Amethyst Posted December 19, 2020 Share Posted December 19, 2020 How do you pronounce Merry? And if you don't mind, tell me where you grew up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted December 19, 2020 Share Posted December 19, 2020 Southern England. The e is like in 'pet' for me. 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AmandaVT Posted December 19, 2020 Share Posted December 19, 2020 I'm from RI and it sounds like "merry" - different from Mary and marry. And not Murray. I can hear the short /e/ in it. 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barnwife Posted December 19, 2020 Share Posted December 19, 2020 I've lived most of my life in the Midwest (WI, specifically). Merry/marry/Mary are all said the same. They rhyme with carry. 14 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carrie12345 Posted December 19, 2020 Share Posted December 19, 2020 Northern NJ Mary, marry, and merry are all different. 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MEmama Posted December 19, 2020 Share Posted December 19, 2020 10 minutes ago, AmandaVT said: I'm from RI and it sounds like "merry" - different from Mary and marry. And not Murray. I can hear the short /e/ in it. Yeah, I think this is a good explanation for me, too. I’m from Northern California (but have picked up various accents having lived all over the US and eastern Canada my entire adulthood). 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matryoshka Posted December 19, 2020 Share Posted December 19, 2020 19 minutes ago, AmandaVT said: I'm from RI and it sounds like "merry" - different from Mary and marry. And not Murray. I can hear the short /e/ in it. This. I'm from MA. All these words sound entirely different. Yes, a short e. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Katy Posted December 19, 2020 Share Posted December 19, 2020 14 minutes ago, Carrie12345 said: Northern NJ Mary, marry, and merry are all different. Midwest atm, raised in the part of Northern Florida where most people have a Southern Accent. I agree with this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cjzimmer1 Posted December 19, 2020 Share Posted December 19, 2020 21 minutes ago, barnwife said: I've lived most of my life in the Midwest (WI, specifically). Merry/marry/Mary are all said the same. They rhyme with carry. Ditto to everything said here. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardenmom5 Posted December 19, 2020 Share Posted December 19, 2020 PNW - sounds like neither, and different still from marry (which has a longer "r" than Mary). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bookbard Posted December 19, 2020 Share Posted December 19, 2020 Australia - Merry, Mary, marry are all different. Merry has a short 'e' like the word 'met', and it's said more quickly than Mary which has 'air' in it. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MercyA Posted December 19, 2020 Share Posted December 19, 2020 36 minutes ago, barnwife said: I've lived most of my life in the Midwest (WI, specifically). Merry/marry/Mary are all said the same. They rhyme with carry. Same, and I'm in the Midwest (Indiana). 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
*Jessica* Posted December 19, 2020 Share Posted December 19, 2020 I’m with the 57% of Americans that pronounce Mary, merry, and marry the same. I’ve lived in NY, near Lake Erie, all of my life. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drama Llama Posted December 19, 2020 Share Posted December 19, 2020 40 minutes ago, Laura Corin said: Southern England. The e is like in 'pet' for me. What does Mary sound like to you? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HS Mom in NC Posted December 19, 2020 Share Posted December 19, 2020 (edited) I pronounce Merry, Mary, and marry the same way- they all rhyme with carry, airy, and berry with the same short e sound as in pet. I spent the first 45 years of my life in the greater PHX area of the southwestern US. Edited December 19, 2020 by Homeschool Mom in AZ 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amethyst Posted December 19, 2020 Author Share Posted December 19, 2020 2 minutes ago, Homeschool Mom in AZ said: I pronounce Merry, Mary, and marry the same way- they all rhyme with carry, airy, and berry with the same short e sound as in pet. I spent the first 45 years of my life in the greater PHX area of the southwestern US. Lol. Carry, airy, and berry all sound different to me. 3 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amethyst Posted December 19, 2020 Author Share Posted December 19, 2020 I grew up in Philadelphia and I pronounce Merry pretty much identically to Murray. But I see I’m in the minority. I’m pretty sure all my siblings say it the same way I do too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanaqui Posted December 19, 2020 Share Posted December 19, 2020 I have the Merry/Mary/Marry merger - all these words rhyme with "very", "berry", and "cherry". None of them rhyme with "Murray", "Curry", or "Slurry". The Merry/Murray merger is pretty well-known as a Philly shibboleth, isn't it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amethyst Posted December 19, 2020 Author Share Posted December 19, 2020 This is an ongoing debate for dh and I. (He did not grow up in Philadelphia). He pronounces ferry just like fairy too. Lol. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spy Car Posted December 19, 2020 Share Posted December 19, 2020 Californian native. Mary, Merry, and Marry all sound identical. Can't even imagine a distinction. Bill 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amethyst Posted December 19, 2020 Author Share Posted December 19, 2020 2 minutes ago, Tanaqui said: I have the Merry/Mary/Marry merger - all these words rhyme with "very", "berry", and "cherry". None of them rhyme with "Murray", "Curry", or "Slurry". The Merry/Murray merger is pretty well-known as a Philly shibboleth, isn't it? Oh is it? I don’t know. I just tell my husband he talks funny. Lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Not_a_Number Posted December 19, 2020 Share Posted December 19, 2020 Merry is different from marry, but marry and Mary are the same for me. Merry has a short e, Mary has a short a. I’m an immigrant who grew up in Toronto after the age of 11. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted December 19, 2020 Share Posted December 19, 2020 (edited) 21 minutes ago, BaseballandHockey said: What does Mary sound like to you? Long a, like 'pair'. Merry has a short e. Marry has a short a. Murray has a short u. On the other hand I pronounce paw, pour, poor and pore all the same. Edited December 19, 2020 by Laura Corin 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matryoshka Posted December 19, 2020 Share Posted December 19, 2020 1 minute ago, Laura Corin said: Long a, like 'pair'. Merry has a short e. Marry has a short a. Murray has a short u. Yes. They're pronounced like they're spelled! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amethyst Posted December 19, 2020 Author Share Posted December 19, 2020 At least I don’t pronounce water/wooder quite as Philadelphian as I used to. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matryoshka Posted December 19, 2020 Share Posted December 19, 2020 1 minute ago, Amethyst said: At least I don’t pronounce water/wooder quite as Philadelphian as I used to. Here we pronounce it wadder... or, for those that go full-on Bostonian, waddah... 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amethyst Posted December 19, 2020 Author Share Posted December 19, 2020 4 minutes ago, Laura Corin said: Long a, like 'pair'. Merry has a short e. Marry has a short a. Murray has a short u. This sounds like me! (Although the paw/poor thing has me confused) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matryoshka Posted December 19, 2020 Share Posted December 19, 2020 5 minutes ago, Laura Corin said: Long a, like 'pair'. Merry has a short e. Marry has a short a. Murray has a short u. On the other hand I pronounce paw, pour, poor and pore all the same. Pour and poor are identical, but paw is entirely different. But Don and Dawn are identical! (well, they sound like paw, and pawn). Laura and Lora also sound the same here (like poor, not like paw!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shoeless Posted December 19, 2020 Share Posted December 19, 2020 (edited) Merry rhymes with cherry. Mary rhymes with hairy. I grew up in the NYC area. Edited December 19, 2020 by MissLemon 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cjzimmer1 Posted December 19, 2020 Share Posted December 19, 2020 17 minutes ago, Spy Car said: Californian native. Mary, Merry, and Marry all sound identical. Can't even imagine a distinction. Bill That's how I feel. Someone upthread said to say it with the short e sound like pet. So I'm sitting here trying to make that sound between and M and an R and I can't even make those sounds in combination. 10 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wheres Toto Posted December 19, 2020 Share Posted December 19, 2020 1 hour ago, Carrie12345 said: Northern NJ Mary, marry, and merry are all different. Me too. Merry rhymes with very, marry rhymes with carry, and Mary rhymes with fairy. 3 minutes ago, Matryoshka said: Pour and poor are identical, but paw is entirely different. But Don and Dawn are identical! (well, they sound like paw, and pawn). Laura and Lora also sound the same here (like poor, not like paw!) Pour and poor are definitely the same, paw is different - no r sound in paw. Don and Dawn are different. I think Laura and Lora are just different ways to spell the same thing, so sound the same? Reminds me of people who can't tell the difference between Newark and New York. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JustEm Posted December 19, 2020 Share Posted December 19, 2020 22 minutes ago, Amethyst said: I grew up in Philadelphia and I pronounce Merry pretty much identically to Murray. But I see I’m in the minority. I’m pretty sure all my siblings say it the same way I do too. Interesting, I grew up about 40 minutes from Philly and have many friends from there and have never heard them pronounce it Murray. I've never heard anyone pronounce it that way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spy Car Posted December 19, 2020 Share Posted December 19, 2020 3 minutes ago, Amethyst said: At least I don’t pronounce water/wooder quite as Philadelphian as I used to. A year after I finished University I spent a spring into summer living in South Philly. My room in an old brownstone looked out onto an old fashioned city baseball field (that looked like it was 100 years old) and on the other side were Pat's and Geno's (the famous Philly Cheesesteak places). To the left was the Italian market street Rocky runs through in the first movie. To the left the shops on Passyunk. What a different world! Took a moment to retrain my ear. Is that English? What a colorful neighborhood. Lots of Mafia slubs. Girls with big hair. I had a great time. Bill 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RootAnn Posted December 19, 2020 Share Posted December 19, 2020 Y'all are hilarious. I went looking for someone who says them differently. I found this. Is this how you do it? 4 minutes ago, Wheres Toto said: Merry rhymes with very, marry rhymes with carry, and Mary rhymes with fairy. These all rhyme to me. 6 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Junie Posted December 19, 2020 Share Posted December 19, 2020 I pronounce Mary, merry, and marry the same. I grew up in southern Pennsylvania (a couple of hours and a world away from Philadephia). I do recall occasionally hearing "Murry Crismuss". I never realized that it was specifically a Philly thing. When my sister and I were in college, I was living in the South and she was living in a Philly suburb. We each picked up quite a bit of the local speech patterns. I will say that our phone conversations became very interesting -- we suddenly spoke different languages! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cjzimmer1 Posted December 19, 2020 Share Posted December 19, 2020 6 minutes ago, Wheres Toto said: Me too. Merry rhymes with very, marry rhymes with carry, and Mary rhymes with fairy. For me very, carry, and fairy all rhyme with each other and any of the Mary/marry/merry variations. Pour and poor are definitely the same, paw is different - no r sound in paw. pour and poor are different. pour makes the or sound and poor makes an oo sound (like the end sound of the name of the vowel u) Don and Dawn are different. agree I think Laura and Lora are just different ways to spell the same thing, so sound the same? for me there is a slight difference 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kanin Posted December 19, 2020 Share Posted December 19, 2020 37 minutes ago, Amethyst said: Lol. Carry, airy, and berry all sound different to me. Carry and airy sound the same to me, but berry is different. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wheres Toto Posted December 19, 2020 Share Posted December 19, 2020 So, dh grew up in South Jersey and I asked him. He says Mary and Merry the same, they both sound like Mary to me. So to me the e in Merry is a short e like bed, Mary rhymes with fairy or the a sounds like in mare or fair or pair, kind of longer and drawn out almost two sounds. Marry, I'm having trouble finding an example but it's a quicker a sound. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TechWife Posted December 19, 2020 Share Posted December 19, 2020 Southeastern US - Mare - e 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kanin Posted December 19, 2020 Share Posted December 19, 2020 Mary and marry are the same to me, and merry (and berry) have the short /e/ like in bed. (Maine) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matryoshka Posted December 19, 2020 Share Posted December 19, 2020 (edited) 23 minutes ago, Wheres Toto said: Me too. Merry rhymes with very, marry rhymes with carry, and Mary rhymes with fairy. Yes! Quote Pour and poor are definitely the same, paw is different - no r sound in paw. It's not just the lack of and R, the vowel sounds are totally different. Quote Don and Dawn are different. Not here. 😄 Quote I think Laura and Lora are just different ways to spell the same thing, so sound the same? This is true here, but most other places (apparently), they are totally different. If you hear Dawn/Don differently (which I don't), I think for you Laura most places would rhyme with Dawn, and Lora with Don? Although I'm still not completely clear on this. All of this is a bit of a muddle, as we all seem to overlap these sounds, but differently! Edited December 19, 2020 by Matryoshka Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KungFuPanda Posted December 19, 2020 Share Posted December 19, 2020 This thread is worthless without audio clips. 😆 Come on people, use the technology. 2 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
importswim Posted December 20, 2020 Share Posted December 20, 2020 meh-ree maybe? Rhymes with very but the emphasis is on the first letter (as opposed to the ending). I'm originally from England so my Anglocized-American accent is strange anyway. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matrips Posted December 20, 2020 Share Posted December 20, 2020 (edited) It is M, the ‘er’ sound, and then long y sound. (How we pronounce it). Edited December 20, 2020 by matrips Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matrips Posted December 20, 2020 Share Posted December 20, 2020 25 minutes ago, Kanin said: Carry and airy sound the same to me, but berry is different. Those three are all different to me 😂 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matryoshka Posted December 20, 2020 Share Posted December 20, 2020 13 minutes ago, KungFuPanda said: This thread is worthless without audio clips. 😆 Come on people, use the technology. So, anyone know how to include an audio clip? I found some, but they won't copy/paste... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matrips Posted December 20, 2020 Share Posted December 20, 2020 1 hour ago, BaseballandHockey said: What does Mary sound like to you? To me, M, air, long y Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amethyst Posted December 20, 2020 Author Share Posted December 20, 2020 40 minutes ago, MissLemon said: Merry rhymes with cherry. Mary rhymes with hairy. I grew up in the NYC area. Merry and cherry rhyme for me too. It’s just that I pronounce it cherry and you probably pronounce it chair-y Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amethyst Posted December 20, 2020 Author Share Posted December 20, 2020 40 minutes ago, RootAnn said: Y'all are hilarious. I went looking for someone who says them differently. I found this. Is this how you do it? These all rhyme to me. Yes! Great video! He actually mentions Philly a couple times! 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 20, 2020 Share Posted December 20, 2020 1 hour ago, Amethyst said: This is an ongoing debate for dh and I. (He did not grow up in Philadelphia). He pronounces ferry just like fairy too. Lol. So do I. Mary/marry/merry are all the same the way I say it and have heard all my life. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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