Pronunciation

I've decided to do my part to settle the age-old debate on how to pronounce the word "apricot."  I've heard it many different ways - "ape-ricot," "app-ricot," "ah-pricot."  And, while I have my opinions, I didn't want to enter the ring with an unfounded argument.  So, the first thing I did was to check the dictionary.  I have a 3rd edition (1994) American Heritage dictionary, and it lists both "app-ricot" and "ape-ricot" as pronunciations.  Next, I searched Google, determined for my position to be validated.  "How to pronounce apricot" got me about 58,200 results, including "How to say grapes in Polish," which I investigated just because I was so intrigued that it would show up in my search (it demonstrates all kinds of fruit in Polish, including apricots) and "My poodle's ears STINK...," which I did not investigate.  From what I gathered from the articles and posts on Google, it all just depends on what part of the country you're from - either way is correct, depending on how the people in your region say it.  And so I have the liberty of pressing upon anyone who happens to read this MY argument for how to pronounce "apricot."  When talking about the fruit or the fruit tree, I say "ape-ricot," with a long "a."  When I'm talking about the color, I say "app-ricot," (which could be mistaken for "ah-pricot," according to those who claim I have an accent, but to my ears I'm saying "app-ricot").  Oh, and there might be slightly more stress on the first syllable, but, for the most part, all three syllables are stressed equally.  And that is my opinion.  Someone from a different part of the country will have a different opinion.  And that is okay.  We can both be correct!