Here's an exposition of the different pronunciations of Mary, marry and merry that seem useful.---alan
Some mergers depend on the context -- additional mergers of vowel categories before /r/ and /l/ are especially common. Some people pronounce "Mary", "marry" and "merry" differently (with the vowels of the FACE, TRAP and DRESS classes, respectively) while others merge them -- without of course merging examples like "mate", "mat", "met" that don't involve a following /r/.
Actually, while I do speak Marry using the A in TRAP and I speak Merry using the E in DRESS, when I say Mary I generally use the A in Mare (as in horse).
I have a feeling that my pronunciation of Mary may not be consistent. If I think about it at all, I pronounce the A as in FACE. But I think most of the people around me pronounce it to rhyme with "merry", and probably I do most of the time.
listener--I remember seeing advertisements for those toothed grippers that strap on around one's shoes. I figured they would be standard issue where you live; I'd sure have them to hand.
Re speaking like the people around oneself, that is natural; believe me, it is REALLY noticeable in bilingual families (ours being one). The way we speak among ourselves, and with people who are monolingual in one language or the other, is very different. (Why have two words for everything?) We all naturally adjust our vocabularies to the (presumed) level of education of those with whom we are speaking, as well. I think it was last year that while speaking with a person whom I supposed to have a bachelor's degree that I used a word I am sure we were taught in high school ("catholic" meaning wide-ranging or universal), and the (shocked?) expression on her face made it instantly clear to me that I had to explain its meaning to her--she had completely misunderstood it, evidently thinking I meant Roman Catholic Christian.
While neither Josh nor I ever got to be bilingual, a lot of what got used between us, was kind of clotted/mixed. Mostly, day to day language (are you hungry, are you tired, when's dinner, lets go to bed, etc., was Chinese. For outside/business subjects, English. And a lot of time explaining what was going on, lol! I gave him a glass of Alka-Seltzer, and he was furious! (Didn't EVERYONE KNOW cold water was deadly for upset tummies???!!!!)
Vivat Dean!
ReplyDeleteHere's an exposition of the different pronunciations of Mary, marry and merry that seem useful.---alan
Some mergers depend on the context -- additional mergers of vowel categories before /r/ and /l/ are especially common. Some people pronounce "Mary", "marry" and "merry" differently (with the vowels of the FACE, TRAP and DRESS classes, respectively) while others merge them -- without of course merging examples like "mate", "mat", "met" that don't involve a following /r/.
Actually, while I do speak Marry using the A in TRAP and I speak Merry using the E in DRESS, when I say Mary I generally use the A in Mare (as in horse).
DeleteI have a feeling that my pronunciation of Mary may not be consistent. If I think about it at all, I pronounce the A as in FACE. But I think most of the people around me pronounce it to rhyme with "merry", and probably I do most of the time.
Deletelistener--I remember seeing advertisements for those toothed grippers that strap on around one's shoes. I figured they would be standard issue where you live; I'd sure have them to hand.
ReplyDeleteRe speaking like the people around oneself, that is natural; believe me, it is REALLY noticeable in bilingual families (ours being one). The way we speak among ourselves, and with people who are monolingual in one language or the other, is very different. (Why have two words for everything?) We all naturally adjust our vocabularies to the (presumed) level of education of those with whom we are speaking, as well. I think it was last year that while speaking with a person whom I supposed to have a bachelor's degree that I used a word I am sure we were taught in high school ("catholic" meaning wide-ranging or universal), and the (shocked?) expression on her face made it instantly clear to me that I had to explain its meaning to her--she had completely misunderstood it, evidently thinking I meant Roman Catholic Christian.
TTFN
Alan
While neither Josh nor I ever got to be bilingual, a lot of what got used between us, was kind of clotted/mixed. Mostly, day to day language (are you hungry, are you tired, when's dinner, lets go to bed, etc., was Chinese. For outside/business subjects, English. And a lot of time explaining what was going on, lol! I gave him a glass of Alka-Seltzer, and he was furious! (Didn't EVERYONE KNOW cold water was deadly for upset tummies???!!!!)
DeleteAlan, no, chains with spikes aren't given at baby showers, but they are becoming increasingly popular post retirement!
Delete