheme says long A and not aw. Because of this I would not pronounce it crawfish when working with a dyslexic person. It's better to eliminate as many rule breakers as possible. That's not to say that society does not accept crawfish but it is not phonetically accurate. It would just be one more rule breaker to remember when spelling/reading. I usually explain different dialect pronunciations so they do know that some people pronounce things differently. 

[waa510]

Creak and I'm originally from CT. 

[Mom-ninja.]

I realised after I posted that I used two different pronunciations for 'been', depending on its place in the sentence.  In 'Where have you been?' it's a long 'e'.  In 'I've been to town' it's often a short 'i'.

 

I say bEEn when reading out loud to my kids and during school work. I say bin in everyday speaking when I'm not being deliberate with pronunciation. Same with the word 'again'...it's again (long A) with my more formal speaking and agin for every day. 

[Spryte]

Creak.  Long E.

 

I'm from VA, have lived lots of places though.  I associate crick with more rural areas.  I've definitely heard it, but only from people living very rurally.

[73349]

Long e.

 

I'm from southern New England, near the Thames River (which gets a long a).  :)

 

 

[Carrie12345]

this.

 

we have a number of towns in our state that are not pronounced the way someone from elsewhere would expect.  (that doesn't include the indian names)   or towns of the same name on the east coast/south.

pronouncing it the way a person "thinks" it should be pronounced merely broadcasts you're not from around here. 

if the person insists their pronunciation is correct and the locals are wrong just comes off as arrogant.  and stupid - because they *are* pronouncing it wrong.

 

the PNW is an area we hear various national media types refer to places in various media (from news to entertainment) - and there are those who do pronounce things wrong. (oregon is the most common mispronounced, but not the only one.)  

 

I don't care how long I live here, I don't think I will ever be able to say COO-kin-BAY-kur for Kuhenbeaker.

I don't mind that some natives laugh at me, because plenty of others are unsure, themselves, lol.