what is called when people say LIBERRY instead of Library?

Answer 1

This pronunciation--though "nonstandard"-- is very understandable, because it is the result of a common process in language, called "dissimilation", which is defined as "a phenomenon whereby similar consonant sounds in a word have a tendency to become different over time, so as to ease pronunciation."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dissimilation


Perhaps the easiest way to understand what's happening here is to compare it with the similar pronunciation of "February" as /feb-yoo-ary/.

Check out the following:

"Usage Note: Although the variant pronunciation (feb-yoo-ary) is often censured because it doesn't reflect the spelling of the word, it is quite common in educated speech and is generally considered acceptable. The loss of the first r in this pronunciation can be accounted for by the phonological process known as dissimilation, by which similar sounds in a word tend to become less similar. In the case of February, the loss of the first r is also owing to the influence of January, which has only one r."
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/dict.asp?Word=February


Do note that this sort of change in or dropping of a sound is affected by

1) the fact that the word is easier to pronounce with the change! The fact that the unaccented "a" between the r's is scarcely pronounced makes the word harder to articulate. (On the other hand, "librarian" is much easier to pronounce because the a is long and the "rar" syllable is accented.)

In fact, the STANDARD pronunciation of many words has changed over the centuries for this very reason. Another common example of this is "metathesis" is which the ORDER of a word's sounds is changed to ease pronunciation, giving is /i-urn/ for "iron", /comf-tur-bul/ for "comfortable". By this route, Old English 'brid', 'thridde' and 'hros' became our words 'bird', 'third' and 'horse'.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metathesis_(linguistics)
http://sps.k12.mo.us/khs/linguistics/lingtrms.htm#M

2) other patterns in the language which make it sound more natural to pronounce differently. It is quite ordinary for a word's pronunciation to be adapted to sound like words that are common in the language. (In this case ending with -Rary are a fraction of the -ary words.)

Answer 2

Sometimes children pronounce it this way, and they never correct themselves as they grow up. It's just part of their slang or dialect, like saying "gonna" instead of "going to." But you should keep on pronouncing it properly; you'll sound more intelligent.

Answer 3

The technical name for it is mispronunciation. It can by caused by any number of things: illiteracy, drunkenness, head trauma, fatigue, something being lodged in the mouth, numbness around the mouth, general lack of experience with the language, and probably lots of other things.

Answer 4

It's part of their accent. It's like why British don't pronounce the r at the end of words.

Answer 5

It could be lazy, inarticulate, misinformed, apathetic, or perhaps hard of hearing. In any case all of the above reasons lead to poor spelling. It's hard to put in all the letters one never pronounces, after all.

Answer 6

Too lazy to take a fraction of a second to pronounce words correctly.

Answer 7

Ignorance.

Answer 8

a particular accent?
are you in Boston? do you need a ca?

Answer 9

Either hillbilly or 5 year old. lol

Answer 10

NOT EVERY ONE IS PERFECT IN THEIR SPEECH,WHEN I WAS YOUNG I USED TO SAY HOSTIPAL INSTEAD OF HOSPITAL AND AMBULANCE ,ANULANCE.FROM MIKHAL IN ISRAEL.