How to pronounce 'almond' in American English

I cannot count how many times I was told and/or made fun of my allegedly incorrect pronunciation of almond. Every single one of my attempted pronunciations has been 'corrected'; even the so-called correct versions have been corrected.

As expected, the American and British English pronunciations are different. However, every YouTube video or online dictionary I visit has its own pronunciation for the American English version!

What is the actually 100% correct pronunciation for almond in American English? Is there a most commonly acceptable pronunciation?

Solution 1:

Considering that there is no such thing as “the actually 100% correct pronunciation for almond in American English”, it is not possible to provide you with that.

There are, however, at least different six pronunciations in common use:

1. [ɔlmənd], with the first syllable homophonic with the common word all and the less common work awl.
2. [ɔmənd], as before but without the [l].
3. [ɑmənd], now without a rounded vowel.

Furthermore, the [d] at the end will often have no audible release. You might not even hear it at all, which provides the other three pronunciations.

If people are teasing you about any of these six, then they don’t know what they’re talking about — and if they’re teasing you about something else, they have no class.

Solution 2:

The Longman Pronunciation Dictionary lists the following pronunciations for American English:

1. /ˌɑːlmənd/

This is listed as the "main" pronunciation, recommended as a model for learners.

2. /ˌæːlmənd/
3. /ˌɑːmənd/
4. /ˌæːmənd/

These three are alternative pronunciations which are also in use, although perhaps less frequently. As you can see, there are two things that vary from speaker to speaker:

• The first vowel can be /ɑː/ or /æː/.
• Some speakers leave out the /l/.

The dictionary includes the results of a preference poll: 75% of American English speakers prefer to include the /l/, and only 25% prefer to leave it out.

None of these pronunciations is more or less "correct" than any of the others, and no one should make fun of you regardless of how you pronounce it, but if you'd like to use the most common American English pronunciation, feel free to use /ˌɑːlmənd/.

Solution 3:

I live in the Great Central Valley of California... Almond country. We use two pronunciations, circumstances dictate which is appropriate. And it is very simple!

1. Is the nut on the tree? Pronounce it with the L and the a like "ahh"

2. Is the nut off the tree? Pronounce it with no L (silent L) and the a like "avenue"

Bottom line it that when the nut falls from the tree, the L gets knocked out... Almond is then pronounced Amond!