On Tuesday, December 17, 2019 at 12:42:59 PM UTC-5, Chuck wrote:

I read that the different pronunciations of these words is only among
people who grew up in the Mid-Atlantic states. Since I'm from South
Jersey and do pronounce them differently, I don't know if this is true
or not.

Neither of my parents spoke English as a first language. I was born in Chicago, raised in Ann Arbor, MI, NYC and Austin, TX. But, I have found that when we lived in other parts of the world and crossed paths mostly with Brits, the same distinctions obtained.

I have noticed that South Jersey speakers tend to have much cleaner, clearer tones and sounds than as one approaches NY and, at the very core of regionalism, Brooklyn, NY.

Peter Wieck
Melrose Park, PA