Pronunciation

Say it like the name Jim or like gem (a precious stone.)

Are you saying that pronouncing it "gem" is actually correct? Is this a specific dialect?

The short e and the short i can be very close in pronunciation.

I say "pen" and "pin" almost exactly the same way. If I think about the pronunciation very carefully, I can pronounce them a with some distinction, but not in normal conversation.

I pronounce PIN and PEN quite distinctly. I'm a New Zealander. I guess with some accents they are similar, but it's probably best to suggest only the proper pronunciation, i.e. GYM is pronounced like JIM.

Howjsay is a useful tool (as well as many online dictionaries that have both US and UK / either US or UK pronounciations).
Listen to this:

http://www.howjsay.com/index.php?word=gym&submit=Submit

A fellow by the name of Rick Aschmann has created and compiled a set of maps showing which regions of the US pronounce things which way ( http://aschmann.net/AmEng/ ). This pdf at the University of Pennsylvania has a map for pin/pen: (

anonymous How to pronounce GYM?

Jim

Meaning of hiya