Brits And Americans Roast Each Other Online Over 'Correct' Pronunciation Of 'Niche'

For the longest time, one of the most sustained cultural wars between the British and Americans is over the pronunciation of certain words and their spellings. Now an X post has once again ignited this long-standing debate over the “correct” or “superior” pronunciation of certain words. On Monday, an X user posted, “Just discovered how Americans pronounce niche, need a moment.” This post soon went viral with 29.9 million views. Many British pronounce niche as “neesh”, which rhymes with sheesh, whereas the Americans pronounce it as “nich”, which rhymes with pitch.

This X post prompted Americans and Brits to go after each other about the pronunciation of different words.

An X user wrote, “Almost as disturbing as how Americans say “sodder” instead of “solder”.”

https://twitter.com/littleblue_dino/status/1797888872333955567

A US citizen struck back and wrote, “I felt the same way when I discovered Brits use an “s” instead of a “z”, such as recognise, even though the spelling is “recognize” in the Oxford, Cambridge, and Webster dictionary. I’m still not over it.”

Another US citizen wrote back, “Americans do not speak the Queen’s English. People who call cigarettes “fags”, erasers “rubbers”, and fries “chips” have no place criticizing the languages used by other cultures, even if it is “English”. And yes, America has a completely different culture than Britain does.”

Some people also pointed out many Americans also say “neesh” just as the British. Making this point, an X user wrote, “I pronounce it “neesh” — I think it’s a regional thing in America too cause I’ve never heard it said the other way except for on a British podcast where they said Americans pronounce it that way.” Adding to it, someone else wrote, “I think it is a regional thing too. America is not one size fits all, much more regional variability in how things are pronounced compared to the UK. While I do say “nitch,” I’m from hillbilly country.”

Merriam-Webster dictionary also joined the debate. In a series of posts, Merriam-Webster dictionary wrote that “nich”, which rhymes with pitch, is the “more common one and the older of the two pronunciations.”

It further added that the “neesh”, rhyming with sheesh, was not listed as a pronunciation until the 1961 Webster’s Third New International Dictionary, Unabridged. Additionally, it was not added into the smaller Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary until 1993.

According to the Oxford dictionary, niche means “a comfortable or suitable position in life or employment” or a “specialised segment of the market for a particular kind of product or service”.