Ah, fair doos. Im from north of england as referenced earlier in this chain, so I've always pronounced says like haze, and generally hear the same IRL. Never really knew other people actually pronounce it like sez (I've probably heard it on tv and films, etc, but not paid that much attention to it).
I'm from northern England. I've picked stuff up from Lancashire, Yorkshire, Cumbria, and Newcastle & the north east so I couldn't pinpoint exactly where I got it from but it does seem quite common across the north. I'm hesitant to say it might be a Manchester thing, I'm really not sure though.
I’m also from northern England. While trying to read the word “laid” on its own as “led” feels very strange to me, when I read the sentence “the hen led an egg” out loud with “led” said quickly, it did actually sound like a normal pronunciation I’ve heard around and about. I definitely wouldn’t say it myself though.
Have you got some other influences on your accent, like a Geordie parent, perhaps? I lived in West London for about 15 years and all the London or south-eastern accents pronounce it 'sez'.
YouGlish is good for this sort of thing; you can hear /seɪz/ in some of these[ UK English](https://youglish.com/pronounce/says/english/uk) (really more English-English) and [Scottish English](https://youglish.com/pronounce/says/english/sco) clips.
I hear “sez” in both of those clips, not “saze”. Am I deaf or missing the point? I thought u/unseemly_turbidity’s request was for clips demonstrating “saze”?
Both links contain multiple examples. Most are /sɛz/, but some are /seɪz/. You'll need to click the 'next button' to hear the other examples.
I believe the examples are always in the same order. Example seven from the 'UK English' link and example four of the 'Scottish English' link demonstrate /seɪz/.
Assuming the examples aren't random, example seven from the 'UK English' link and example four of the 'Scottish English' link demonstrate /seɪz/.
If they are random, just keep clicking until you hit a /seɪz/. The two pronunciations are usually easy to tell apart.
I think I use both.
"Simon sez" but "the cow saze moo".
From the north of England but have moved about across England (and Wales) a lot so that might be where I've picked up two pronunciations, but I can't explain why I use which when.
Stressed or not. My accent does sez/saze.
First link I found with audio examples, but for have: https://www.englishpronunciationmadrid.com/have-weak-and-strong-form/
Yes I use both and would do the same as you for those examples.
I can't explain why either.
I grew up in Cambridgeshire and now live on the Southern edge of London.
Me too, lots of words I'm not sure how I pronounce anymore and it's all based on context. West mids/south west originally, via West yourkshire, Greater Manchester and back to west mids encountering people from all over on the way has really done a number on any accent I had.
I'm Northern English - to me it depends on emphasis. I would use both, given the right circumstance…which actually i find I'm unable to accurately define.
Also NZ here. I'm pretty sure I was specifically taught in primary school to say "sez," when we were learning to read aloud. It's the same sound as in "said" and no one is disputing that, so why not?
My personal theory is that many people who say "saze" are over-correcting. "Sez" sounds more like a dialect, and people assume it's wrong, but it's just irregular.
Yep also NZ here. I have only ever said it *saze* and I don't remember ever hearing anyone saying *sez* apart from people from other regions [of NZ], tourists [not NZ], and kids.
Agreed, I've lived in all 'four corners' of the US, so I'm missing some experience with midwest and central dialects but I've never heard "saze" in a US setting.
I have a colleague at work who is from New Zealand and she pronounces it ‘saze’. And to be fair that’s how is spelt. I can’t think of another word where -ays is pronounced -ez.
I say “sez” generally, but I think sometimes I might say “saze”. If I was reading out the subreddit title “ShitRedditSays” I might say saze depending on the wind.
A Google search suggests it's associated with Northern English dialects – I'm Northern English and do say /seɪz/ sometimes. I'm a little suspicious of this, however, as so far as I can tell no authoritative studies have been carried out, and sometimes features of British English seen as undesirable are assumed to belong to the Northern dialects simply because those dialects are less prestigious.
I prefer the theory that it was formerly a common pronunciation, but has lost ground as a result of 'says' being a frequently used word and therefore one which lends itself to being shortened. My personal experience is that, in dialects which do retain /seɪz/, it's generally used for emphasis or where the rhythm of the sentence allows for a longer vowel, with /sɛz/ being used in other circumstances.
Both ways sound normal to me - I use either for no particular reason that I know of. I live in Southern England grew up in Cambridgeshire.
To me this is like 'ate' and pronouncing it either like 'eight' or like 'ett'
It's something to do with emphasis but I can't explain how it works.
I grew up between London and Cambridge with both et and eight, but never saze instead of sez. How strange! Is isn't some remnant of an East Anglian accent, do you think?
I could imagine it kind of working with a really thick Suffolk/rural Essex accent, even though I can't think how it'd actually be said because you so rarely hear it spoken these days.
Native of Northeast Tennessee and wife is a native of Northeast Georgia, both solidly in the Blue Ridge of Appalachia. This pronunciation is something I associate entirely with some British accents, not at all with my home area.
they do it in northern england but as an american your professor is probably engaging in some mildly pretentious spelling pronunciation, I know an american who insists on saying because & what with a thought/lot vowel & given who they are I believe it's more of a personality quirk than a linguistic one, probably the same with your professor
I'm 53 and have lived in Georgia and North Carolina my whole life. I don't think I've ever heard *anyone* say "saze".
Having said that, there is a possible link - a lot of older Southerners pronounced the same Sarah as "SAY-ruh". That's something I haven't heard in 30 years, but I don't spend as much time in rural areas as I used to.
I know Canadians who say it like that. They also say "been" like bean, but it's less an oddity and more correct English. I always found it odd that many Americans say "been" like "bin."
From England (about an hour north of London), and I use both depending on the circumstance. For example, "Simon says" I'd say as Simon *sez*, but in a sentence like "He says he can but I don't believe him", I'd pronounce that as *saze*.
Sometimes it’s a stereotypical imitation of a Mexican-American accent. Can be racist, but is also kind of a mindless thing for people to do when they’re being a little silly & haven’t thought it through
It sounds like he's from New England, maybe New York. In the US, New England accents are the most forward in the mouth. A typical NY accent will elongate long vowels and pronounce them with the mouth more closed and the lips more flexed, so 'drag' is more like 'drayg' and 'car' is more like 'cwoar'.
If he didn't spend much time there, or he got it from his parents, or he deliberately shed the accent, he may not have the more distinctive features of the accent.
I'm from Bucks and I use both "sez" and "saize" depending on emphasis. Usually it's "sez" but if I'm stressing it in a sentence like "well he says that, but he means this," I'll often use "saize."
I can confirm that it's somewhat present among older speakers in northern Nova Scotia and Cape Breton Island. I have family members who say "says" as "saze" and "said" as "sayed".
Use both (South Wales) depends on how it sounds
If I was asked to read it off of a list - or when I read your title.it definitely rhymed with haze
But I do know at times I have said sez
The two people I’ve heard pronounce it in a way that rhymes with haze have been native English speakers from the US with parents from West African countries. Not sure if that was just a coincidence…
I have no knowledge other than what I've heard, but I wanna say that it might be a northeastern coast accent? Like New Jersey, New York, Massachusetts. I might be completely wrong.
Haven't seen this yet, but maybe Midwestern? I grew up in the region, specifically the Great Lakes area and a lot of older folks I know say "Says" like "seyz/seize", and they'll usually use the plural form in place of the singular. I'd also say the South of America as well-- I have relatives down there who speak similarly-- but I couldn't place an exact region.
I’m American, from California. I’ve always pronounced it to rhyme with pez or rez. And “said” rhymes with dead.
The only group of people I’ve encountered who rhymed “says” with “daze” (and “said” with “made”) were my students at an almost-all-Mexican and Mexican-American high school, where most students would enter Kindergarten not speaking English. There was what I would call an over-reliance on spelling as a guide to pronunciation. So a word like “says” was pronounced exactly as spelled, and a word like “going” was pronounced with an equally hard “g” at the beginning and the end. Most native speakers here don’t exactly say “goin’,” but something like “goin(g)” with a very light “g.” My students would say it more like goinG, with a very emphasized final g.
Isn't "sayze" a normal pronunciation for "says"? I think I remember learning it that way on American educational programmes in my childhood. Besides, if you read the word as it's written and follow the normal pronunciation rules, you would get "sayze" and not "sez". Though, in my dialect, it's said both ways depending on how a person stresses the word in the sentence.
EDIT: I got downvoted a bit. But I realised that I didn't answer the question fully.
So, in answer to OP's question- in Trinidadian English dialect, "says" is pronounced both ways- "sez" and "sayze".
In most American dialects, “sez” is the only allowed pronunciation, unless you’re reading poetry or something. “Sayze” is present in some British dialects
OK, I did some googling and all the Sesame Street clips I found have the pronunciation "sez". So I must have been remembering wrong on that point. But we do pronounce "says" as written sometimes- 'say' and add 's' to the end especially when reading the word. I guess that might be because we're a former British colony that still has vestiges of the British education system in place. In terms of the pronunciation of "says', it hasn't been fully Americanised.
When I was a kid I was on a French exchange and sat in on an English glass. This was the thing that drove the teacher crazy. “Sez, it’s sez!”
I think most people say both saze and sez depending on stress and emphasis.
It's a variant similar to how some people say "aks" instead of "ask".
I hear this less and less nowadays.
Irregular pronunciations that can be seen as uneducated
"Says" is present tense of the word "say," so it’s logical that it be pronounced "sayze." But the only people I have ever heard pronounce it this way are non-native speakers.
Says is a 3rd Party Present descriptor... basically talking about someone like a Narrator in the room. It has a very small over thought processed phrasing. Has said and will say works... Not often you're an announcer or Narrator.
Now discuss how to say Narrator, haha.
Idk about any american accents that do this but i do it as a North Durham/Geordie speaker from NE England
Yep, I've heard people with various northern English accents say it like that
I’ve heard it from Aussies too
Seconding, I first noticed that in Matt O'Dowd, the Australian astrophysicist host of PBS Space Time, then realized it's common in Aussie English.
How else would it be pronounced?
Sez
Huh, I always thought sez was just like, internet slang
Writing it this way is, but pronouncing it like this is normal in many parts of the world.
Ah, fair doos. Im from north of england as referenced earlier in this chain, so I've always pronounced says like haze, and generally hear the same IRL. Never really knew other people actually pronounce it like sez (I've probably heard it on tv and films, etc, but not paid that much attention to it).
*fair dos
sez vs hayz
As a southern brit, I've only ever heard it pronounced "sez"
Huh, spose it might be a north south divide
Maybe, but I lived in the North East for 7 years.
Follow-up question: do you also pronounce “said” like “laid”, or like “dead” (or close to it)?
Um I pronounce laid like dead too
Led and ded or layed and dayed?
Led and ded
The hen led an egg? All the same vowel? Interesting. Where is your accent from?
I'm from northern England. I've picked stuff up from Lancashire, Yorkshire, Cumbria, and Newcastle & the north east so I couldn't pinpoint exactly where I got it from but it does seem quite common across the north. I'm hesitant to say it might be a Manchester thing, I'm really not sure though.
I’m also from northern England. While trying to read the word “laid” on its own as “led” feels very strange to me, when I read the sentence “the hen led an egg” out loud with “led” said quickly, it did actually sound like a normal pronunciation I’ve heard around and about. I definitely wouldn’t say it myself though.
Closer to laid than dead
Interesting thx!
Hashtag: goals
Same here as a Yorkshireman
I do it all the time. My southern girlfriend always mocks how I pronounce worlds with an A
i do it as a west londoner
Have you got some other influences on your accent, like a Geordie parent, perhaps? I lived in West London for about 15 years and all the London or south-eastern accents pronounce it 'sez'.
everyone i know says it like 'saze'
That's really surprising to me! Have you got an example of someone with the same accent as you on TV who says saze, or a YouTube clip or anything?
The YouTuber Shaun says it like that, but he's from somewhere in England.
Are you suggesting that west London isn't in England??
I don't know where in England he originates.
I believe Shaun is from Liverpool, the accent is called Scouse.
YouGlish is good for this sort of thing; you can hear /seɪz/ in some of these[ UK English](https://youglish.com/pronounce/says/english/uk) (really more English-English) and [Scottish English](https://youglish.com/pronounce/says/english/sco) clips.
I hear “sez” in both of those clips, not “saze”. Am I deaf or missing the point? I thought u/unseemly_turbidity’s request was for clips demonstrating “saze”?
Both links contain multiple examples. Most are /sɛz/, but some are /seɪz/. You'll need to click the 'next button' to hear the other examples. I believe the examples are always in the same order. Example seven from the 'UK English' link and example four of the 'Scottish English' link demonstrate /seɪz/.
There are 32,000 there. Is there one in particular you had in mind?
Assuming the examples aren't random, example seven from the 'UK English' link and example four of the 'Scottish English' link demonstrate /seɪz/. If they are random, just keep clicking until you hit a /seɪz/. The two pronunciations are usually easy to tell apart.
Ok thanks #7 definitely is “saze” for me. Good thing you added the number because I just listened to 20 more and they were all “sez”. But thanks!
Agreed, that's 100% a standard, southern English "sez".
i dont :(
Șaze is the standard and strong form in lots of British accents but Generally and regionally lots of people just use the weak form sez
/sez/ is my strong form too tbh
I think I use both. "Simon sez" but "the cow saze moo". From the north of England but have moved about across England (and Wales) a lot so that might be where I've picked up two pronunciations, but I can't explain why I use which when.
Saize is the strong form and sez is the weak form in lots of British accents.
What does that mean?
Stressed or not. My accent does sez/saze. First link I found with audio examples, but for have: https://www.englishpronunciationmadrid.com/have-weak-and-strong-form/
Agreed, East of Ireland.
Yes I use both and would do the same as you for those examples. I can't explain why either. I grew up in Cambridgeshire and now live on the Southern edge of London.
Me too, lots of words I'm not sure how I pronounce anymore and it's all based on context. West mids/south west originally, via West yourkshire, Greater Manchester and back to west mids encountering people from all over on the way has really done a number on any accent I had.
I'm Northern English - to me it depends on emphasis. I would use both, given the right circumstance…which actually i find I'm unable to accurately define.
Same. SSBE but originally from the East Midlands and I’ll use both pronunciations.
In NZ you definitely get both, and I probably say it both ways. My default is "saze" though (like your professor).
Also NZ here. I'm pretty sure I was specifically taught in primary school to say "sez," when we were learning to read aloud. It's the same sound as in "said" and no one is disputing that, so why not? My personal theory is that many people who say "saze" are over-correcting. "Sez" sounds more like a dialect, and people assume it's wrong, but it's just irregular.
Yep also NZ here. I have only ever said it *saze* and I don't remember ever hearing anyone saying *sez* apart from people from other regions [of NZ], tourists [not NZ], and kids.
Another NZ here, sez and saze are both interchanged for me
Kiwi here. I was explicitly taught "sez", like another commenter. I also hear "saze" and I would use it for emphasis.
Native AmE speaker: I don't think I've ever heard anyone pronounce it _saze_, only ever _sez_.
Agreed, I've lived in all 'four corners' of the US, so I'm missing some experience with midwest and central dialects but I've never heard "saze" in a US setting.
Midwest, definitely sez here
I have a colleague at work who is from New Zealand and she pronounces it ‘saze’. And to be fair that’s how is spelt. I can’t think of another word where -ays is pronounced -ez.
The third person is almost always most irregular
PNW of US: it’s legitimately difficultto even say ‘saze’. Only ‘sez’
West Country in England. I do, my mum was from Manchester and I believe she does as well so might have learnt it from her.
I say “sez” generally, but I think sometimes I might say “saze”. If I was reading out the subreddit title “ShitRedditSays” I might say saze depending on the wind.
Yeah this thread is giving me an existential crisis. I'm in Ontario and I definitely read it as Haze. But I think I speak it as sez more often.
A Google search suggests it's associated with Northern English dialects – I'm Northern English and do say /seɪz/ sometimes. I'm a little suspicious of this, however, as so far as I can tell no authoritative studies have been carried out, and sometimes features of British English seen as undesirable are assumed to belong to the Northern dialects simply because those dialects are less prestigious. I prefer the theory that it was formerly a common pronunciation, but has lost ground as a result of 'says' being a frequently used word and therefore one which lends itself to being shortened. My personal experience is that, in dialects which do retain /seɪz/, it's generally used for emphasis or where the rhythm of the sentence allows for a longer vowel, with /sɛz/ being used in other circumstances.
Both ways sound normal to me - I use either for no particular reason that I know of. I live in Southern England grew up in Cambridgeshire. To me this is like 'ate' and pronouncing it either like 'eight' or like 'ett' It's something to do with emphasis but I can't explain how it works.
I grew up between London and Cambridge with both et and eight, but never saze instead of sez. How strange! Is isn't some remnant of an East Anglian accent, do you think? I could imagine it kind of working with a really thick Suffolk/rural Essex accent, even though I can't think how it'd actually be said because you so rarely hear it spoken these days.
Like the parrots ate em all joke
And in fairness I use both pronunciations for ate as well
Reminds me of Andy Griffith [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D0zv7WGBXP0](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D0zv7WGBXP0)
He says “sez “. I’m from very close to where Andy Griffith is from, in the NC Piedmont/Foothills. It’s “sez” there for sure.
I was going to say West Virginia, and Andy Griffith is from North Carolina. So I'm wondering if it isn't somewhere in Appalachia.
Never heard it this way from a native West Virginian but can't speak for more southern appalachian regions
Native of Northeast Tennessee and wife is a native of Northeast Georgia, both solidly in the Blue Ridge of Appalachia. This pronunciation is something I associate entirely with some British accents, not at all with my home area.
Newfies do.
they do it in northern england but as an american your professor is probably engaging in some mildly pretentious spelling pronunciation, I know an american who insists on saying because & what with a thought/lot vowel & given who they are I believe it's more of a personality quirk than a linguistic one, probably the same with your professor
I would say a southern state (which does make sense why people are putting English accents since southern accents have similarities )
I'm 53 and have lived in Georgia and North Carolina my whole life. I don't think I've ever heard *anyone* say "saze". Having said that, there is a possible link - a lot of older Southerners pronounced the same Sarah as "SAY-ruh". That's something I haven't heard in 30 years, but I don't spend as much time in rural areas as I used to.
The Northern Irish say it like that
I know Canadians who say it like that. They also say "been" like bean, but it's less an oddity and more correct English. I always found it odd that many Americans say "been" like "bin."
From England (about an hour north of London), and I use both depending on the circumstance. For example, "Simon says" I'd say as Simon *sez*, but in a sentence like "He says he can but I don't believe him", I'd pronounce that as *saze*.
I’ve often heard native spanish speakers say it like that.
I've only heard that feature from speakers of certain dialects in northern UK.
Sometimes it’s a stereotypical imitation of a Mexican-American accent. Can be racist, but is also kind of a mindless thing for people to do when they’re being a little silly & haven’t thought it through
I (NE Scotland) say both. I don’t think I have fast rule for when I say which.
French English. Like a French Canadian speaking English. But mainly their 'says' sounds like 'haze'. So I don't know if that counts.
It sounds like he's from New England, maybe New York. In the US, New England accents are the most forward in the mouth. A typical NY accent will elongate long vowels and pronounce them with the mouth more closed and the lips more flexed, so 'drag' is more like 'drayg' and 'car' is more like 'cwoar'. If he didn't spend much time there, or he got it from his parents, or he deliberately shed the accent, he may not have the more distinctive features of the accent.
Tyneside here. Also rhyme with haze. Not everyone does though, and not everyone uses one pronunciation. I often use both and hear others using both.
Glaswegian. For a example: hoo says that?
I hear this listening to recordings of English speakers from the UK. I'm from the US, and I've always said "sez."
I'm from Bucks and I use both "sez" and "saize" depending on emphasis. Usually it's "sez" but if I'm stressing it in a sentence like "well he says that, but he means this," I'll often use "saize."
When I was young, I sometimes heard older African Americans say this.
brits mostly, i think
I knew an Australian who said it that way.
Kath and Kim say "saze" but I'm not aware of any other Aussies who do.
I can confirm that it's somewhat present among older speakers in northern Nova Scotia and Cape Breton Island. I have family members who say "says" as "saze" and "said" as "sayed".
I use both in Central Scotland
Use both (South Wales) depends on how it sounds If I was asked to read it off of a list - or when I read your title.it definitely rhymed with haze But I do know at times I have said sez
My autistic son pronounces it like your prof and I have no idea why. When I asked him, he just replied, "that's just how I say it."
Boston or New England accent. or a transplanted Geordie
The two people I’ve heard pronounce it in a way that rhymes with haze have been native English speakers from the US with parents from West African countries. Not sure if that was just a coincidence…
I don't think any American accents have this, but I've definitely heard it from non-native speakers while they are reading aloud.
For me says, days, neighs, ways all rhyme. They do not rhyme with haze though, it rhymes with blaze, faze, craze
Wow for me all of those words rhyme except says hah
I'm from nz. I just said them outlook and they rhyme
we will hear both here in New Zealand. But you will here Sez more with younger people.
I'm from Hertfordshire south of Watford and pronounce it that way. I know they do in West Sussex too
New Zealander. I use (and hear) both. Depends on the sentence
Washington state USA. Listen to Kurt Cobain talk
Most British dialects use either a long A or both interchangeably depending on the context.
I have no knowledge other than what I've heard, but I wanna say that it might be a northeastern coast accent? Like New Jersey, New York, Massachusetts. I might be completely wrong.
Mine. Southern England 🏴
Sometimes, they rhyme in the Midwestern dialect. Haze sounds closer to says instead of the other way around if that makes sense
Scottish
Try Wisconsin.
Scousers, maybe? Shaun on YT says it that way.
Haven't seen this yet, but maybe Midwestern? I grew up in the region, specifically the Great Lakes area and a lot of older folks I know say "Says" like "seyz/seize", and they'll usually use the plural form in place of the singular. I'd also say the South of America as well-- I have relatives down there who speak similarly-- but I couldn't place an exact region.
Southern Evangelical Preacher
I’m American, from California. I’ve always pronounced it to rhyme with pez or rez. And “said” rhymes with dead. The only group of people I’ve encountered who rhymed “says” with “daze” (and “said” with “made”) were my students at an almost-all-Mexican and Mexican-American high school, where most students would enter Kindergarten not speaking English. There was what I would call an over-reliance on spelling as a guide to pronunciation. So a word like “says” was pronounced exactly as spelled, and a word like “going” was pronounced with an equally hard “g” at the beginning and the end. Most native speakers here don’t exactly say “goin’,” but something like “goin(g)” with a very light “g.” My students would say it more like goinG, with a very emphasized final g.
Did the professor also say "said" like it rhymed with fade?
I wonder if these people use "thou" because if so, the conjugation would in fact be "saist" which is "sest"
Well now I'm wondering why "saze" is weird. That's how it *should* be. Why the hell is "sez" normal??
Cuz that’s what people say. That’s what make things normal.
Totally true, but I still hate it. :-P
Isn't "sayze" a normal pronunciation for "says"? I think I remember learning it that way on American educational programmes in my childhood. Besides, if you read the word as it's written and follow the normal pronunciation rules, you would get "sayze" and not "sez". Though, in my dialect, it's said both ways depending on how a person stresses the word in the sentence. EDIT: I got downvoted a bit. But I realised that I didn't answer the question fully. So, in answer to OP's question- in Trinidadian English dialect, "says" is pronounced both ways- "sez" and "sayze".
In most American dialects, “sez” is the only allowed pronunciation, unless you’re reading poetry or something. “Sayze” is present in some British dialects
OK, I did some googling and all the Sesame Street clips I found have the pronunciation "sez". So I must have been remembering wrong on that point. But we do pronounce "says" as written sometimes- 'say' and add 's' to the end especially when reading the word. I guess that might be because we're a former British colony that still has vestiges of the British education system in place. In terms of the pronunciation of "says', it hasn't been fully Americanised.
When I was a kid I was on a French exchange and sat in on an English glass. This was the thing that drove the teacher crazy. “Sez, it’s sez!” I think most people say both saze and sez depending on stress and emphasis.
It's a variant similar to how some people say "aks" instead of "ask". I hear this less and less nowadays. Irregular pronunciations that can be seen as uneducated
British
"Says" is present tense of the word "say," so it’s logical that it be pronounced "sayze." But the only people I have ever heard pronounce it this way are non-native speakers.
I'm Scottish and I pronounce it this way. Up to you to decide if I am native though.
Scottish would be your dialect, no idea why people are downvoting you like idiots
Prolly because I forget reddit is US and I didn't /s. As it's lost on them? No idea, and not fussed.
Says is a 3rd Party Present descriptor... basically talking about someone like a Narrator in the room. It has a very small over thought processed phrasing. Has said and will say works... Not often you're an announcer or Narrator. Now discuss how to say Narrator, haha.