File under “Two Vowels Walked into a Bar . . Walkin’ the walk ain’t necessarily talkin’ the talk.
Here’s a fun rule to help us with the pronunciation of double-vowel words like roam, peak, and bait: “When two vowels go walking, the first does the talking.” A good rule, albeit naive, and sometimes a moot point, said Mr. Caesar the financier. And to borrow from another spelling rule, “except in words like weigh and neighbor.” Not to mention mention, or to pick out some diphthongs to make the point.