/din/ or /dine/? What say y’all?
The debate went like this:
“It’s dine.”
“No. It’s din.”
“No, it’s not and I should know. It’s dine.”
“Well, down here (in Florida) it’s din.
“Well, in Virginia, it’s dine.”
“Well, y’all are wrong.”
“No. You’re wrong.”
I am planted firmly in the /dine/ camp.
Muscadine. DINE.
mus-ca-dine. DINE.
In a strange deluge of grape-talk, muscadine wine has become an avid topic of discussion with a splattering of my friends. Mandy facebooked that she’d had some a few weeks ago. Stacey googled it after hearing in a Jason Aldean song. Jodi and I argued about the pronunciation, because that’s what we do.
In case you don’t know what the musca(din)(dine) is, let me explain.
Per the great and powerful Wiki:
Muscadines (Muscadinia rotundifolia) are a grapevine species native to the present-day southeastern United States that has been extensively cultivated since the 16th Century. It differs from Vitis spp. in its number of chromosomes (2n=40 chromosomes) and its morphology. Its natural range is recognized in the following states of the US: Alabama, Arkansas, the Carolinas, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Missouri, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia.[1] They are well adapted to their native warm and humid climate; they need fewer chilling hours than better known varieties and they thrive on summer heat.
What you really need to know is that they are used for making homemade wine and jelly. Wine and jelly. It’s like peanut butter and jelly, but with wine. And no peanut butter.
And this:
As one of nature’s richest sources of polyphenolic antioxidants,[2] muscadines have been studied for their potential health benefits which include preliminary evidence for effects against cancer mechanisms. To date, in vitro studies have shown positive effects of muscadine phenolics against blood, colon and prostate cancers.
Good news is good news. Amirite?
Frances made some muscadine wine from time to time (say that five times fast) and I remember breaking a jar or two open in my youth, but that’s not what makes it important. It’s iconic. It’s southern-grown, made in the basement by church-going grandmothers, the recipe handed down for posterity. One need not have even tasted its sweetness, but only been born southern to claim its proud legacy. And in my opinion, a mason jar beats a cardboard box any day of the week. I’m snobby like that.
And so, as a child of the south, I can report that it’s /dine/. Muscadine.
(Even though that idiot robot at dictionary.com disagrees and pronounces it /din/.)
MuscaDINE.
What say y’all?
Unless otherwise stated or linked, these images are my property and I'd appreciate it if you didn't use them without asking first. :)
I’m on Annie’s side. Not because I ever in my life heard of Muscadine wine, but because Annie is my friend and she’s always right.
That’s TWO for /dine/.
Never heard of muscadine wine? We are a country divided.
huh. dialects aside, i would have said mus/ka/deen, like saltine. i looked it up, though, and that’s not even a third choice. i hope it tastes better than it sounds since the first thing i thought of was ‘muskrat’ and then that awful song.
Interesting! I hadn’t thought of that. And I think I’d just as soon drink muskrat wine as listen to that song.
In the spirit of the debate, I’ll settle this for you, Candace:
A tie goes to the runner and since I’m running this blog, that’s THREE for /dine/.
For the record, I hate muscadines, and in the interest of clarity, tell the people I say “DEEN.” (Stupid phonetic symbols.) And Candace is with me. So suck it, Landsberger.
I WIN. You lose. And you did NOT say /deen/. You said /din/. Or can’t you pronounce /din/ like you can’t pronounce mus-ca-dine and so instead of actually saying /din/, you think you said /deen/, but you didn’t. You said /din/. I WIN.
http://www.forvo.com/word/muscadine/
HA! Suck on that, dictionary.com. That old fella at Forvo says it right.
maybe ‘deen’ sounds like ‘din’ in floridaspeak? i’m just guessing since i’m a kansan-missourian-californian-hawaiian-las vegan-marylander and have no regional accent at all.
Really? A battle of southern accents? You’re both rednecks and talk funny.
I say “musk-a-deen.” You’re senile. And Mandee can suck it too.
I have no regional accent either … and Jodi is full of shit … and, yes, mandee can indeed suck it.
It’s all about common ground, sister.
Well, my good pal (known in my house as Miriam as in, “How do you spell accoutrement?” “Ask Miriam”) Merriam-Webster says it rhymes with asinine.
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/muscadine
But since I’ve got no dog in this race and because I’m smarter than the average muskrat, I agree with Annie.
Because Annie always wins anyway.
This has been noted, BILL.
Annie <3 Bill
I grew up with that grape and I KNOW the proper pronunciation. Unfortunately, I am a coward, so I’m not going to tell you what it is.
Ahem.
Love you, Annie. Love you, Jodi.
You loved me first. I win.
Jason Aldean sings it…it is so! /dine/
Hey, it’s me and I am always right. It’s what Candace said.
Okay, now I have to weigh in. I love you, too, Evil Delio, but it’s /dine/ as in: When I dine I drink the wine of the musk-a…DINE.
Just wanted to set y’all straight so the wrongs don’t outnumber the rights.
And I remind y’all that I’m a Mississippi girl. You don’t get much more Southern than that. Unless you’re from Alabama.
Mdm. Beloved: I am from Alabama. Well, kinda. My family is.
And did they not teach you the proper pronunciation of this grape?? I can see remedial Deep South lessons are in order. Get your butt over here (your room is nice and clean and ready for you) and I’ll teach you to make chess pie. Bring insulin.
xoxoxoxo
Mdm. Beloved: Your turn. We’ll make pralines. How do you pronounce that?
did somebody say pralines?
Come on down. Pecan season.
loops of death!!!! i can buy pecans at sam’s!
It is praw-leens. And it is indeed pecan season. Irvin scooped a bag of ‘em up off the ground for me yesterday.
It is NOT pray-leens.
I don’t want to talk about ‘em. I want to eat ‘em. Y’all get busy.
So let’s tally:
/dine/ 2,847
/deen/ 2
/din/ 1 (because JODI SAID DIN NOT DEEN)
The DINEs have it.
I like the way you count.
I like the way you say muscadine. (THE RIGHT WAY)
XOXO
Ann,
Just got home from a visit to our beloved VA and feel I should weigh in on the “muscadine” poll…..it is DINE!!!!!! I love ‘em!
The voice of Science, people. Listen up. That’s 6.928 for /DINE/. <3 <3 <3