Not Pulling Your Leg on This Eggy Headache!

Remember the class discussion on how to pronounce egg and leg? Does the vowel e in those words sound more like those in plague (/eI/) or plaque (/E/)? Do the two vowels in egghead sound the same?

At the dictionary.com website, two variations are given:

1. The first pronunciation, based on Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2010, sounds closer to the /E/ sound.
2. The second pronunciation, based on The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition, and American Heritage® Science Dictionary, sounds more closer to /eI/ without the /I/ = /e/.

Unfortunately, because they're done on Flash files, we can't directly link the sounds here. But maybe we could do it in class next Monday afternoon!

There are two additional notes relating to the pronunciation of egg, but without the sound bytes:

1. The Medical Dictionary, by Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc, can't seem to make up its mind when it offers: "Pronunciation: 'eg, 'Ag." 
2. More helpfully, the Random House definition, in a Pronunciation Note, helpfully locates the /e/ and /eI/ pronunciation in the "speech of the less educated":

Egg, like beg, leg, and other words where “short e” precedes a “hard g” sound, is pronounced with the vowel /ɛ/ Show Spelled[e] of bet and let, except in parts of New England and the South Midland and southern U.S., where these words are frequently said with /-eɪg/[-eyg], to rhyme with vague and plague, especially in the speech of the less educated. This raising of /ɛ/[e] to a higher vowel /eɪ/[ey], articulated with the upper surface of the tongue closer to the palate, also occurs before /ʒ/[zh], as in measure, pleasure, and treasure."

Well, what's the truth? Let's listen to a few egg sounds and you'll know I'm not pulling your leg: