Pronunciation question?

I do differentiate the two vowels, but barely.

What he said.

JOE-uhl (two syllables) What they said ;-)

Sane as @picante.

I rhyme with bowl, not with “cole”.

@zenvelo so you disagree with the previous answers?

joe-elle

@newtscamander No, I agree with @thorninmud and others. I pronounce bowl with a long dipthong of the “w” and the “l”, a barely pronounced second syllable. “Cole” is very much one syllable.

By the way, my pronunciation is very much Northern Californian.

Dipthongs are evil.

Same as hole/pole.

Great question, since my first name is Joel. My family and I always pronounced it in one syllable, Jole. It’s pronounced that way online here but in two syllables here.

@zenvelo Are the northern and southern California dialects significantly different? I keep repeating the words over and over again because they sound like pure rhymes to me, but that might be because I’m not used to discerning them.

This is fascinating! I suppose my Texas ears have never even considered a pronunciation that wasn’t two distinct syllables. And here’s my Texas buddy, Pachy, telling me I’ve never pronounced his name correctly. Live and learn.

@muppetish Do you round your mouth when pronouncing the w? Do you even pronounce the w in bowl? How do you pronounce the e in Billy Joel’s name?

@muppetish It’s not really a “w” sound; it’s more likely that I am using the same dipthong for both the “ow” in bowl and the “oe” in Joel. I’m not sure if this is a California thing, a Southern California thing, an LA thing, or a muppetish thing.

Would you quit saying that word?!

@Dutchess_III Nope. I’ll dip my thongs as much as I like, thank you very much.

O Gawd.
Pancakes.

@picante, maybe it was my mom and dad who were wrong. Wouldn’t put it past ‘em. ;-)

Christ-mas.

@Pachyderm_In_The_Room I would say “Jole” so maybe it’s a New York kind of thing.

“Jole” Just one syllable, just one pronounced vowel. That might be the northeastern way.

Rhymes with pole; one syllable.

Usually, when I say “Billy Joel”, I make a gagging sound at the end.

Joel, pole, Cole, bowl, roll…

I learned to speak in New York.

^^^ Hole, soul, sole, toll, troll, cajole,..so did I.

Joooel.

So I guess there’s not really a right or wrong way of saying it, interesting!
Thanks for your answers!