Missing syllables

[firstfrost]

So, a while ago, chenoameg mentioned that many people pronounce her name wrong, as "May-gun" instead of, um, "Mehg-un". And I said ooh, I bet I do that wrong.

It's been rattling around in my head since then, and it keeps bothering me. I can't hear the difference. I can barely even think the difference, without concentrating hard. The difference between "eg" and "aig" is a phonetic blind spot for me. Why is this?

So, I thought about it some more. I can distinguish between "et" and "ait". "Met" and "mate" are different words. Okay, maybe it's because the "ai" vowel combination ends with the back of the tongue closer to the top of the mouth, and a "g" sound closes there. But no, I can tell the difference between "ek" and "aik", and the K does the same thing the G does. "Mech" and "make" are different.

But I can't tell the difference between - um. Hmm. I can't think of any pairs of words for my syllables. "Vague" and "veg", but no, because "veg" is pronounced "vehj", though maybe not in England? "egg" and "leg" and "peg" and "Meg" and "beg" don't have "aig" equivalents. Is that it? When I was little, I never learned any words that made me have to tell those two sounds apart, and now I can't? That's how it's supposed to work.

But it's driving me crazy. I walk down the street muttering "tweg... twaig... tweg... twaig... to myself" and I'm probably getting funny looks. Is it just me? Can everyone else hear those two syllables clearly? (And if you can, do you know any matching pairs of words?)

Comments

[shumashi.livejournal.com]

I think I say "Mehg-an," not "Mehg-un."

Michigan accents have very broad "ai" sounds, so it's easy for me to hear the difference.

[twe.livejournal.com]

See, now that's the place I'd expect people to be unsure of the pronunciation - the second syllable.

[chenoameg.livejournal.com]

I don't care at all about the second syllable.
And anyway, you I think you usually call me Meg.

[shumashi.livejournal.com]

And anyway, you I think you usually call me Meg.

You're right, I do. :)

[desireearmfeldt]

...which ought to force everyone to the Mehg-un pronounciation of your full name. 'Cause surely no one calls you Maig. :)

[firstfrost.livejournal.com]

But I do. :) (Though I guess not in a way that bothers Meg.)

That is, I say "Meg" as rhymes with "egg", but for me both of those words have a vowel sound that's closer to "paid" than "peck".

After much experimentation, I realize that I *can* say merry and marry in a way that don't sound the same, I just don't normally pronounce "marry" differently. I *cannot* pronounce "peg" in a way that sounds like "peck" without seriously tricking myself, like saying "peckpeckpeckpeckpeckpegpeckpeck" fast.

[twe.livejournal.com]

G & K sounds are essentially the same, but G is voiced and K is unvoiced, as I discovered studying Russian. (Similarly D & T, I believe.)