I'm Alice Bryant.

February can be a cold month in the northeastern United States.

Often there are harsh winds and heavy snows.

But winter weather is not the Onley thing you'll find in the northeastern part of the country.

Another thing you might notice is how people talk.

For instance, I grew up in New England, where we pronounced the are in February and the tea in often.

Most of my friends from other places, however, do not say these words the way I dio listen to the too common American pronunciations for often often often, and the two pronunciations for February, February February.

These pronunciations are often the subject of friendly debate.

But can you guess which ones are correct?

The answer is this.

They all are both pronunciations of each word are considered acceptable and can be found in American dictionaries.

So why do Americans say these words differently?

The answer comes down to a few things.

What part of the country we grew up in, what dialect of American English we speak and what our personal preferences.

It is also true that an American may use both pronunciations of the same word, for instance, in a single conversation.