Can someone give me a pronounciation guide of sorts or rhymes of how these three words (spoken as homophones in other parts of the US) as said by some in the Northeast? Thanks!
2006-07-04 14:30:58 · 10 answers · asked by David 2 in Society & Culture ➔ Languages
I don't know if it's true in Boston, per se, but in some places, yes, people do pronounce them differently. I've heard some New Yorkers do it.
Merry-- "MEH-ree" (short "e" like in bet)
Mary-- "MAY-ree" (long "a" like in ace)
Marry-- "MA-ree" (short "a" like in apple)
You probably wouldn't notice it if you heard someone say it if you don't do it, though. Just like with foreign language learning, you can only hear what you know how to say. And the *only* way you will be able to *say* the 3 different ones is to take a short breath or break between the 2 syllables before the "r" sound!
2006-07-04 21:03:00 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 11⤊ 0⤋
I don't know, but I (English speaking Quebecer) pronounce "merry" and "Mary" the same, but "marry" differently. My dad (also not from Boston) pronounces all three differently.
First a quick course in phonetics: vowel sounds can be distinguished by location of articulation (based on the shape of your tongue when you pronounce the letter), nasalization or not (whether or not your nasal cavity is also used in pronunciation), roundedness or not of your lips, and length (how long you're keeping you tongue in that same position).
So I would guess, merry and Mary have just about the same place of articulation (probably the same as yours), but that it is pronounced for longer in Mary.
And marry is pronounced further back in the mouth, meaning that the tongue is flatter.
2006-07-04 20:40:48 · answer #2 · answered by Goddess of Grammar 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
these are quite possibly the most unhelpful answers i've read for any question on this website so far.
out of all 6 of you,,, 2 of you defined the words,,,,,,,, which was not asked of you. 1 of you gave a lesson on
accents. and the other 3 gave rhymes and pronunciations, which is good, but,, i gotta say, they seem every bit as hard to discern between as the original words.
i almost wanna go to boston now, just to find out for myself how these words are pronounced.
2006-07-04 14:50:20 · answer #3 · answered by tobykeogh 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Merry = berry ( e sounds like the e in Egg)
Mary = Bary or Mare -e (a in air)
Marry = Bary (a in apple)
2006-07-04 14:35:26 · answer #4 · answered by JulyBaby 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I lived in NE all my life. Merry as in Jerry, Mary as in Fairy, and Marry as in Harry. Hope this helps
2006-07-04 14:40:03 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
merry - stress the "e" used as "good" - merry day, merry evening
Mary - like the name, don't be stupid
marry - stress the "a" as in being married to someone, duh!
The only strange thing is that they say merry.
Helps?
2006-07-04 14:35:49 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Accents.....its based on culture, and the influences that is/was interwoven within their background when they were growing up. Many of these people have grown up and moved to different places hence the different accents.
2006-07-04 14:35:33 · answer #7 · answered by Virtuous 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Merr-ee, Marr-ee, Murr-ee
2006-07-04 14:31:55 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
merry like merry christmas
Mary Jane from spiderman(couldn't think of anything else...)
You go to watch a couple marry.
2006-07-04 14:34:40 · answer #9 · answered by firstshadow 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
boo!
2006-07-04 15:05:36 · answer #10 · answered by xox_isabelle_xox 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋