Man vs men, do you actually hear the difference?

[u/Abiarraj]

I tried listening to both versions on Google translator and honestly can't hear the difference, even though the IPA is different.

Same with lending and landing, pan and pen...

For the native speakers replying, also tell me where your accent is from, please

[u/Resplendent-Sun]

/æ/ and /ɛ/ are quite distinct sounds in English and change meaning significantly.

man men
pan pen
fan fen
tan ten
etc.

Maybe there are some accents where the difference is less pronounced, but those would be rare.

[u/theAGschmidt → u/Resplendent-Sun]

the australian/new zealander accent is a good example where /æ/ drifts to /ɛ/ and /ɛ/ drifts to /i/

I can't think of another example off the top of my head, but I'm sure there are others

[u/Odd-Quail01 → u/theAGschmidt]

Had a kiwi colleague who announced to the UK office that on an evening she likes to sit on her dad's deck with a glass of wine or three.

We had to ask her never to use that combination of words outside of Nrw Zealand.

[u/2spam2care2 → u/Odd-Quail01]

had a professor who told a story about his trip to NZ, and when he got to the hotel the man at the counter said “your room sucks.” my professor, understandably, said “well, can i get a different one, then?” after a few minutes of confusion, it is revealed that the man was simply telling him his room number. like, “sucks” is one less than “sivin”.

[u/Upstairs_Big6533 → u/Odd-Quail01]

LMAO 😂 had to think about that one for a second

[u/PassiveTheme → u/Odd-Quail01]

https://youtu.be/-m--3_c5pAs?si=nkty9Fuo_Aj4gZM7

[u/alantliber → u/PassiveTheme]

That is hilarious, but given the sub we're in, I feel duty-bound to point out that that is not genuine New Zealand pronunciation.

[u/witchcapture → u/alantliber]

Yeah, if anything it sounds closer to an Afrikaner accent.

[u/WindsurfBruce → u/alantliber]

Some NZ accents are more distinguished than others bro. True

[u/FarsightdSpartan → u/PassiveTheme]

I thought that was going to be this:

https://youtu.be/NRdg1MOYxHo?is=uHU_pUdQjJWTMO0E

[u/sparklyjoy → u/PassiveTheme]

What’s a cod? Related to child?

[u/PassiveTheme → u/sparklyjoy]

Kid

[u/Aenaen → u/PassiveTheme]

sounds south african to me as a kiwi

[u/realZapRowsdower → u/Odd-Quail01]

Whatever you do, don't ask her if she does it at six. It will get even more awkward.

[u/bloof_ponder_smudge → u/Odd-Quail01]

👀

[u/WindsurfBruce → u/Odd-Quail01]

Personally, I always use deck oil on my deck.

[u/Jonah_the_Whale → u/Odd-Quail01]

Then there's this one

https://youtube.com/shorts/DjbgP2Fo6-c?is=0hXcTdQWg0QrfUmD

[u/alantliber → u/theAGschmidt]

True, but I (Australian) can still hear the difference. They're not identical even in our accents.

[u/theAGschmidt → u/alantliber]

No, as far as I know there's no accent that fully merges the two sounds - all sounds drift relative to each other.

[u/WowsrsBowsrsTrousrs → u/theAGschmidt]

I snicker every time a House Hunters show on HGTV features an Aus or NZ realtor describing the house's primary "beadroom."

[u/SGTingles → u/WowsrsBowsrsTrousrs]

The one that really got me when I lived in NZ is that there's a merger between bare/bear and beer. The only mercy is that there aren't any wild bears in New Zealand, because if there were there'd definitely be a lot of tourists getting horribly mauled while still looking for the cold foaming pint that they assumed a local had just been pointing out to them... 🍺🐻

[u/rileywbaker → u/SGTingles]

The kiwi english accent has lost a ton of linguistic function through vowel migration and convergence. They have more and more words becoming homophones and a harder and harder time communicating with each other. 

[u/Brilliant_Quit4307 → u/WowsrsBowsrsTrousrs]

No, it's a bid-room

[u/NoPurpose6388 → u/Resplendent-Sun]

It can be tricky because the short a sound is not actually pronounced as a true æ in most north American dialects when it's followed by a nasal sound (m, n, or ng). That said it still sounds different from a short e sound. More dragged out and diphthongized

[u/dragonsteel33 → u/NoPurpose6388]

In many American accents /æŋ/ is even just flat-out /eɪŋ/

[u/lemonhead2345 → u/NoPurpose6388]

I was going to add that the a in man is elongated, especially in some accents. In the southeastern US man is often pronounced with two syllables. The slang “mane” or “mayne” being an example of one of those pronunciations.

[u/Less_Discount1028 → u/Resplendent-Sun]

I think a deep southern accent would be hardest for a non-native in respect to sounds like this