ten
/tĕn/
noun
- The cardinal number equal to 9 + 1.
- The tenth in a set or sequence.
- Something having ten parts, units, or members.
I don't hear "teen". In any case, vowel sounds are often distorted somewhat in singing: see this paper for some detailed analysis. To me, it seems that the word is lengthened somewhat, which could contribute to the use of an altered vowel quality.
There is a known sound change that could theoretically be relevant here (the "pin-pen merger"; usually, speakers who use the same vowel sound in both words use a vowel closer to the vowel that unmerged speakers use in "pin"), but I don't think the pronunciation of this particular word is enough evidence to show that the speaker has this merger. In any case, the pen-pin merged vowel is still distinct from the /i/ vowel that is found in words like "teen".
Answer from herisson on Stack ExchangeVideos
I don't hear "teen". In any case, vowel sounds are often distorted somewhat in singing: see this paper for some detailed analysis. To me, it seems that the word is lengthened somewhat, which could contribute to the use of an altered vowel quality.
There is a known sound change that could theoretically be relevant here (the "pin-pen merger"; usually, speakers who use the same vowel sound in both words use a vowel closer to the vowel that unmerged speakers use in "pin"), but I don't think the pronunciation of this particular word is enough evidence to show that the speaker has this merger. In any case, the pen-pin merged vowel is still distinct from the /i/ vowel that is found in words like "teen".
The pronunciation in the video sounds like [ tʰɪən].
This is a feature of AAVE, the PIN-PEN merger: Quoting Wikipedia:
Pin–pen merger: Before nasal consonants (/m/, /n/, and /ŋ/), dress /ɛ/ and kit/ɪ/ are both pronounced like [ɪ~ɪə], making pen and pin homophones
To people whose dialect does not have the merger, or to non-native speakers, [tʰɪən] could certainly be mistaken for [ tʰijn], the common pronunciation of "teen".
I just argued with my friend for the second time about how the number ten is pronounced. My entire life I've been pronouncing it how it sounds with emphasis on the "e" in the middle. He swears to me that everybody else says "tin" despite the spelling. We've listened to audio and he swears it's saying "tin" but I swear I'm hearing "ten". It might be worth noting that he grew up in Nashville TN and I grew up in Connecticut. If he's messing with me he's doing a really good job but I really think he's serious. Am I insane or is he? How do YOU pronounce and also hear the word "ten"?