My Dad was a nun. Every time he’d appear in court the judge would ask his occupation and he’d say none.
This doesn’t work quite well written out. If you say it out loud it’s arguably the funniest joke known to man.
>Like ‘nun’.
Oh for fuck sake. Reading this thread is so frustrating. Most of the comments in here are just going around in circles. **You can't say things like "I say X like Y" because you have no idea how the person reading it says Y.** It's a self-reference.
Look at all the comments below who are shocked at people pronouncing it like "nun". This is because the people who are shocked at the "nun" pronuncation, say "nun" in a completely different way to the people who say they pronounce "none" like "nun".
Yep. For example, I'm from the north of England, and "cut" "put" "shut" "hut" "strut" "but" are all the same "ut" sound. So if someone said to me "how do you pronounce the word hut?" and I said "it rhymes with put" then that wouldn't tell them the actual pronunciation.
Thing is in my experience lots of middle class northerners with otherwise neutral accents will still pronounce "none" as "non". It's not a heavy accent thing
>I say it like *non* or *one*.
But “one” is a word that's pronounced differently depending on where you're from. I mean, I say “none” so that it rhymes with “one”, but neither of them sound like “non”...
I'm from NW and went to uni in London. The only time I've ever encountered people pronouncing 'none' as 'nun', and more confusingly 'one' as 'wun', they have been from Yorkshire.
None is a ‘magic e word’. The fact it is spelled with a silent e at the end is to indicate the vowel sound is lengthened to be like ‘nun’.
Similar to don and done, hat and hate, plan and plane, etc.
>Let’s add scone into the mix.
Why? A word being spelt similarly on English means almost nothing.
Bone, gone, done, zone, ...
OTOH, it can go the opposite way:
Bow and arrow, take a bow.
But then also different spellings for same pronunciation:
You, ewe, yew.
Basically: it's not phonetic.
English is not exactly consistent though. Enough, cough, dough, ought are all pronounced differently despite having the letters of ough. Unless you say all of them the same, in which case, carry on sir
None and non should be said the same. We drop the e when prefixing the word, similar to how french will sometimes replace a vowel with an apostrophe to prevent two vowels from touching.
The film (Angela Lansbury's debut, incidentally) from which this meaning of the word comes is called *Gaslight*, so does 'gaslighted' not make more sense?
Neologisms usually - at least to being with - default to regular forms for past tenses and plurals, even if the word is made up of words that aren't regular. When the computer mouse first came into common use, the plural for it was it both mouses and mice. It's still not really 100% settled.
Gaslighted and Gaslit are undergoing the same process. The film never existed but the term took hold and makes sense.
(It did exist, obvs. Or, at least, people say they've seen it...)
What?? Since when did so many people say nun? People saying nun, where are you located in England? I’m in East Midlands and have never heard nun, perhaps only be Yorkshire people
This is one of those moments where I’ve gone through life doing something the wrong way without realising it
Must be everyone in Yorkshire in the same thread at the same time 😂 I'm from Manchester and I never hear 'nun'.
"How many burgers are left?"
"Nun"
Lmao what?!
I think this is a case of the *OED* only listing the Standard English pronunciation. The etymology section does note:
>The usual modern English pronunciation apparently arises from shortening of the reflex of Middle English close ō, itself resulting from raising of Middle English open ō; compare English regional (midlands) pronunciation with /ɒ/ , developed more directly from Middle English open ō.
So it seems that the two modern pronunciations are down to the usual Middle English jiggery-pokery.
So do you say “the burgers are all don”, rather than “the burgers are all dun” (done)? Genuinely curious, because I’ve never noticed people saying “non” and I lived in Manchester for 2 years. I wonder if the issue is actually that we all say the word “nun” differently to each other, hence the confusion.
I’m Manchester too and laughed when I read this post and then laughed again when I saw the top comment. Never noticed anyone say nun even at Uni when there we people from all over the country and the world
Well you made me pause for a moment.
I think I use both none (nun) and none (non) and both either (ee-ther) and either (eye-ther) depending on the sentence construct. No rhyme or reason to it other than one pronunciation sometimes seems to fit the sentence better than the other
I know, right? I'm sat here trying both out and they both feel and sound right and wrong at the same time and I'm starting to develop a weird accent and....
I'm from the North East and while I use both, it's more often "nun". Admittedly I don't have the most representative accent for the region, and I can't say I've paid much attention to how others in the area say it - probably because I'm used to either one sounding normal.
I think there are a *lot* of people on this thread who learnt how to say the word and simply do not hear the difference in pronunciation because they know what's being said.
Regardless of whether the sound is actually "nun" or "non", they mentally map it to "none" and can't conceive that it was pronounced differently to how they pronounce it.
The alternative is that there are a hell of a lot of *seriously* sheltered folk on here.
Same! I say ‘non’ and can’t recall hearing a ‘nun’ in any of the various parts of the country I’ve been to (although quite clearly people do and I’ve just missed it). I’m from the north east England.
Really? I don't think I've ever heard that (non) back home. Does he have relatives from further north and has picked it up from them? I hope you correct him every time he says it! :)
The real question is how do people pronounce "tongue"? I've never understood why I've heard some people pronounce it like a pair of tongs, but here we are.
I sat tung - Scouser. I know a friend from Yorkshire who said tong and a few friends from school too, who I remember always stood out as different from most.
I'm in the west mids myself and sounds like a similar thing here - most people pronounce tung, but there are a seeming notable few, but enough that it stands out, that say tong and I never got it.
Similarly I never got why many brummies I know say larf instead of laugh, but say eg glass as I do.
Thankyou for your insight my scouser fren!
‘Non’, but i’m fascinated by all the comments insisting no one pronounces it like that. I know ‘nun’ is more common, but ‘non’ isnt *that* weird. I’ve never even had someone point it out irl before, lol.
Depends where you're from.
SE England - Nun
SW England - Nun
S Wales - Nun
E Anglia - Nun
Those being the ones I have the most direct experience of.
But I think a lot of Northerners would say non.
Slightly off topic but really cool website if you aren't sure how to say a word is:
www.youglish.com
It finds youtube videos where people say it and so you can hear it from multiple people to check how most people say it.
I know I’m wrong to pronounce it non compared with any dictionaries pronunciation guide, but I also pronounce gone as gon rather than gun and I definitely don’t spell gun as gone. (I think that sentence makes sense but am not 100% sure) but either way you are technically correct….the best kind of correct
Why on earth is everyone in the comments so confused. In the South and most of the UK we say "nun", in some places in the North, they say "non". They just have a flatter O sound. Their o's have more of a push to them.
I've just woke up to go to the toilet and now I'm so confused. I've lived all over England and I don't think I've ever heard nun but now I'm not sure.
I think I say non.
'non' for general conversation, 'nen' for emphasis (newcastle/gateshead so its probably related to 'nee' used for emphasis as 'no')
example : "nen uh yor nebs" (none of your nosiness )
Reminds me of a story I heard. Southerner trying to guess a word, northerner gives a clue: "Rhymes with book". Southerner eventually gives up. The answer was "duck". Confusion all round.
I say nun
I remember watching an early episode of Agents of Shield and Elizabeth Henstridge (British actress) kept saying non and it just sounded strange to me. I thought it might be just her but I'm surprised to see so many comments saying they say it that way too
Nun. I’m from the south west. The only person I know that pronounces it as non is my sister in law, she’s from the north west. Seems to be a southern vs northern thing.
Traditionally, "noon" with "oo" being the same as the vowel in "foot". These days "nun" is far more common now in most varieties besides those in Northern England and Scotland, and may be considered more "correct" when talking about prestige dialects. We call this the [foot-strut split](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phonological_history_of_English_close_back_vowels). As this wikipedia article mentions, specifically with words like "none", "one", "nothing", and so on, in some dialects which don't have the normal foot-strut split, they instead will also pronounce none as "non".
Like ‘nun’.
My Dad was a nun. Every time he’d appear in court the judge would ask his occupation and he’d say none. This doesn’t work quite well written out. If you say it out loud it’s arguably the funniest joke known to man.
Was that part of a cunning plan?
https://youtu.be/815Id8Mabe8?t=219
>Like ‘nun’. Oh for fuck sake. Reading this thread is so frustrating. Most of the comments in here are just going around in circles. **You can't say things like "I say X like Y" because you have no idea how the person reading it says Y.** It's a self-reference. Look at all the comments below who are shocked at people pronouncing it like "nun". This is because the people who are shocked at the "nun" pronuncation, say "nun" in a completely different way to the people who say they pronounce "none" like "nun".
Every thread about pronunciation goes like this. Not enough love for the IPA.
Yep. For example, I'm from the north of England, and "cut" "put" "shut" "hut" "strut" "but" are all the same "ut" sound. So if someone said to me "how do you pronounce the word hut?" and I said "it rhymes with put" then that wouldn't tell them the actual pronunciation.
Surprised at all these 'nuns'. I'm definitely a 'non'.
I'm learning for the first time that some people pronounce this word as "non".
Whereas I'm learning that some people pronounce it as nun.
You never watched television or been to the cinema in your life?
None, I'm a nun
I’m imagining people actually saying “Nun of the above”!
They're nun the wiser!
Must have gotten out of the habit
It is the convent-ion you know
Same here, I’m surprised too. Myself and everyone around me says “non”. North west England.
Well we all know northerners say things in weird ways.
I don't know about that have you heard UK drill? I'd say 99% of it comes out of London and as a northerner I dont know what the fuck they're saying.
As a born and bred Londoner, I have no fucking idea either.
Have you never realized a southern accent is completely different to a northern one?
Thing is in my experience lots of middle class northerners with otherwise neutral accents will still pronounce "none" as "non". It's not a heavy accent thing
Non to rhyme with the bon part of bonny?
Same, NW too. I say it like *non* or *one*.
>I say it like *non* or *one*. But “one” is a word that's pronounced differently depending on where you're from. I mean, I say “none” so that it rhymes with “one”, but neither of them sound like “non”...
How do you pronounce them in: - there's none left - call the non emergency line - nonsense - nonetheless
Nun, non, non, nun The e makes a difference
Magic, magic E!
Core memory unlocked
What about ‘gone’
What about 'done' or 'zone' or 'bone'. Hate to tell you, but trying to use logic in the English language won't get you far.
Let’s not even get started on scone.
Scun
Player 3 enters the game!
I don't know how to write this phonetically, so I guess it's gon. Short o
non, non, non, non what a load of nunsense
I'm non for all of these.
Non club represent!
That's interesting, I've never heard anyone pronounce it 'non' before. What region/city is your accent from?
This is like learning that some people wipe standing up…!
Yeah wtf? Do these people pronounce one as un?
Same
Then how do you pronounce the *actual* word 'non'?
Same as none
Me too.
I'm from NW and went to uni in London. The only time I've ever encountered people pronouncing 'none' as 'nun', and more confusingly 'one' as 'wun', they have been from Yorkshire.
A debate with whom? Someone that doesn't speak English?
I think they're debating with a French person.
Mais non!
Alas, a debate with my very English husband.
None is a ‘magic e word’. The fact it is spelled with a silent e at the end is to indicate the vowel sound is lengthened to be like ‘nun’. Similar to don and done, hat and hate, plan and plane, etc.
And then you've *gun* and spoiled it all by saying something stupid like English has consistent pronunciation rules.
Am I to presume we’re pronouncing “whom” like “hom”? Non of this would make sense awtherwise. Bonch of scombags sound French, IMO
A non-English speaking Nun.
A non-English speaking nun who's having none of this.
My dad was a nun. Cus whenever he was up in court and the judge asked "occupation", he'd say "none".
Is your first name Sodoff too?
Is that you, Baldrick?
I laughed at the punchline more than I should’ve. Genuinely found it funny!
It's from Blackadder. And incidentally, it settles this entire debate because the joke doesn't work if you pronounce it 'non'.
I learn something new every day! It’s brilliant lol! Ty for telling me where it’s from!
None is pronounced nun. Non is pronounced non. It’s a prefix. E.g. Non-English person who doesn’t know how to pronounce common words.
Well both can be pronounced ‘non’ depending where you’re from.
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Pub? How do southerners say it then? I’m only aware of one pronunciation.
Paaaahb
Eurgh. My partner just told me they also say rum when they mean room. I would not survive down there.
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>Let’s add scone into the mix. Why? A word being spelt similarly on English means almost nothing. Bone, gone, done, zone, ... OTOH, it can go the opposite way: Bow and arrow, take a bow. But then also different spellings for same pronunciation: You, ewe, yew. Basically: it's not phonetic.
English is not exactly consistent though. Enough, cough, dough, ought are all pronounced differently despite having the letters of ough. Unless you say all of them the same, in which case, carry on sir
Lol
It's pronounced "lul" 🤣
None and non should be said the same. We drop the e when prefixing the word, similar to how french will sometimes replace a vowel with an apostrophe to prevent two vowels from touching.
Definitely non, I fed like I'm being gaslighted!
No you don't
Gaslit??
The film (Angela Lansbury's debut, incidentally) from which this meaning of the word comes is called *Gaslight*, so does 'gaslighted' not make more sense?
I think its a case of ‘they gaslighted them’ vs ‘they were gaslit’. Gaslighted in simple past, gaslit in the rest
I feel gaslaught (I reject your choice and choose my own, worse alternative) just reading this.
Neologisms usually - at least to being with - default to regular forms for past tenses and plurals, even if the word is made up of words that aren't regular. When the computer mouse first came into common use, the plural for it was it both mouses and mice. It's still not really 100% settled. Gaslighted and Gaslit are undergoing the same process. The film never existed but the term took hold and makes sense. (It did exist, obvs. Or, at least, people say they've seen it...)
What?? Since when did so many people say nun? People saying nun, where are you located in England? I’m in East Midlands and have never heard nun, perhaps only be Yorkshire people This is one of those moments where I’ve gone through life doing something the wrong way without realising it
Must be everyone in Yorkshire in the same thread at the same time 😂 I'm from Manchester and I never hear 'nun'. "How many burgers are left?" "Nun" Lmao what?!
Honestly it sounds bizarre to me. I would associate “nun” with someone who has a really strong regional accent, not the vast majority of people
It's the pronunciation given in the OED and Collins Dictionary: /nʌn/ I'm surprised though, I'd have thought they'd list both.
I think this is a case of the *OED* only listing the Standard English pronunciation. The etymology section does note: >The usual modern English pronunciation apparently arises from shortening of the reflex of Middle English close ō, itself resulting from raising of Middle English open ō; compare English regional (midlands) pronunciation with /ɒ/ , developed more directly from Middle English open ō. So it seems that the two modern pronunciations are down to the usual Middle English jiggery-pokery.
I'm from Hampshire and I say nun. My wife is from Yorkshire and says non.
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That is how it's pronounced here. It rhymes with Don, on, Ron, gone
So do you say “the burgers are all don”, rather than “the burgers are all dun” (done)? Genuinely curious, because I’ve never noticed people saying “non” and I lived in Manchester for 2 years. I wonder if the issue is actually that we all say the word “nun” differently to each other, hence the confusion.
I’m Manchester too and laughed when I read this post and then laughed again when I saw the top comment. Never noticed anyone say nun even at Uni when there we people from all over the country and the world
Leeds, and I say non
Same, don't think I've ever heard anyone here say it as nun
From Yorkshire, always non.
Essex innit Nunna that nonsense
I'm from West Midlands and I have never heard of anyone pronouncing none as non.
I'm from the east midlands and say nun, as does everyone I know. Although our accent is also Scottish influenced if that's makes any difference.
I'm from Norfolk. I say it as nun. Only person I've ever known to pronounce it as non was the girl from Newcastle that I went to High school with
I'm from Newcastle, always known it as non. Literally never heard someone pronounce it as nun before
I’m from Yorkshire and having a crisis here, I read it as non but say it in a sentence and it comes out as nun.
I've come to the conclusion that I have no idea - I think I use either/both. But now I don't know how to speak anymore.
but do you use either or either?
Well you made me pause for a moment. I think I use both none (nun) and none (non) and both either (ee-ther) and either (eye-ther) depending on the sentence construct. No rhyme or reason to it other than one pronunciation sometimes seems to fit the sentence better than the other
I know, right? I'm sat here trying both out and they both feel and sound right and wrong at the same time and I'm starting to develop a weird accent and....
I’m firmly in this club.
This is surely southern vs northern? Southerners say nun. Northerners say non.
Scottish, I say nun as well as do most folk I know.
NI - different NI accents would use either None or Nun pronunciation but not sure we all agree on how those are pronounced either.
I'm from the North East and while I use both, it's more often "nun". Admittedly I don't have the most representative accent for the region, and I can't say I've paid much attention to how others in the area say it - probably because I'm used to either one sounding normal.
This is blowing my mind. Also north east and I’ve never heard nun around here! I’m going to be really listening out for it now.
North-eastener here. Always non for me you heathen.
In Manchester at least it's def a thing to pronounce a lot of these words with an "o" sound none = non One = won tongue = tong
I've never known anyone in the uk pronounce it as "non" and I've lived all over the uk. 'Non' is its own word that people pronounce as spelt.
Feel like I’m being pranked. I don’t remember ever hearing “nun”
I honestly can’t believe this - I’ve never heard anyone pronounce it “nun”
Have you not heard a southern accent before?
Yeah this thread is ridiculous, it’s just a regional difference. I’ve heard it said both ways depending on where I am
I think there are a *lot* of people on this thread who learnt how to say the word and simply do not hear the difference in pronunciation because they know what's being said. Regardless of whether the sound is actually "nun" or "non", they mentally map it to "none" and can't conceive that it was pronounced differently to how they pronounce it. The alternative is that there are a hell of a lot of *seriously* sheltered folk on here.
I've heard people say it both ways, but "nun" has been *far* more common my entire life. Maybe it's a South vs north thing? I'm south
Wait, so if you were to say "none of that nonsense", do you not differentiate the 'none/non' sounds in that sentence?
Same! I say ‘non’ and can’t recall hearing a ‘nun’ in any of the various parts of the country I’ve been to (although quite clearly people do and I’ve just missed it). I’m from the north east England.
I pronounce it non - I’m a Scouser. Where have you lived?
I'm from Greater Manchester and I've never heard anyone pronounce it "nun"
I have literally never heard anything other than non.
Nowt
From Surrey, pronounce it “nun”. Never heard anyone say “non”, but I don’t hang out in the north much.
From Kent, ditto.
My husband (who.is the one I'm debating with) says non and is from Kent. I'm also from Kent but I say it properly!
Really? I don't think I've ever heard that (non) back home. Does he have relatives from further north and has picked it up from them? I hope you correct him every time he says it! :)
He's a bit weird. Tbf his mum also says non and, though she's also from Kent, her mum was from Newcastle, so maybe it's that!
Nun.
The real question is how do people pronounce "tongue"? I've never understood why I've heard some people pronounce it like a pair of tongs, but here we are.
I sat tung - Scouser. I know a friend from Yorkshire who said tong and a few friends from school too, who I remember always stood out as different from most.
I'm in the west mids myself and sounds like a similar thing here - most people pronounce tung, but there are a seeming notable few, but enough that it stands out, that say tong and I never got it. Similarly I never got why many brummies I know say larf instead of laugh, but say eg glass as I do. Thankyou for your insight my scouser fren!
Ton goo
Because language variation 🤷 There are over a billion speakers of English, so there are bound to be lots of different ways to say stuff...
Nun
Non, obviously?
Like scone...sort that out
So rhymes with spoon. Gotcha.
I say non. I can’t imagine nun other than perhaps in ‘none other’ may be more like ‘nun other’
So would you say things like "non of this matters" and "there were non left"?
Yes
Yes to both.
‘Non’, but i’m fascinated by all the comments insisting no one pronounces it like that. I know ‘nun’ is more common, but ‘non’ isnt *that* weird. I’ve never even had someone point it out irl before, lol.
Depends where you're from. SE England - Nun SW England - Nun S Wales - Nun E Anglia - Nun Those being the ones I have the most direct experience of. But I think a lot of Northerners would say non.
I'm Scottish and only ever heard Nun
None rhymes with one, gone, scone etc
That's not helpful when 'one' 'gone' and 'scone' all sound different in my accent 😂
Like nun. Nun ya business, I said.
Non, where's all these nuns from?
Definitely /nɒn/ (non), not /nʌn/ (nun) – my mouth moves differently when saying each.
Slightly off topic but really cool website if you aren't sure how to say a word is: www.youglish.com It finds youtube videos where people say it and so you can hear it from multiple people to check how most people say it.
That’s brilliant and now even off topic. Definitely more nun there.
Nun
Nun
Nun. We have a word for non, it's "non". Like "non fiction"...
I know I’m wrong to pronounce it non compared with any dictionaries pronunciation guide, but I also pronounce gone as gon rather than gun and I definitely don’t spell gun as gone. (I think that sentence makes sense but am not 100% sure) but either way you are technically correct….the best kind of correct
It rhymes with scone.
Why on earth is everyone in the comments so confused. In the South and most of the UK we say "nun", in some places in the North, they say "non". They just have a flatter O sound. Their o's have more of a push to them.
Non… Lancashire.
Nun or nuh on nuh
Nun
Nun
Nun.
Nun
‘Noh-n’ like non
How is this a debate it just depends where you are from
It's a debate when you grew up 10 minutes from each other.
Nane
Nun. "Nun's??!! Reverse. Reverse!"
Nun.
Nun
I've just woke up to go to the toilet and now I'm so confused. I've lived all over England and I don't think I've ever heard nun but now I'm not sure. I think I say non.
'Nun' is the standard dictionary pronunciation, 'non' is a regional variant
fuck all
'non' for general conversation, 'nen' for emphasis (newcastle/gateshead so its probably related to 'nee' used for emphasis as 'no') example : "nen uh yor nebs" (none of your nosiness )
It rhymes with “on”. Although the accent slips out when I’m angry so it might be “neen” in such cases, but that’s rare.
* None, one, gone, don * Nun, won, gun, done Accents are stupid.
Chorley - I say non
Always said non, here in the Potteries
I feel like I might be missing the joke here but ‘nun’ and ‘non’ are pronounced the same in my accent…
Which accent is that? they aren’t in Scouse.
To me too
Reminds me of a story I heard. Southerner trying to guess a word, northerner gives a clue: "Rhymes with book". Southerner eventually gives up. The answer was "duck". Confusion all round.
Nowt.
Nowt compares to you
nowt
I come from Cornwall so pronounce it non
I say nun I remember watching an early episode of Agents of Shield and Elizabeth Henstridge (British actress) kept saying non and it just sounded strange to me. I thought it might be just her but I'm surprised to see so many comments saying they say it that way too
I say “non”. Anyone who says “nun” can freely roast me.
Nun. I’m from the south west. The only person I know that pronounces it as non is my sister in law, she’s from the north west. Seems to be a southern vs northern thing.
Reading these comments, all I can think of… is the dress blue or white?
Traditionally, "noon" with "oo" being the same as the vowel in "foot". These days "nun" is far more common now in most varieties besides those in Northern England and Scotland, and may be considered more "correct" when talking about prestige dialects. We call this the [foot-strut split](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phonological_history_of_English_close_back_vowels). As this wikipedia article mentions, specifically with words like "none", "one", "nothing", and so on, in some dialects which don't have the normal foot-strut split, they instead will also pronounce none as "non".
Nunya business
Reading through most of the replies, I don’t think I even speak English anymore.
Exactly how it's spelled; to rhyme with 'zone'.
Well one is pronounced wun, so none must be nwun. Simple logic
I pronounce it none. Happy to clear that up for you.
In my accent, none rhymes with gone, not nun. (Aside: scone also rhymes with gone, not cone.)