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Polybius

(15,411 posts)
Wed May 5, 2021, 01:09 AM May 2021

Why did the pronunciation of caramel change over the years?

Growing up in the 80's, people pronounced it car-mel. Then in the early 90's or so, I started hearing people calling it car-a-mel, and it became the norm. Today, the car-mel pronunciation is all but dead. I rarely hear anyone call it that anymore, except for the occasional senior. But why did it change?

Words that change pronunciations are extremely rare. The only other one that I know of is the planet Uranus. Today, it's pronounced Ura-niss. I won't say how we 80's kids pronounced it.

32 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
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Why did the pronunciation of caramel change over the years? (Original Post) Polybius May 2021 OP
mabye people just learned to pronounce it correctly? Skittles May 2021 #1
Like GIF? Polybius May 2021 #6
Oxford English Dictionary says both are correct (creator be damned--LOL) hlthe2b May 2021 #20
I think it was pronounced incorrectly... SergeStorms May 2021 #2
I don't know but I loved going to my aunts house bottomofthehill May 2021 #3
And some of the bags would have a hand full of bottomofthehill May 2021 #5
Carmel color is a food additive.. Mopar151 May 2021 #4
Hershey's disagrees: Coventina May 2021 #7
Carmel is a lovely little town on the Monterey Peninsula in California... Rollo May 2021 #8
Or a lovely place in the West Bank, near the Dead Sea. JustABozoOnThisBus May 2021 #23
Starbucks barristas correctly pronouncing caramel macchiatos, perhaps? Liberty Belle May 2021 #9
Well, I guess I am making a run to the local grocery store tomorrow! nt MerryHolidays May 2021 #10
I've heard it both ways for so many years... Buckeye_Democrat May 2021 #11
Crayon is another one. Laffy Kat May 2021 #12
I grew up pronouncing it "cran" Leith May 2021 #25
for many candies its spelled carmel, NOT caramel. carmel is the way I recall it most nt msongs May 2021 #13
It's Not About Pronunciation WHITT May 2021 #14
THANK You whathehell May 2021 #18
I respectfully disagree. Totally Tunsie May 2021 #26
Old Early Cookbooks WHITT May 2021 #27
Likely due to Salted Caramel Metaphorical May 2021 #15
Growing up pre 60's it was always caramel. Fla Dem May 2021 #16
I thought you were going to go the opposite way. LisaM May 2021 #17
I could answer your question, Polybius True Dough May 2021 #19
We always called it car-a-mel. (Born in the 60s) Carmel is the name of a town. Scrivener7 May 2021 #21
I always assumed it was a regional difference. Paladin May 2021 #22
Mrs. Aristus says 'car-mel'. I say 'car-a-mel.' Aristus May 2021 #24
All I know is My dad had a sheltie named Carmel Apple Dumpling OriginalGeek May 2021 #28
I've yet to hear of caramel corn. n/t Harker May 2021 #29
Have you tried Google? Totally Tunsie May 2021 #30
Of course not... Harker May 2021 #31
HA! Totally Tunsie May 2021 #32

Skittles

(153,160 posts)
1. mabye people just learned to pronounce it correctly?
Wed May 5, 2021, 01:12 AM
May 2021

Last edited Wed May 5, 2021, 05:40 PM - Edit history (1)

CAR-MEL was always incorrect

SergeStorms

(19,201 posts)
2. I think it was pronounced incorrectly...
Wed May 5, 2021, 01:14 AM
May 2021

in the past, whether because of colloquialism or ignorance. The latter pronunciation is the correct one. At least that's what I was always led to believe.

bottomofthehill

(8,329 posts)
3. I don't know but I loved going to my aunts house
Wed May 5, 2021, 01:15 AM
May 2021

She always had a bag of the Kraft Carmel’s in the bottom drawer in the kitchen.

JustABozoOnThisBus

(23,340 posts)
23. Or a lovely place in the West Bank, near the Dead Sea.
Wed May 5, 2021, 10:27 AM
May 2021

In Palestine, the name is changed to al-Karmil. It's an old place.

Carmel, CA, is a more likely destination for me, someday.

Buckeye_Democrat

(14,853 posts)
11. I've heard it both ways for so many years...
Wed May 5, 2021, 02:20 AM
May 2021

... that even I don't pronounce it the same way each time! If someone gives me a funny look after I use one pronunciation, then I just switch to the other.

Laffy Kat

(16,377 posts)
12. Crayon is another one.
Wed May 5, 2021, 02:28 AM
May 2021

We pronounced it like it's spelled: cray-on (or krei-ann). Now I hear so many people pronounce it "crown'.

Leith

(7,809 posts)
25. I grew up pronouncing it "cran"
Wed May 5, 2021, 01:59 PM
May 2021

but then, I have always pronounced clothes and close (the verb) the same way.

Never heard "crown," though.

WHITT

(2,868 posts)
14. It's Not About Pronunciation
Wed May 5, 2021, 02:47 AM
May 2021

They are two different things.

* A carmel is a small cubed-shaped candy wrapped in a cellophane-like wrapper

* Caramel is a flavor or type of [fill in the blank, like sauce, filling, topping, etc]

Now I'm well aware there are companies and probably even dictionaries that use or define differently, but that's it.

Totally Tunsie

(10,885 posts)
26. I respectfully disagree.
Wed May 5, 2021, 02:20 PM
May 2021

Last edited Wed May 5, 2021, 03:02 PM - Edit history (1)

https://www.grammarly.com/blog/carmel-caramel/

"Generally, “caramel” is defined as a chewy, light-brown candy made from butter, sugar, and milk or cream. For example: I love eating caramels because they are soft and chewy. In contrast, “Carmel,” is used as a proper noun, and it is a popular beach town in California, known as Carmel-by-the-Sea.

Carmel and caramel are not different spellings of the same word. Caramel is the correct spelling if you’re talking about food or colors. Carmel is a misspelling when used in those contexts, but it is a word that can be used as a name for people or places."


Never in my many years have I seen "carmel" as the spelling for the candy itself. It's use in that manner is a misspelling of "caramel".

What do you cite as your source?

WHITT

(2,868 posts)
27. Old Early Cookbooks
Wed May 5, 2021, 03:25 PM
May 2021

they referred to the candies as carmels, and toppings, drizzles, frostings, as caramel.

In the intervening time, corporate amerika has bastardized both in both directions, but they would call a dog a cat if there was enough money in it for them.


Metaphorical

(1,602 posts)
15. Likely due to Salted Caramel
Wed May 5, 2021, 02:59 AM
May 2021
https://pregelamerica.com/pmag/articles/the-long-lasting-craze-of-salted-caramel

From the article:

Salted caramel flavor became a staple in the U.S. first debuting in fine-dining and gourmet stores, and then eventually appearing in popular chain establishments, high-end supermarkets, and finally superstore shelves. But who initially had the idea of adding salt to caramel? According to Debra Ronca, author of the article “Who Invented Caramel?,” it all started in France with an innovative chocolatier. In the 1960s Henri Le Roux attended candy school in Switzerland, later returning to France to open a store in Brittany – a region known for its salted butter. In an attempt to offer something different while using the region’s key ingredient, he came up with a salted butter caramel with crushed nuts. For this culinary creation, Le Roux was awarded Best Sweet in France by the Salon international de la confiserie in Paris in 1980.

Salted caramel was then popularized by French chef Pierre Hermé in the 1990s when he invented a salted caramel macaron. American chefs quickly adopted the concept and began combining sea salt with a variety of sweets, including caramel and chocolate. Nonetheless, 2008 was the year salted caramel catapulted into mainstream culture, going from an elite culinary obsession to the American mass market. During this time, Häagen-Dazs introduced salted caramel ice cream and shortly after Starbucks began selling salted caramel hot chocolate. Today, retail giants such as Walmart carry products including sea salt caramel truffle ice cream, salted caramel nut protein bars, salted caramel sweet and salty pretzel pieces, salted caramel biscotti, salted caramel brownie brittle, and much more.
============

Caramel, being simply melted sugar, has been around for a long time, but the pronounciation shift likely came about because of the introduction of salted caramel from France, where the word was pronounced Cara-mel, in the 1990s. Prior to this, the word was a staple in the Southeast, which has a history of dropping intermediate schwahs (the uh sound that both a and e sometimes make in the second syllable).

LisaM

(27,811 posts)
17. I thought you were going to go the opposite way.
Wed May 5, 2021, 04:08 AM
May 2021

My mother tried and tried to get me to say care-a-mel, so I thought the 'carmel' variation was what you thought it had changed to.

Paladin

(28,257 posts)
22. I always assumed it was a regional difference.
Wed May 5, 2021, 10:11 AM
May 2021

It's still "car-mel" for me, I'm too old to change it.

OriginalGeek

(12,132 posts)
28. All I know is My dad had a sheltie named Carmel Apple Dumpling
Wed May 5, 2021, 04:53 PM
May 2021

and he named her that because he loved carmel apple dumplings so much and he made good ones so I say Carmel.

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