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Comment by freehorse

8 hours ago

English is not a rules-based language, esp wrt pronunciation. Words can be pronounced as anything.

When I discovered the pronunciation of Houston, TX and Houston, NY... my mind was blown

This is true, but if the goal is to be understood, it's in the speaker's best interest to pronounce words in a way they'll best be understood. So I think even if the language itself lacks formal rules, we as a society of communicators should align on some loose set of rules.