18/12/12
Tomato/Potato:
The usual quote is: "You say 'to-may-to', I say 'to-mah-to'", but it's actually a misquote -- it's "You like 'to-may-to', I like 'to-mah-to'" and it's from a song called Let's Call the Whole Thing Off. It's been sung by many different people and the lyrics vary, but here's part of the version sung by Fred Astaire:
You say "ee-ther" and I say "eye-ther",
You say "nee-ther" and I say "ny-ther";
Ee-ther, eye-ther, nee-ther, ny-ther!
Let's call the whole thing off!
You like "po-tay-to" and I like "po-tah-to",
You like "to-may-to" and I like "to-mah-to";
Po-tay-to, po-tah-to, to-may-to, to-mah-to!
Let's call the whole thing off!
It's about differences in dialect, and different pronunciations of the words "either", "neither", "potato" and "tomato" (although I have never heard anyone pronounce "potato" as "po-tah-to"). Because "to-may-to" is the usual American pronunciation and "to-mah-to" the usual British pronunciation, the line is usually quoted in reference to the difference between British and American English.
Source: www.usingenglish.com
Tomato/Potato:
You say "ee-ther" and I say "eye-ther",
You say "nee-ther" and I say "ny-ther";
Ee-ther, eye-ther, nee-ther, ny-ther!
Let's call the whole thing off!
You like "po-tay-to" and I like "po-tah-to",
You like "to-may-to" and I like "to-mah-to";
Po-tay-to, po-tah-to, to-may-to, to-mah-to!
Let's call the whole thing off!
It's about differences in dialect, and different pronunciations of the words "either", "neither", "potato" and "tomato" (although I have never heard anyone pronounce "potato" as "po-tah-to"). Because "to-may-to" is the usual American pronunciation and "to-mah-to" the usual British pronunciation, the line is usually quoted in reference to the difference between British and American English.
Source: www.usingenglish.com
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