American dialect question: Was "route" always pronounced [rowt] or is this a new thing?

[Jerry]

Recently, especially in game videos, I notice the (from my view) unusual pronounciation of the word "route" with the <ou> as in loud our house, not as in Houston or Missouri.

Has this pronounciation always been around, or is this something, that has developed recently, possibly even only in the gaming/internet sphere?

P.S.: Just checked the song "(Get your Kicks on) Route 66" - it uses the word in the way I know it, so the phenomenom is at least younger than 75 years, I guess.

[Fake]

Root.

[Othobrithol]

I've heard both in common usage on the east coast. The only pattern I have ever noticed is a Route ## is usually oo, probably because of the song, and when it's a verb it tends to be ow.

[Kargor]

As a non-native, I always assumed that both are equally valid.

https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/route#English says that both "root" and "route" pronunciations were valid in British English, but "route" disappeared in UK while it's still in widespread use in the US.

[Mr. Smiles]

It's pronounced "gif".

[Tonepoet]

To the best of my recollection the raʊt/pronunciation that rhymes with shout is not new, but it is less common than the pronunciation which is a homophone with root (/ru:t/). The Oxford Advanced Learner's dictionary accepts both.[www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com]

[Good Night Owl]

Here if the great land of Americanananan we use both. Whichever one sounds better.

[Kobs]

I always say root with a "th" at the end but....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eNoX-Xgg2x8&ab_channel=RobertTeachesEnglish

[GunsForBucks]

I associate the rout one more with the south of US maybe midwest as well.

Root is typical from other parts ... pretty much interchanged, just say the way you learned unless you become the minority then people will often just conform the norm.

Like ToMAYto or ToMAto

[AROCK!!!]

Same reason many of them don't pronounce the "g" on the end of words.


I hear numerous mispronunciations in games and American TV and movies.

[permanent name]

There are a wide variety of dialects in the US besides the broadcast english and california flat dialects media tends to favor.

I’ve heard both rowt and root a lot, and I tend to pick between them depending on what I think will be most intelligible to the dialect I’m interacting with.

[↑↑↓↓←→←→BASelect]

Depends on if you use a long U or a short U.

[Psycho]

im american and i say root

[AROCK!!!]

With sound


https://dictionary.cambridge.org/pronunciation/english/route

[Incarnate]

No, the pronunciation has nothing to do with zoomers on TikTok, I can assure you.

[Judgmental Amaterasu]

They're both used and from experience it doesn't even seem to matter north vs south or east vs west. Just a crap shoot what you're gonna hear used.