The age-old debate about how to correctly pronounce the word scone has been settled by the University of Cambridge.
Is it scone, to rhyme with cone? Or is it scone, to rhyme with gone? Everybody has their own opinion, but which, if either is correct?
To mark the 453 year anniversary of William Shakespeare’s birth, or the 401 year anniversary of his death since he died on his 52nd birthday, Cambridge University conducted a study of the pronunciation of the word scone.
It appears that both are actually correct, depending on where you come from.
The study found that the pronunciation that rhymes with gone, is more common in Scotland, Wales and the north of England.
On the other side of the coin, the pronunciation that rhymes with cone, is more popular across the middle and south of England and also across Ireland.
So, depending on where you were brought up, your way of pronouncing the word scone is correct, and neither variation is actually wrong.
Take a look at the illustration from Cambridge University that shows the variations in pronunciation across Ireland and Britain.
HOW TO MAKE TRADITIONAL IRISH SCONES
Written by Andrew Moore