"potato" vs. "potahto "?

[RonButters at AOL.COM]

In a message dated 5/19/06 1:12:06 PM, s-mufwene at UCHICAGO.EDU writes:


> The following sentence occurs in an article published today in the
> Chicago Tribune about the US Senate's vote to declare English the
> "national language":
>
> "We think it's basically the same thing. It's a `You say potato, I say
> potahto' kind of thing," said Tim Schultz, director of government
> relations of U.S. English Inc.
>
> I have always heard the variation about "tomato." Is there really a
> [p@'ta:to] pronunciation of "potato" too?
>
> Sali.
>

You say tomato, and I say tomahto,
You say potato, and I say potahto--
Tomato, tomahto; potato, potahto--
Let's call the whole thing off.

Song (Cole Porter?)

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