Last month when we explored bees and their role in pollination, my garden club students made fun of my pronunciation of the word almonds! I’m okay with being made fun of on occasion so this really didn’t bother me. But, what ensued was a rather humorous five minutes of me responding with, “What?, I’m pronouncing it right!” and “How do you say almonds?” Of course, this led to twenty students all telling me how they pronounce the word at the same time. All of which sounded like what I was saying! Finally, I gave in and just said, “Okay. I must be saying it wrong, but it is the way I’ve always said it.” Which then led to, “You know, I’m not from here, originally. I grew up in New York State and I’ve been told many times before that I talk funny.” Saying that seemed to satisfy the snickering students, like I admitted to their superiority of being able to correctly pronounce almonds.
We returned to our lesson, noting that we wouldn’t have almonds if it weren’t for honeybees, which are the only insect that pollinate those particular nut trees.
Upon arriving home, I asked my husband how he said almonds and told him the story, getting a good laugh while doing so. But, since I like to be thorough with my lessons, I also went on Merriam-Webster.com to check the pronunciation of almond. And guess, what I found? There are 3 accepted pronunciations of the word almond! Almond, Almond, and Almond! Check it for yourself! Almond Pronunciations.
I knew I said it right! It was just New York, right and not Mid-Western, right! Almond.
I’ve got it now. Thanks, students!
The Apples in My Orchard 
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