A lot of folks around here say "sherbert." Is that a regionalism to New England or is that more common? I say "sherbet," but I am conscious enough of the spelling as I say it that I suspect in my dim past I naturally said "sherbert" and have learned to correct myself to match the spelling.
Saturday, June 09, 2012
Pronunciation
A lot of folks around here say "sherbert." Is that a regionalism to New England or is that more common? I say "sherbet," but I am conscious enough of the spelling as I say it that I suspect in my dim past I naturally said "sherbert" and have learned to correct myself to match the spelling.
SherbeRt is what I grew up with, and still say. But I'm not sure what region to attribute that to: South or California or Illinois.
ReplyDelete"Is that a regionalism to New England or is that more common?"
ReplyDeleteWhy, I have no idear.
I was just wondering the other day what the "correct" way to pronounce/spell the word and if there was a difference between sherbet & sorbet (or was it more of a Target/Targee phenomenon). I don't eat either (they're separate food items, I learned), so I had never really paid much attention to it all. Funny where my brain goes whilst putting away a bag of frozen raspberries...
ReplyDeletehttp://recipes.howstuffworks.com/food-facts/sherbet-vs-sorbet.htm
Sher-bert here. I grew up in CO, so did my mom and my dad grew up in CA so it seems likely to be more than a regionalism.
ReplyDeleteErin, my understanding is that sorbet has no milk while sherbet has a little.
Google tells us that the spelling "sherbert" is about one-third as common as "sherbet" despite being incorrect. If people are doing that because they're spelling it phonetically, which seems likely, then I'd say it must be more widespread than New England.
ReplyDelete(I live in the Pacific Northwest and grew up in California and rarely have heard people saying "sherbet", for what it's worth. It's one of those words where I worry a little about being hoity-toity if I leave out the "r".)
SherbeRt. New Jersey (east of Philly)(1950s-early 60s, Kindergarten through the start of Ninth Grade).
ReplyDeleteAlso dunkey (vice donn-key)
I live in the PNW, too, and see and hear it both ways. Good thing there aren't 3 ways, because 3-ways can get you into trouble. Except for kung pao; kung pao 3 kinds meat is mighty tasty.
ReplyDelete