In this video, the contestants couldn't get it right because they kept pronouncing "padel" as "paddle".
However as a non native speaker I don't get the difference at all. Is it a/e sound or accent on the first syllable? They sound the same to me anyways.
I think it's made worse because a Pedal Boat and a Paddle Boat are both existing terms for real things. Sometimes your tongue gets mixed up when you say a word that is phonetically similar to another existing word. I have to really slow down and take my time in order to say the word "synonym" instead of "cinnamon."
And on a game show that is about language and spelling, they're not going to give you the benefit of the doubt.
Pedal- e sound as in bed
Paddle- a sound as in bad
In some accents this distinction isn't as clear
It's very clear in the video that the first contestant says it wrong. It's not an accent issue, she's just mispronouncing it.
A whole lotta people have different sounds in paddle and bad. Bet and bat would be better words to use.
Oh no, my accent has different A sounds for paddle and bad lol
New York, Philadelphia, Ohio, New Orleans or England?
(I’m the Ohio variation)
Philadelphia
That’ll do it!
Here’s an article on the phenomenon, if you care: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki//æ/_raising
The data it’s based on is a little out of date (such is the way with anthropological data). It’s more widespread in Ohio, including most speakers from tail end of Gen X and younger in Columbus now, and still spreading. And some of the rules have changed since the data was gathered.
It's "pedal" like in the title. Yes, it's the a/e difference.
It's the a/e sound on the first syllable. Sounds very different to me.
A nomenclature issue also plays a part.
I call such boats, paddle boats. The similar sound and object terminology caused the confusion on the show. Later on Pat even mentions the issue.
Exactly. Vocabulary, not pronunciation.
Wikipedia does give both names for the same thing, suggesting this is a fairly common usage https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pedalo
Of topic but boy is that YouTube commentator annoying, taking what should be like a 1-minute clip and stretching it out to an excruciating four minutes.
I think this might be more of an edge case. I don't know that I've ever seen "pedal boat" written down. Growing up, we always called them "paddle boats" which, now that I think of it, makes no sense. That would make it an eggcorn - a word that is misheard and interpreted as something else – acorn = eggcorn, bon appetit = r/BoneAppleTea , etc.
Typically, at least in any dialect I'm familiar with, pedal would be pronounced differently from paddle.
I also have a relative who built a one-man pedal boat with a prominent visible rotating paddle. People in the family refer to it as the "pedal boat" and "paddle boat" interchangeably, because they're both true. You operate the paddle with the pedals.
Well the pedals drive a set of paddles so either one makes sense. It's a pedal-powered paddle-wheeler.
In my accent they're so different (SE US). Peh-duh-l vs PAh-dahl.
That’s completely ridiculous. Most American English speakers wouldn’t say pedal and paddle with any noticeable difference.
Do you mean most Americans would pronounce them the same? I’m not sure that’s accurate. I don’t think there are that many accents where “bed” and “bad” sound the same.
Yes, or at least close enough that anybody other than a trained linguist could perceive a meaningful distinction in everyday conversation.
I mean, this very video is proof of that! All three contestants clearly want to say PEDAL BOAT, but the host misunderstands.
Which doesn’t mean people would pronounce “paddle” and “pedal” differently, too. Seriously, this is the most basic lingusitcs.
Listened to the first contestant. She definitely says paddle, not pedal.
Some people call pedal boats "paddle boats", but that's incorrect.
Prescriptivist nonsense. It’s obviously not clear.
What's not clear? She's saying paddle, the host is looking for pedal. They sound VERY different to my ear, and most Americans would agree. This isn't prescriptivism.
I notice you don't have a flair, so I don't know if you're a native speaker or what kind of English you speak.
No, she’s saying “pedal” the way she says it. Obviously.
The idea that there are fixed pronunciations is ridiculous.
She's saying paddle boat, which is a common incorrect name for a pedal boat. It's not an accent issue, it's a vocabulary issue.
Pedal and Paddle are absolutely NOT pronounced the same by most Americans.
"Pedal" rhymes with "medal"
"Paddle" rhymes with "battle"
I was using “bed/bad” to indicate the vowel merger, like the pin/pen merger, which does tend to apply to most examples of those vowels. Are you suggesting that pedal and paddle are the only words where Americans would pronounce those vowels the same?
The idea that most people are pronouncing those words in such a way that only a trained linguist could differentiate seems preposterous. But I guess I’ll have to listen for it. I’ve certainly never encountered anyone doing that, but I’ll listen out. (Can’t currently watch this video as I’m in a hospital, but I’ll check it later. And listen for other examples. Because I’ve truly never encountered a situation where it wasn’t incredibly clear which word was being used.)
Having watched the video, I’m wondering what you think of the narrator voice? The man who is clearly pronouncing them as two different, easily distinguished words.
You are egregiously incorrect.
They are [pɛɾl̩] and [pæɾl̩], as different from one another as bet and bat and in exactly the same way.
Citation needed. Three contestants on Wheel of Fortune do not comprise evidence.
Please. Where’s yours? At least I have *a* source, the video.
Well, if your statement was correct then I’d expect to see some note of this at Merriam-Webster. And I don’t.
But I’ll tell you what. I have to take my dog to the vet. You’re the one making the claim, you’re the one with the burden of proof. It should not be too hard to find YouTube videos about bike pedals and about table tennis paddles. You find a few videos that back this up, and I’ll listen to them.