How is pho really pronounced?

[Tom Zurinskas]

Of the top 5k words in US English there are only 4 with the tradstreeng "pho' in them.  The "count" below is out of 15.4 million words in the database.  Not a biggie.  It shows large predominance for ~foe over other choices.  Words beyond the 5k most popular will have counts of 270 or less instances.

 
 
 
 
  tradspel
  truespel
   count
 
 
  telephone
  ~telufoen
  1749
 
 
  phone
  ~foen
  1415
 
 
  photographs
  ~foetugrafs
  576
 
 
  photograph
  ~foetugraf
  515
 
Tom Zurinskas, Conn 20 yrs, Tenn 3, NJ 33, now Fl 9.
See how English spelling links to sounds at http://justpaste.it/ayk




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> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Benjamin Barrett <gogaku at IX.NETCOM.COM>
> Subject:      How is pho really pronounced?
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> 
> Both Wiktionary and the OED give f + schwa for the pronunciation of "pho" (Wiktionary actually gives a turned "v"). That matches what I have learned from a Vietnamese acquaintance and from a Vietnamese restaurant menu in Reno.
> 
> Because of what I've been taught, that's how I pronounce it, but that's not what I hear from Americans, which is "foh."
> 
> Which pronunciation is actually used?
> 
> Benjamin Barrett
> Seattle, WA
> 
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