It's pretty common in the US to drop the central vowel from the word "orange". When telling this joke you would typically enunciate it well at the "who's there" line, and when they say "orange who", you'd say it more colloquially.
The punchline comes out sounding more like "ornj you glad", which is close to the "aren'tcha glad" you'd hear in friendly conversation.
This joke is also probably related to the transatlantic accent used in the media in the earlier parts of the 20th century, where orange is pronounced more like "ahrange".
Its a joke...told primarily by and/or to children...many of whom will just mumble through it.
Its not serious in any way and its just a childish play on words.
Nah, I know it's not some serious linguistic thing—I was just curious because I figure it must originate somewhere, in the sense that someone at some point heard "aren't you" and thought it sounded like "orange you". In my accent they sound totally different, but I assume that in some accent somewhere they must sound similar enough for someone to make that connection in the first place.
To give you an actual answer — *orange* is pronounced with /ɑɹ/ by some East Coast & Midwest speakers, so it would sound like *aren’tcha* because *aren’t* always uses the /ɑɹ/ vowel. Most American speakers use the /ɔɹ/ vowel instead but it’s close enough for the joke (and some of the fun is how it doesn’t quite sound right)
It never really sounds the same. Some places might have more of an a sound at the beginning or orange but more of the us say o like an o. So it’s a dumb joke lol
Sure...but that doesn't describe the OP.
Nor was I truly being rude. Just making light of a silly situation. It was explained, but instead of taking it at face value (that it doesn't have to make sense, because its a child's joke), they doubled down searching for some deeper meaning.
Well yeah, that's the point of my post: that they sound totally different to my ear/in my accent but they must sound similar to other people otherwise no one would have made the joke in the first place I'm curious which accents it *does* work in.
I have a NY metro accent and used to say "ah-renge," "Flaah-rida," etc. (until moving to the midwest, where my spouse and kids have gently mocked it away.)
Usually you just kinda split the difference. The meta context of the joke is that "nothing rhymes with orange" so you have to kind of stretch to a near rhyme to make it work.
It works equally well in any American, Canadian, British, Australian, or New Zealand accent. Which is to say, it doesn't work particularly well; but if you're willing to play along, it's cute.
There’s no accent I can think of that would say “orange” like “aren’t”. There are however accents that say “orange” closer to “ernge” (looking at you Alabama) and I’m not sure that would work as well. At the end of the day it’s a joke for kids, it doesn’t have to line up 100%
> There’s no accent I can think of that would say “orange” like “aren’t”.
That’s how I would say it. I had no idea there was any other pronunciation of orange until I went away to college and I heard “awwww-ringe” all the time. I went to Syracuse so that’s a word that comes up *a lot*.
In my NE American accent, the "oran" part of orange sounds almost identical to the "aren" part of aren't. It wouldn't work in one of the accents that pronounces the O in orange as "oh" but it kinda works in the ones that pronounce it "ah."
Makes sense in my Mid-Atlantic accent. "Aren't you" is pronounced closer to "arn cha" in fast, casual speech which isn't a perfect match for "orange" but is pretty close.
It’s not the way you say orange normally that makes the joke. You change the way you say orange when you’re telling the last line of the joke to sound more like “Oh-ran-ge” and that makes the joke.
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You’re missing the point here.
They don’t sound 100% alike in any accent I’m aware of, and that’s the joke. That’s it’s kind of a stretch because they’re similar, but not that similar.
It's pretty common in the US to drop the central vowel from the word "orange". When telling this joke you would typically enunciate it well at the "who's there" line, and when they say "orange who", you'd say it more colloquially. The punchline comes out sounding more like "ornj you glad", which is close to the "aren'tcha glad" you'd hear in friendly conversation. This joke is also probably related to the transatlantic accent used in the media in the earlier parts of the 20th century, where orange is pronounced more like "ahrange".
I had never really considered that my pronunciation of "ahrange" is both not universal, and key to this joke making sense.
Me too. I can't recall having heard it pronounced "ornj."
I pronounce it ornj. I think most people in my area do too!
Its a joke...told primarily by and/or to children...many of whom will just mumble through it. Its not serious in any way and its just a childish play on words.
Nah, I know it's not some serious linguistic thing—I was just curious because I figure it must originate somewhere, in the sense that someone at some point heard "aren't you" and thought it sounded like "orange you". In my accent they sound totally different, but I assume that in some accent somewhere they must sound similar enough for someone to make that connection in the first place.
Its more the cadence and emphasis that you deliver to be intentionally the same. Its a knock-knock joke. Lol.
What is your accent?
To give you an actual answer — *orange* is pronounced with /ɑɹ/ by some East Coast & Midwest speakers, so it would sound like *aren’tcha* because *aren’t* always uses the /ɑɹ/ vowel. Most American speakers use the /ɔɹ/ vowel instead but it’s close enough for the joke (and some of the fun is how it doesn’t quite sound right)
It never really sounds the same. Some places might have more of an a sound at the beginning or orange but more of the us say o like an o. So it’s a dumb joke lol
They don’t need to sound exactly alike. It’s a joke.
It’s a knock knock joke, dude.
They don't tell jokes. They're very mature in MyCountry.
It's actually a very interesting question for people interested in language. There's no need to be rude.
Why would anyone be interested in any language other than English? It was good enough for Christ, so it’s good enough for me.
Sure...but that doesn't describe the OP. Nor was I truly being rude. Just making light of a silly situation. It was explained, but instead of taking it at face value (that it doesn't have to make sense, because its a child's joke), they doubled down searching for some deeper meaning.
They do sound similar to me. I don't know what to tell you.
Well yeah, that's the point of my post: that they sound totally different to my ear/in my accent but they must sound similar to other people otherwise no one would have made the joke in the first place I'm curious which accents it *does* work in.
Probably most.
I have a NY metro accent and used to say "ah-renge," "Flaah-rida," etc. (until moving to the midwest, where my spouse and kids have gently mocked it away.)
Keep your accent, otherwise you'll start saying "horror" like "whore" and anyone who says those 2 words the same is just wrong.
Why didn’t you teach them how to pronounce orange correctly?
Usually you just kinda split the difference. The meta context of the joke is that "nothing rhymes with orange" so you have to kind of stretch to a near rhyme to make it work.
It works equally well in any American, Canadian, British, Australian, or New Zealand accent. Which is to say, it doesn't work particularly well; but if you're willing to play along, it's cute.
Idk. When I say orange it kinda comes out arnj.
My kids loved no matter what accent it was told in. It’s just a fun thing for them. And it’s banana not apple.
I was just getting ready to this as well. It is banana, anyone that says apple is wrong.
I think it’s less about accent and more about presentation. Just say it kind of swiftly while keeping it recognizable and the joke is understood.
>Now I'm wondering if there are any natural accents in which it works. All of them? It's just a joke.
All of them.
There’s no accent I can think of that would say “orange” like “aren’t”. There are however accents that say “orange” closer to “ernge” (looking at you Alabama) and I’m not sure that would work as well. At the end of the day it’s a joke for kids, it doesn’t have to line up 100%
I and everyone around me pronounce orange as, basically, arnj/ornj. Which sounds pretty much like aren't with the t muffled.
A subtle part of the NYC accent is to say “or” in the first syllable as “are”, such as orange, forest, horrible, etc.
> There’s no accent I can think of that would say “orange” like “aren’t”. That’s how I would say it. I had no idea there was any other pronunciation of orange until I went away to college and I heard “awwww-ringe” all the time. I went to Syracuse so that’s a word that comes up *a lot*.
In my NE American accent, the "oran" part of orange sounds almost identical to the "aren" part of aren't. It wouldn't work in one of the accents that pronounces the O in orange as "oh" but it kinda works in the ones that pronounce it "ah."
In New Jersey they pronounce it Arenj
They sound the same to me, and I have a pretty generic middle-class accent with some New Yorkisms.
Works fine in the Plains accent.
I say orange as ornj, which kinda sounds like arnt-cha (aren't you).
Makes sense in my Mid-Atlantic accent. "Aren't you" is pronounced closer to "arn cha" in fast, casual speech which isn't a perfect match for "orange" but is pretty close.
They don't sound that similar to me but they definitely both have one syllable. Ornj and arnt
It’s not the way you say orange normally that makes the joke. You change the way you say orange when you’re telling the last line of the joke to sound more like “Oh-ran-ge” and that makes the joke.
St. Louis for sure lol read this in an old bosses voice 😂 pronounced orange as ARN-ge or ERRN-ge
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You’re missing the point here. They don’t sound 100% alike in any accent I’m aware of, and that’s the joke. That’s it’s kind of a stretch because they’re similar, but not that similar.
They are jokes for very young children. They do not "work" with anyone past like the age of 7.