You say Nassau, I say NASA

In article , Sara Lorimer at
(Email Removed) hath writ:
[nq:1]Today I heard not one but two people say NASA the same way I'd say Nassau; they said NAH-saw where I expected NAH-suh. Is this a common variation?[/nq]
I've heard "NAH-SAH" a few times but never with the "aw" sound.
dg (domain=ccwebster)

[nq:1]Today I heard not one but two people say NASA the same way I'd say Nassau; they said NAH-saw where I expected NAH-suh. Is this a common variation?[/nq]
I say N@ss-ow (ow as in cow).

Steve Hayes from Tshwane, South Africa
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/7734/stevesig.h

[nq:1]Today I heard not one but two people say NASA the same way I'd say Nassau; they said NAH-saw where I expected NAH-suh. Is this a common variation?[/nq]
Wait, by "AH" do you mean "cat" or "father"? I've only heard /n&s@/ ("nassa", rhyming with non-rhotic
can't-does-not-have-father-vowel "passer") for NASA.

Nassau is /n&sO/ ("nassaw"), the second syllable having the "caught" v

[nq:2]Today I heard not one but two people say NASA ... NAH-saw where I expected NAH-suh. Is this a common variation?[/nq]
[nq:1]Wait, by "AH" do you mean "cat" or "father"? I've only heard /n&s@/ ("nassa", rhyming with non-rhotic can't-does-not-have-father-vowel "passer") for NASA.[/nq]
Cat, yes, the same one you've heard.
[nq:1]Nassau is /n&sO/ ("nassaw"), the second syllable having

I've heard the "nassaw" pronunciation of "NASA" on occasion on television. I can't remember anyone I know personally having ever said it.

One place where I may have heard it pronounced that way was in the episode of The Simpsons in which Homer becomes an astronaut.

Raymond S. Wise
Minneapolis, Minnesota USA
E-mail: mplsray @ yahoo . com

[nq:1]Today I heard not one but two people say NASA the same way I'd say Nassau; they said NAH-saw where I expected NAH-suh. Is this a common variation?[/nq]
Burt Rutan pronounces it "nay-say." But that says more about his politics than his accent.
I've heard NAH-suh and NAH-sah and en-ay-ess-ay, but never NAH-saw.

William R Ward (Email Removed)

[nq:2]Today I heard not one but two people say NASA ... NAH-saw where I expected NAH-suh. Is this a common variation?[/nq]
[nq:1]Burt Rutan pronounces it "nay-say." But that says more about his politics than his accent. I've heard NAH-suh and NAH-sah and en-ay-ess-ay, but never NAH-saw.[/nq]
Sorry, which vowels do all these "ah"s and "aw"s mean? To me "ah" is the vowel of "father" and "aw"

[nq:2]Burt Rutan pronounces it "nay-say." But that says more about his politics than his accent. I've heard NAH-suh and NAH-sah and en-ay-ess-ay, but never NAH-saw.[/nq]
[nq:1]Sorry, which vowels do all these "ah"s and "aw"s mean? To me "ah" is the vowel of "father" and "aw" ... I'm familiar with, which is /'nas@/, with the "cat" vowel in the first syllable and a schwa in the second.[/nq]

[nq:2]Burt Rutan pronounces it "nay-say." But that says more about his politics than his accent. I've heard NAH-suh and NAH-sah and en-ay-ess-ay, but never NAH-saw.[/nq]
[nq:1]Sorry, which vowels do all these "ah"s and "aw"s mean? To me "ah" is the vowel of "father" and "aw" ... I'm familiar with, which is /'nas@/, with the "cat" vowel in the first syllable and a schwa in the second.[/nq]

[nq:2]Sorry, which vowels do all these "ah"s and "aw"s mean? ... in the first syllable and a schwa in the second.[/nq]
[nq:1]I'm completely confused by this "NASA" discussion. People, it's okay not to use ErkAIPA, but please distinguish between the "ah" ... meant by "NAH-sah" that he's heard people use the same vowel in each syllable (unless he's talking about non-native speakers).[/nq]