Pronunciation of "again"
Hi there!
I'm curious! How do you pronounce "again"?
From the Oxford Dictionary:
again
Pronunciation: /??g?n, ??ge?n/
I've heard both... Can it be pronounced both ways? Do you pronounce it both ways?
9 Answers
I'm British, and here both pronunciations are used. However, I think the first pronunciation is more common (especially in the south, where I live). But some different accents do use the second pronunciation.
Unfair representations of us portray us as all having posh accents (Where someone says 'again' as in 'ten'). But this is not the case.
Pues eso depende del acento, ¿no? Yo he escuchado una amplia variedad de pronunciaciones de nativos de varios países y regiones.
La gente del Sur de Estados Unidos lo pronuncia de manera distinta a los de Manhattan, quienes pronuncian distinto de los nativos de Brooklyn, quienes pronuncian distinto de los californianos, quienes pronuncian distinto de los jamaiquinos...
I'm trying to think of some words that rhyme with it.
Most people in the United States (minus heavy accents) would pronounce it so the "gain" part rhymes with:
When, ten, hen.
British people pronounce the "gain" more like:
Lane, rain, pain.
The Oxford dictionary is going to focus on the proper English pronunciation (Great Britain). The basic pronunciation in the United States is "uh-ghen" with a lazy first syllable. My Mexican wife always complains bout the laziness of many syllables. =)
It is rare to hear "uh-gain," even in parts of the south.
I am a native speaker from Texas. I believe the first pronunciation is typical in the U.S., and especially in the South. The second pronunciation seems more British to me.
Hi Cogumela! Here in the U.S. we use the "??g?n" pronunciation. I believe "??ge?n" is used in the U.K. I hadn't used phonetics much, but found this website to be helpful for hearing (and figuring out) the difference: Phonetics: The Sounds of American English.
Do you know that is a hard one. If you ask me how it 'should' be said I would say again, rhyming with pain, but I just tried recording a short sentence as naturally as I could and it felt more natural to say agen, rhyming with ten.
Here's what I find funny:
I've heard modern singer / songwriters compose song lyrics in a standard rhyming pattern. They have used "again" and rhyme it with words like plane, train, pain, etc. (Poets in the English language have traditionally done this for centuries.)
And they they sing the song, but pronounce "again" in the common American English standard that rhymes with ten, hen, pen, etc. 
Hola Cogu, perhaps I have confused you a little. The usual English (ie in England) pronunciation is "agayn" but with my Northern English accent (Yorkshire) I tend to say "agen"
