Is "po-TAH-to" an acceptable pronunciation for "potato"?


Immortalized in the George and Ira Gershwin song "Let's Call the Whole Thing Off" is the nitpicking of pronunciation differences:



You like potato and I like potahto,
You like tomato and I like tomahto,
Potato, potahto, tomato, tomahto!



According to Wikipedia and other sources, the English do pronounce tomato as tə-MAH-toh rather than tə-MAY-toh. But this doesn't seem to be the case when it comes to potato.



(From the O.E.D.)


tomato – Pronunciation: /təˈmɑːtəʊ/
potato – Pronunciation: /pəˈteɪtəʊ/



Is "potahto" actually an acceptable way to pronounce potato? Or is the song just wrong?



Answer



I have lived in the UK for four years, yet I have never heard anyone say pot-ah-to, only pot-ay-to.


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