How do you pronounce it?

[rusty pins]

I think most of us in the USA will pronounce the word diaper as "die-per" with the "I" being a hard sound and the "A" being silent.  I do sometimes hear people pronounce it as "die-a-per" with the "I" hard and the "A" soft.  I wonder if this is due to where a person was raised or if it 's just older people who actually pronounce the soft "A", grandparents or grammar and English professionals.  Just something that came to my mind and I wonder about.  How do most of you pronounce it?  With or without the soft "A"?

[DiaperedAllTheTime]

All silent A here in Ohio...

[Wannatripbaby]

My mom pronounces the A, but the rest if us us the correct 2-syllable pronunciation. 

[Wet Knight]

I have often wondered why the a-merrycan language struggles with an extra a in dipur.

In English, we are much more relaxed and put two pees in our nappy.

[Little BabyDoll Christine]

In foraml pronounciation, as in commercials, the a is sounded, in others it is up for grabs, mostly not pronounced

[Cute_Kitten]

In my neck of the woods, the "a" is silent.  So it's like "dye-per". 

[Apache Raccoon]

On 8/4/2018 at 2:20 PM, Wet Knight said:

I have often wondered why the a-merrycan language struggles with an extra a in dipur.

In English, we are much more relaxed and put two pees in our nappy.

ba dmm tsss

[Newbee]

Here downunder we just say nappy

[AbabeBill]

I like hearing the different pronunciations, and different references. Here, where I’m at in “Jersey”, I’ve always known it to be “die-per”. 

I’ve heard it pronounced “ dia-a-per”, mostly from tv, and have always been fascinated by that. 

[Dubious]

I prefer "di-per" over our "bleie", which is also someones last name, so when I search for "bleie", I mostly get people..

Nappy is not so much better, as that is also the name for a hairtype 

[Newbee]

I’ve never heard the word nappy being used as a hairtype

[Little BabyDoll Christine]

3 hours ago, Alvin Seville said:

ba dmm chh

Well, you know "Two nations separated by a common language". I use "Alice band" and "pinafore dress", since "jumper" in the US also means a jumpsuit and IIRC in UK a "sweater [woolen pullover top]"

Does this help?

https://www.google.com/search?source=hp&ei=p_1lW-_DBOSD5wLl1aWoBg&q=diaper+etymology&oq=diaper+et&gs_l=psy-ab.1.0.0l4j0i22i30k1l6.1907.6177.0.10312.10.8.0.1.1.0.197.1028.0j8.8.0....0...1c.1.64.psy-ab..1.9.1035.0..35i39k1j0i131k1.0.PRVjfzpV2Hk

[Newbee]

Yes the difference in the English language between English speaking countries is amazing I often find myself reverting to the uk way of saying things when I am on the phone to relatives in England 

[dyperbole]

My parents say "Di-a-per", and they are Northerners.  However, when it is said like that it does little for me.  I prefer the pronunciation "Di-pers",  and plural.  For some reason "diapers" is better to me than just "diaper".

Nappies?  Does nothing for me.  Dipes?  Go away.

[ELLIE52]

This is similar to diamond......  not too many words are there with a silent a?

Die Purrr works for me

[le Hollandais]

I say DIE-per. I grew up on the west coast (USA) among many dust bowl refugees who probably influenced my speech.

[Warmwetandcozy]

I say it die_per

 

[Little BabyDoll Christine]

4 hours ago, Newbee said:

Yes the difference in the English language between English speaking countries is amazing I often find myself reverting to the uk way of saying things when I am on the phone to relatives in England 

This says 1957, I remmeber it from early 1960: Hey; kan-ga-roo! I read in a book on origins of things that nobody knows where it came from but the first known performance was on the autoharp by an 8 year old girl named Christine

 

What really makes me wet myself is when a person says "ti-AA-ra" rather than "ti-AH-ra"

[drynot]

Definitely DIE-per around these parts.  My wife and I have silly nick names like kinky underwear and dippers but its mostly just DIE-per.

[vvp39]

I used to sing Waltzing Matilda with my family when I was a little kid.

[Stroller]

13 hours ago, ELLIE52 said:

This is similar to diamond......  not too many words are there with a silent a?

Die Purrr works for me

Hmm, two nations separated again...   Diamond doesn't have a silent a over here!

[rusty pins]

Once on Jeopardy the question was something like "English word for Di a per"  The fellow said "Napkin" and was ruled correctly.  Yes, Alex Trebeck pronounced the "a" in diaper when he said it.  I was raised knowing that a napkin was something you wiped your mouth with when you ate.  I don't think I would be wiping my mouth with nappies!  I know people in England and Australia say "Nappies" when we in the USA say "Diapers".  What are they called in some of the other countries of the world?  Those countries who actually put their kids in diapers and don't let them run naked and pee and poo on the floor. 

[Stroller]

1 hour ago, rusty pins said:

Once on Jeopardy the question was something like "English word for Di a per"  The fellow said "Napkin" and was ruled correctly.  Yes, Alex Trebeck pronounced the "a" in diaper when he said it.  I was raised knowing that a napkin was something you wiped your mouth with when you ate.  I don't think I would be wiping my mouth with nappies!  I know people in England and Australia say "Nappies" when we in the USA say "Diapers".  What are they called in some of the other countries of the world?  Those countries who actually put their kids in diapers and don't let them run naked and pee and poo on the floor. 

Napkin was correct, although outdated.  Oxford English Dictionary: "A square piece of linen...used for other purposes [ie other than as a table napkin]; a small towel".  Nappy is just a fairly recent diminutive form of napkin, that has now replaced the original word in the UK in the context of babies' nappies.  It's not used over here for table napkins, which retain the original name.

The name "diaper" comes from the fabric napkins were often made of, with a diamond (!) shaped pattern in the weave (OED again).  The word was rarely used in the UK until recently if you weren't a stonemason, although adult disposables are starting to be marketed here as "diapers".  Diapering features as decoration in old buildings here, again meaning diamond-shaped decoration.

[Bettypooh]

On 8/4/2018 at 9:20 AM, Wet Knight said:

In English, we are much more relaxed and put two pees in our nappy.

LOL, you're a real hoot  One pee in my diaper is just the beginning here- it regularly has more pees than I can count 

Here in the Southern US it's "DI- per" though in some places deeper in the south, the "I" is pronounced more softly, becoming a mix of "A" and "I" sort of melded together slightly with the "I" being the prominent sound. I'm sure the linguists have a word for this but I don't know it, and that sound is heard in many words in the deep south. Words and their pronunciation change in time, as diapers also should, and I like hearing whatever it's called 

Bettypooh 

[Apache Raccoon]

23 hours ago, Little Christine said:

Well, you know "Two nations separated by a common language". I use "Alice band" and "pinafore dress", since "jumper" in the US also means a jumpsuit and IIRC in UK a "sweater [woolen pullover top]"

Does this help?

https://www.google.com/search?source=hp&ei=p_1lW-_DBOSD5wLl1aWoBg&q=diaper+etymology&oq=diaper+et&gs_l=psy-ab.1.0.0l4j0i22i30k1l6.1907.6177.0.10312.10.8.0.1.1.0.197.1028.0j8.8.0....0...1c.1.64.psy-ab..1.9.1035.0..35i39k1j0i131k1.0.PRVjfzpV2Hk

Thanks for the info: although no offence I must admit I'm a little confused as to what this has to do with acknowledging Wet Knights (possibly accidental) pun on peeing in a diaper.