For the first time a member of the Royal Family has done something I will find useful and I am grateful for!

[CurlewKate]

Just saw a video where Prince William was talking about scones, and he pronounced it properly-scone to rhyme with gone! Debate over. Your Royal Highness, all is forgiven. I won’t even ask why you were faffing around talking about scones….

You forgot ‘though’. And why does that become thought? Why are do and to not like no and go? English must be tricky to learn!

Yes, then cream! Yes, butter, jam and cream. The texture combinations 😋

Also, it's scone (to rhyme with loan), but I'm Irish.

Growing up, it was always said like "gone." Then more people seemed to be adopting the hard "o" sound, like "stone." I say it that way now, too, as it would seem quite odd to pronounce it the other way. I'd likely get a funny look.
It's butter then jam here - if jam is offered or on hand if at home. It I were to use cream, then it would be a delicious experiment of one way then the other. I'd have to find a store that sold proper UK cream, though. 🤔

(Vancouver, Canada, btw)

It is indeed! Good addition. My husband learned English when he immigrated here - the first wod that tripped him up was "sugar" not realising it was a "sh" sound.
We still call it soogar in our house.

I know in my heart it's 'scon' but because everyone where I now live says 'scoan' I take my cue from them. It's not a hill I'm willing to die on. I'm conforming to local expectations.This is no different to William having inane discussions about scones and maintaining a breezy and jolly persona whilst gadding about as An Important Person. When he gets home he can drop the pretence and be a normal person. He might even pronounce scone differently.

Why on earth would he pronounce it differently when he gets home?!
He pronounced it correctly, as @CurlewKatewisely notes!

I am very sorry not sorry but I don’t understand, why you some adding unnecessary butter, to already scone cream & jam, thereby ruining yummy taste of jam and cream, by adding butter.

But my family think I’m heathen (?) as I don’t like butter with jacket potatoes either.

I asked the maid in dulcet tone,
To order me a buttered scone,
The silly girl has been and gone,
And ordered me a buttered scone.

(A Poem in Punch magazine 1913)

No, I don't think William does actually pronounce scone differently when he gets home unless Kate insists.

I'm not Irish so it's scone rhymes with gone and very quickly.

There is no place on a scone for cream.

I shall now take my leave, please don't @ me, any of you, I have spoken 👋

😁😁😁

There will always be a scon/scoan divide.

English is funny like that. Is it Eether or Eyether, Neether or Nyther, Scon or Scoan?

I think they are all correct. I wonder if other languages have this too?

Plus, you are Scottish, the spiritual home of the scone. Nobody, but nobody, makes scones better than the Scots. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

I'll take that, thank you @OlympicWomen 😍

So much for taking my leave, I'm a nosy bugger 😊

Looking at that map, it's clear that those who pronounce scone to rhyme with gone have something in common:

They're all wrong. 😁

😂

I think the old Queen would have said 'scin' or 'scen' with posh strangled vowels so maybe we should standardise to that. (Or maybe not!)

My Ukrainian mother tried a scone when she visited and later told me quietly that she thought those little cakes were a bit dry 🤣

And while nothing to do with anything, on my first visit many moons ago was stumped by two taps on the wash basins and an extra pin on the plug - talk about excess! And why was everyone was everyone obsessed for me to try a curry, I had no idea it was such a big deal.

Didn't you tell her to add lashings of cream and jam?

Ah well it would be boring if we were all the same.

Lol, I can't remember. Cakes in the Ukraine tend to come ready assembled 🤣 and there is no such thing as clotted cream, that is probably why the whole thing was weird to her.

If you explained it's nature, ie it's not a cake, she may not have had such a negative experience.

Do other languages have words like sanction, which has 2 meanings which are almost exactly the opposite of each other?

Or flammable and inflammable which mean exactly the same?

I’ve no idea but the word sanction confused me for years.

The different pronunciations aren’t even regional. You could say eether and your brother could say eyether and you live in the same house. English is a very flexible language.