Hi, I'm new to this forum, and I was wondering if anyone could help me with some pronunciation issues. I am a native speaker of Canadian English, and therefore have certain phonemic mergers in my speech that I would like to reverse. I've found the caught-cot and father-bother mergers fairly easy, since they are reflected nearly unambigously in spelling, but I'm having more trouble with the hurry-furry and Mary-merry-marry mergers. Anyone have any suggestions, perhaps clues in spelling about which pronunciation to use?
Reversing mergers
"Mary"-"marry"-"merry" is pretty straight-forward. That is it's about as straight-forward as things get in English spelling so take these as general rules of thumb to be broken whenever. If there is an "err", pronounce it with the same vowel as in "dress". If there is an "arr", pronounce it with the same vowel as in "trap". If there is "air", "eir" or "ar" plus a vowel letter, pronounce it
As for "hurry"-"furry" it's more the cues in morphology than spelling you've got to look for. "Furry" is "fur" + "y" whereas "hurry" is just "hurry". Generally, if the word is made of "ur" plus "y" then use the vowel in "nurse", otherwise use the vowel in "strut".
As for "hurry"-"furry" it's more the cues in morphology than spelling you've got to look for. "Furry" is "fur" + "y" whereas "hurry" is just "hurry". Generally, if the word is made of "ur" plus "y" then use the vowel in "nurse", otherwise use the vowel in "strut".
Are you trying to modify your own accent, or are you trying to learn a new accent? Somebody who makes both the cot-caught and father-bother distinctions would be a rarity in North America.
Anyway, you're in luck, because I'm from Massachusetts, and thus I do actually make the hurry-furry and Mary-merry-marry distinctions in my native speech.
- Hurry-furry distinction:
Just in case you're not familiar with X-SAMPA, let me say that "hurry" is pronounced ["hVri], and "furry" is pronounced ["f3`i]. In other words, "hurry" uses the exact same vowel as the word "cut", whereas "furry" uses the same vowel as the word "fur".
Basically, the "furry" pronunciation is used when a word that ends in [3`] gets a suffix attached to it. (For example, the word "furry" is the result of "fur" gaining the adjectival suffix "-y".) Aside from the word "furry" itself, the "furry" pronunciation is found mainly in verbal forms, like "purring", "whirring", "stirring", "inferring", "concurring".
The "hurry" pronunciation is found in words that are not derived from other words. Here are some of the words that use the "hurry" pronunciation: "curry", "worry", "Murray", "courage", "thorough", "flourish", "nourish", "current", "currency", "surrogate", "Surrey".
So if you're not sure whether to use the "hurry" pronunciation or the "furry" pronunciation, then remember: If you can't find an English word, ending in [3`], from which this word is derived, then it's going to use the "hurry" pronunciation.
(And watch out for cases like "concurring" versus "concurrent". "Concurring" is derived from the English verb "concur", so it uses the "furry" pronunciation; but "concurrent" is taken straight from Latin, so it uses the "hurry" pronunciation.)
- Mary-merry-marry distinction:
This distinction encompasses a lot of words, so the rules are more general.
Anyway, "Mary" is pronounced ["mE@`i] (with the vowel of "mare"), "merry" is pronounced ["mEri] (with the vowel of "met"), and "marry" is pronounced ["m{ri] (with the vowel of "mat").
The "Mary" pronunciation is basically (ie, with many exceptions) used in the situations where the spelling would suggest a "long A", or when (analogous to the hurry-furry situation) a word ending in [E@`] gets a suffix added to it. This pronunciation is found in "Carey", "caring", "fairing", "fairy", "dairy", "declaring", "vary", "Sarah".
The "marry" pronunciation is basically used in situations where the spelling would suggest a "short A", and it's used in many Latin-derived words. Words with the "marry" pronunciation include: "carry", "Carrie", "transparent", "comparative", "Harry", "Larry", "preparative", "preparatory", "barrel", "Farrell", "narrate", "narrative", "narrator", "wheelbarrow", "sparrow", "Carol", "carraway", "declarative".
The "merry" pronunciation is basically used in situations where the spelling would suggest a "short E". Words using this pronunciation include: "merry", "America", "ferry", "Ferrell", "berry", "cherry", "very", "imperative", "heron", "Jerry", "Kerry", "Terry", "Derry".
One thing to remember is that the adjectival suffix "-ary" or "-ery" uses the "merry" vowel. For example: "military", "temporary", "necessary". (But note that in an English or Australian accent, many of these words, such as "military", are pronounced with a reduced vowel or no vowel, eg "militry".)
Finally, we come to two special cases. The words "parent" and "Aaron" use the "marry" vowel for me and most New Englanders; but in an Engilsh accent, these words use the "Mary" vowel. (So for English people, "parent" and "transparent" don't rhyme; although they do rhyme for me.)
~~~
Anyway, if you're unsure about the pronunciation of any word, just look it up in a British dictionary like http://dictionary.cambridge.org/ , which lists hurry-furry and Mary-merry-marry unmerged pronunciations.
Anyway, you're in luck, because I'm from Massachusetts, and thus I do actually make the hurry-furry and Mary-merry-marry distinctions in my native speech.
- Hurry-furry distinction:
Just in case you're not familiar with X-SAMPA, let me say that "hurry" is pronounced ["hVri], and "furry" is pronounced ["f3`i]. In other words, "hurry" uses the exact same vowel as the word "cut", whereas "furry" uses the same vowel as the word "fur".
Basically, the "furry" pronunciation is used when a word that ends in [3`] gets a suffix attached to it. (For example, the word "furry" is the result of "fur" gaining the adjectival suffix "-y".) Aside from the word "furry" itself, the "furry" pronunciation is found mainly in verbal forms, like "purring", "whirring", "stirring", "inferring", "concurring".
The "hurry" pronunciation is found in words that are not derived from other words. Here are some of the words that use the "hurry" pronunciation: "curry", "worry", "Murray", "courage", "thorough", "flourish", "nourish", "current", "currency", "surrogate", "Surrey".
So if you're not sure whether to use the "hurry" pronunciation or the "furry" pronunciation, then remember: If you can't find an English word, ending in [3`], from which this word is derived, then it's going to use the "hurry" pronunciation.
(And watch out for cases like "concurring" versus "concurrent". "Concurring" is derived from the English verb "concur", so it uses the "furry" pronunciation; but "concurrent" is taken straight from Latin, so it uses the "hurry" pronunciation.)
- Mary-merry-marry distinction:
This distinction encompasses a lot of words, so the rules are more general.
Anyway, "Mary" is pronounced ["mE@`i] (with the vowel of "mare"), "merry" is pronounced ["mEri] (with the vowel of "met"), and "marry" is pronounced ["m{ri] (with the vowel of "mat").
The "Mary" pronunciation is basically (ie, with many exceptions) used in the situations where the spelling would suggest a "long A", or when (analogous to the hurry-furry situation) a word ending in [E@`] gets a suffix added to it. This pronunciation is found in "Carey", "caring", "fairing", "fairy", "dairy", "declaring", "vary", "Sarah".
The "marry" pronunciation is basically used in situations where the spelling would suggest a "short A", and it's used in many Latin-derived words. Words with the "marry" pronunciation include: "carry", "Carrie", "transparent", "comparative", "Harry", "Larry", "preparative", "preparatory", "barrel", "Farrell", "narrate", "narrative", "narrator", "wheelbarrow", "sparrow", "Carol", "carraway", "declarative".
The "merry" pronunciation is basically used in situations where the spelling would suggest a "short E". Words using this pronunciation include: "merry", "America", "ferry", "Ferrell", "berry", "cherry", "very", "imperative", "heron", "Jerry", "Kerry", "Terry", "Derry".
One thing to remember is that the adjectival suffix "-ary" or "-ery" uses the "merry" vowel. For example: "military", "temporary", "necessary". (But note that in an English or Australian accent, many of these words, such as "military", are pronounced with a reduced vowel or no vowel, eg "militry".)
Finally, we come to two special cases. The words "parent" and "Aaron" use the "marry" vowel for me and most New Englanders; but in an Engilsh accent, these words use the "Mary" vowel. (So for English people, "parent" and "transparent" don't rhyme; although they do rhyme for me.)
~~~
Anyway, if you're unsure about the pronunciation of any word, just look it up in a British dictionary like http://dictionary.cambridge.org/ , which lists hurry-furry and Mary-merry-marry unmerged pronunciations.
What an interesting idea. Reversing vowel mergers... Cool. What kind of accent are you aiming for? Is it for acting, or what?
"I am a native speaker of Canadian English, and therefore have certain phonemic mergers in my speech that I would like to reverse."
As a Canadian myself, I can only echo some of the other responses: why do you feel the need to "reverse your mergers"?
As a Canadian myself, I can only echo some of the other responses: why do you feel the need to "reverse your mergers"?
Thanks for your help everybody. I didn't expect such a quick response. It's not that I want to change my accent necessarily, it's just I find it helpful in understanding English phonetics to actually be able to produce the different forms. Also I like to be able to identify where someone is from by their accent, and tell if an actor is portraying an accent wrong.
I'm also wondering about the horse-hoarse merger. I expect this will be a little more difficult, considering the rarity of the unmerged forms. I've read that 'or-' followed by a vowel is generally pronounced with 'hoarse' (like in 'oral'), but that it is sometimes pronounced with 'horse' like in 'origin'. Are there any dictionaries that represent the unmerged forms for this distinction?
I'm also wondering about the horse-hoarse merger. I expect this will be a little more difficult, considering the rarity of the unmerged forms. I've read that 'or-' followed by a vowel is generally pronounced with 'hoarse' (like in 'oral'), but that it is sometimes pronounced with 'horse' like in 'origin'. Are there any dictionaries that represent the unmerged forms for this distinction?
Quite a few middle-aged and older people here in New England do actually make the horse-hoarse distinction, although I don't.
Round here, the horse-hoarse distinguishing speakers pronounce them:
"horse" ["hQ:s]
"hoarse" ["hO@s]
In their accent, "horse" actually rhymes with "loss"!
Anyway, I think in the past it was traditional practice in many American dictionaries to list horse-hoarse-unmerged pronunciations. Nowadays, however, they tend to just show the merged pronunciations (which makes sense considering the truly tiny number of Americans, sprinkled through New England and some Southern areas, who still make the distinction).
My big Webster's New World Dictionary and my smaller Merriam Webster Dictionary both show the merged pronunciations; although I do have a bilingual English-French dictionary (Bantam New College) that gives American English pronunciation with the horse-hoarse distinction.
However, you are again in luck, because Dictionary.com does show the unmerged pronunciations.
Round here, the horse-hoarse distinguishing speakers pronounce them:
"horse" ["hQ:s]
"hoarse" ["hO@s]
In their accent, "horse" actually rhymes with "loss"!
Anyway, I think in the past it was traditional practice in many American dictionaries to list horse-hoarse-unmerged pronunciations. Nowadays, however, they tend to just show the merged pronunciations (which makes sense considering the truly tiny number of Americans, sprinkled through New England and some Southern areas, who still make the distinction).
My big Webster's New World Dictionary and my smaller Merriam Webster Dictionary both show the merged pronunciations; although I do have a bilingual English-French dictionary (Bantam New College) that gives American English pronunciation with the horse-hoarse distinction.
However, you are again in luck, because Dictionary.com does show the unmerged pronunciations.
You might find the following useful. Please note some of the points might have been made by the various respondents.
HURRY-FURRY DISTINCTION:
Pronounce the “u” in “hurry” w/ an IPA (Int’l Phonetic Association)turned “v”, cardinal vowel #14, as in “cut”. Utter the “u” in “furry” like it should, i.e., the reversed epsilon - a lower-mid central vowel .
MARY-MERRY-MARRY DISTINCTION:
Pronounce the ‘a” in “mary” w/ the short vowel “e” in combination w/ a schwa. The “e” is of course the cardinal vowel #2. I was in N.Z. for a few years. I believe most kiwis pronounce it that way. Don’t quote me; Icould be wrong.
Pronounce “merry” with the short “e” like most of us do.
Pronounce the ‘a’ in “marry” w/ the IPA ash (an a-e ligature), a low front vowel.
HURRY-FURRY DISTINCTION:
Pronounce the “u” in “hurry” w/ an IPA (Int’l Phonetic Association)turned “v”, cardinal vowel #14, as in “cut”. Utter the “u” in “furry” like it should, i.e., the reversed epsilon - a lower-mid central vowel .
MARY-MERRY-MARRY DISTINCTION:
Pronounce the ‘a” in “mary” w/ the short vowel “e” in combination w/ a schwa. The “e” is of course the cardinal vowel #2. I was in N.Z. for a few years. I believe most kiwis pronounce it that way. Don’t quote me; Icould be wrong.
Pronounce “merry” with the short “e” like most of us do.
Pronounce the ‘a’ in “marry” w/ the IPA ash (an a-e ligature), a low front vowel.
I hadn't finished my sentence.
If there is "air", "eir" or "ar" plus a vowel letter, pronounce it with the same vowel as in "square".
Though, a more full answer had already been given.
If there is "air", "eir" or "ar" plus a vowel letter, pronounce it with the same vowel as in "square".
Though, a more full answer had already been given.
Or followed by a VOWEL did not undergo the horse-hoarse merger. If it had a short vowel (like "horse") it still has short "o" in RP; if it had a long vowel, it has the vowel of THOUGHT in RP.
In America the long-vowel pronunciation corresponds to the same vowel that is used for the merger of horse/hoarse: the "or" of "more".
The short-vowel pronunciation either merges with the above, or else merges with the vowel of "START": so we have the two pronunciations of "orange" (ar-ange or ore-ange).
In America the long-vowel pronunciation corresponds to the same vowel that is used for the merger of horse/hoarse: the "or" of "more".
The short-vowel pronunciation either merges with the above, or else merges with the vowel of "START": so we have the two pronunciations of "orange" (ar-ange or ore-ange).
<<The short-vowel pronunciation either merges with the above, or else merges with the vowel of "START": so we have the two pronunciations of "orange" (ar-ange or ore-ange).>>
Except in Massachusetts, where the historical /Q/ of /Q.rV/ merged with historical /O:/ into /Q:/. In other words, in my dialect I distinguish:
sari - "sar-ee"
sorry - "saw-ree"
story - "store-ee"
I just had to complicate matters. ;-)
Except in Massachusetts, where the historical /Q/ of /Q.rV/ merged with historical /O:/ into /Q:/. In other words, in my dialect I distinguish:
sari - "sar-ee"
sorry - "saw-ree"
story - "store-ee"
I just had to complicate matters. ;-)
<<Or followed by a VOWEL did not undergo the horse-hoarse merger. If it had a short vowel (like "horse") it still has short "o" in RP; if it had a long vowel, it has the vowel of THOUGHT in RP.>>
I don't think 'horse' has short "o" in RP. It has the same vowel as 'thought'.
I don't think 'horse' has short "o" in RP. It has the same vowel as 'thought'.
>>sari - "sar-ee"
sorry - "saw-ree"
story - "store-ee"<<
I myself would have ["sa:Ri:] for "sari", ["sO:Ri:] for "sorry", and ["stO:ri:] for "story", but the pronunciation spelling "saw-ree" would lead me towards ["sQ:Ri:] not ["sO:Ri:], as I perceive <aw> as [Q] not [O], which to me really is just an allophone of /o/. While normally I just have [O] before /r/ and not [Q], it is possible in my idiolect for such to be present thanks to elision, even though many here shift such a [Q] either to [O] or down to [A] (not phonemically merging it with [a] though).
sorry - "saw-ree"
story - "store-ee"<<
I myself would have ["sa:Ri:] for "sari", ["sO:Ri:] for "sorry", and ["stO:ri:] for "story", but the pronunciation spelling "saw-ree" would lead me towards ["sQ:Ri:] not ["sO:Ri:], as I perceive <aw> as [Q] not [O], which to me really is just an allophone of /o/. While normally I just have [O] before /r/ and not [Q], it is possible in my idiolect for such to be present thanks to elision, even though many here shift such a [Q] either to [O] or down to [A] (not phonemically merging it with [a] though).
<<I don't think 'horse' has short "o" in RP. It has the same vowel as 'thought'.>>
No, you misread. (Although that's not hard to do; I, too, found that post rather opaque.) The poster meant, in context, "...if it had a short vowel like the one that 'horse' originally had [before the horse-hoarse merger]...." He was explaining how the historical unmerged dialect evolved into RP and GenAm, both of which he acknowledges to be horse-hoarse merged.
No, you misread. (Although that's not hard to do; I, too, found that post rather opaque.) The poster meant, in context, "...if it had a short vowel like the one that 'horse' originally had [before the horse-hoarse merger]...." He was explaining how the historical unmerged dialect evolved into RP and GenAm, both of which he acknowledges to be horse-hoarse merged.