People in the UK have just discovered how those across the pond pronounce the word 'niche', and they're absolutely disgusted.
Brits and Americans clashing - it's a tale as old as time, and the tradition doesn't seem to be going anywhere anytime soon.
We all speak the language, we all live in what is considered the 'western world', and a lot of our music, culture, TV and film crosses over.
Advert
But the one thing we do not and probably will never agree on, is how to pronounce things.
Ask an American to say 'either', and it may sound a bit weird. Ask them to say 'leisure', and you'll probably twitch.
But ask them to say 'aluminium', and you might have a mini-stroke.
It's just one of the many words that they've decided to change, following up on taking the letter 'u' out of words such as favour and colour, by continuing to scrap other letters, just because they feel like it.
Advert
However, it looks like people on social media have stumbled upon yet another word that Americans pronounce differently - or wrong, depending on who you ask.
It's a word that isn't even originally English, as the word actually originates from the land of the French.
According to Oxford Languages, the adjective 'niche' can be defined as: "Denoting products, services, or interests that appeal to a small, specialised section of the population."
Similarly, the most common uses of the noun are defined as: "A comfortable or suitable position in life or employment", or "A specialised segment of the market for a particular kind of product or service."
It's a great word that can be used to describe a select group of the population, and we in the UK pronounce the word as 'neesh', while those in the US, well...
Advert
They pronounce it as 'nich', with a t sound in the middle - so it rhymes with ditch. I am appalled.
A user shared their shock at the revelation on X, formerly Twitter, posting: "Just discovered how americans pronounce niche, need a moment."
Another user replied: "Oh god, it's 'nitch', isn't it . . .?"
Someone else added: "I say it the British way then, didn't even know that lmao it's kinda obvious it's not NICH."
Advert
An American hit back though: "The English pronounce math as 'maffs.'"
The original viral post prompted a reply from Merriam-Webster, who brand themselves as 'America's most trusted dictionary'.
"We realize that can feel like a niche pronunciation," they replied at first.
The account added: "\NICH\ is the more common one and the older of the two pronunciations,
"It is the only pronunciation given for the word in all English dictionaries until the 20th century."
Topics: Social Media, Weird, Twitter, US News
Joshua Nair