[General] Does the pronunciation of "neither" changes depending on the context?

[salvador.dal1950]

I know that "neither" can be pronounced in two different ways, namely, /ˈnaɪðə(r)/ and /ˈniːðə(r)/. However, I've never heard the expression "me neither" or "neither do I" pronounced with the /ˈnaɪðə(r)/ variant.

How do you pronounce these expressions?

Thank you :up:

 

[probus]

I think it is a BrE vs AmE thing. /ˈnaɪðə(r)/ is BrE and /ˈniːðə(r) is Ame. I could be wrong.

 

[Tdol]

You'll hear both pronunciations in BrE, including in those expressions.

 

[Mehrgan]

***not a teacher***
Interestingly, in most British series and films I've noticed they're pronounced /niːðə/ and /iːðə/.

 

[Barb_D]

I am more likely to say "me knee-ther" and "nigh-ther do I."
I might say "knee-ther" with the second, but I can't imagine saying "me nigh-ther"

 

[salvador.dal1950]

Thank you for your answers. Come to think of it, I've heard "neither do I" with /ˈnaɪðə(r)/, but "me neither" with /ˈnaɪðə(r)/ never. In fact, the other day I was watching an old Dr Who episode (obviously they speak BrE), and David Tennet said "me neither" like /ˈniːðə(r)/.

With a little more research I've found these so called "preference polls" by Longman.

Preference polls, British English: ˈaɪð- 87%, ˈiːð- 13%; American English: ˈiːð- 84%, ˈaɪð- 16%.

It seems that there is a preference, but I am yet to hear "me neither" with /ˈnaɪðə(r)/.

 

[N Senbei]

It seems that there is a preference, but I am yet to hear "me neither" with /ˈnaɪðə(r)/.

Hello salvador.dal1950,

At about 01:11 in this video, you can hear /mi: naɪðər/.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0fGR7FsTrKY

 

[Tdol]

It seems that there is a preference, but I am yet to hear "me neither" with /ˈnaɪðə(r)/.

I was brought up not to say me neither at all, so I think you may find that many other people who say /ˈnaɪðə/ will use neither do I instead. However,the pronunciation is not unknown.