# Are all British names with "-bury" pronounced "bree"? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 14, 2011, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-all-british-names-with-bury-pronounced-bree/571366 "2011-02-14T21:59:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![LynnM](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b2d939/32.png) [@LynnM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LynnM)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2011, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-all-british-names-with-bury-pronounced-bree/571366/1 "2011-02-14T21:59:12Z")
Whenever I hear a British person speak a name [place, person] that ends in “bury,” I don’t hear a two syllable “burr-ee”–it always sounds like “Shrewsbree” or “Canterbree” or “Kingsbree.” Is this standard pronunciation for all British names ending in “bury”? ---
**Author:** ![Ximenean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/aca169/32.png) [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2011, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-all-british-names-with-bury-pronounced-bree/571366/2 "2011-02-14T22:03:55Z")
Well, it’s not true of a few places that are actually called Bury ;). But yes, it’s usually pronounced “bree” or “bəry” with a schwa. I have heard some northern dialects in which the U is pronounced like the vowel sound in “wood”. Can’t think off the top of my head of any British accents in which it is pronounced “berry” (apart from the aforementioned places called Bury). ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2011, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-all-british-names-with-bury-pronounced-bree/571366/3 "2011-02-14T22:07:10Z")
If the name is just “Bury”, then it’s two syllables. Bury St Edmonds is pronounced like “berry”; Bury in Greater Manchester can be “burry” or “berry” (it’s one of those cases where two pronunciations are common). ---
**Author:** ![Darryl\_Lict](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7cd45c/32.png) [@Darryl\_Lict](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darryl_Lict)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2011, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-all-british-names-with-bury-pronounced-bree/571366/4 "2011-02-14T22:09:40Z")
How do you pronounce Cadbury? ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Mondegreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/91b2a8/32.png) [@Lord\_Mondegreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Mondegreen)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2011, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-all-british-names-with-bury-pronounced-bree/571366/5 "2011-02-14T22:21:55Z")
In Australia Cadbury is usually (if not always) pronounced Cadbree. I travel to the UK fairly often and I think it’s the same there. ---
**Author:** ![amanset](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8dc957/32.png) [@amanset](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amanset)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2011, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-all-british-names-with-bury-pronounced-bree/571366/6 "2011-02-14T22:27:26Z")
> [@Lord\_Mondegreen](#): > > In Australia Cadbury is usually (if not always) pronounced Cadbree. I travel to the UK fairly often and I think it’s the same there. This Brit certainly does. ---
**Author:** ![Springtime\_for\_Spacers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Springtime\_for\_Spacers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Springtime_for_Spacers)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2011, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-all-british-names-with-bury-pronounced-bree/571366/7 "2011-02-15T00:05:31Z")
Hampshire born I pronounce Newbury more like Newburee, Canterbury as Canterbree and Shrewsbury sounds right with either -bree or -buree. ---
**Author:** ![Candyman74](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ad7895/32.png) [@Candyman74](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Candyman74)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2011, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-all-british-names-with-bury-pronounced-bree/571366/8 "2011-02-15T00:58:07Z")
Yup, bree most of the time. And Edinburgh, at least where I live, is not pronounced “EdinbUrrow” as - in my limited experience, Americans like to say - but “Edinbruh”. Although I’ve been told that the “burrow” pronunciation does exist in some places in the UK, I’ve never heard anything but “bruh”. As far as I cna tell form watching US TV, Americans tend to pronounce all the syllables clearly in a word (especially those ending in “ory” and the like, which is very pronounced), and will emphasize lesser words (conjunctives, things like “them” and stuff, whatever they’re called) clearly. So they’ll say “I gave it to them” with the “eh” sound in “them” very clear, while Brit treats the “them” as not much more than a grunt; “thm”. ---
**Author:** ![Keeve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f07891/32.png) [@Keeve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Keeve)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2011, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-all-british-names-with-bury-pronounced-bree/571366/9 "2011-02-15T02:03:19Z")
> [@Candyman74](#): > > And Edinburgh, at least where I live, is not pronounced “EdinbUrrow” as - in my limited experience, Americans like to say - but “Edinbruh”. It would never occur to this American to pronounce that as “Edinburrow”; I’d pronounce it as “Edinberg”. However, there are other spellings which I would pronounce as “Edinburrow”, such as “Edinborough”. ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2011, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-all-british-names-with-bury-pronounced-bree/571366/10 "2011-02-15T03:10:53Z")
How about Burberry? ---
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2011, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-all-british-names-with-bury-pronounced-bree/571366/11 "2011-02-15T03:17:56Z")
> [@CookingWithGas](#): > > How about Burberry? I’ve heard two pronounciations for that one- Bur’bree, and something that’s approximated as Burbur-Ree. ---
**Author:** ![Asympotically\_fat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e47c2d/32.png) [@Asympotically\_fat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asympotically_fat)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2011, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-all-british-names-with-bury-pronounced-bree/571366/12 "2011-02-15T03:26:51Z")
To my ears it doesn’t sound wrong to to pronouce Canterbury, etc as “Canter-berry”, but “Canterb’ry” sounds slightly better… Reminds me though of the joke about the Australian who asked if he was thw right train for “Loogaa-Booroogaa” (i.e. Loughborough - pronounced “loff-burra”) ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2011, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-all-british-names-with-bury-pronounced-bree/571366/13 "2011-02-15T03:28:01Z")
> [@Candyman74](#): > > As far as I cna tell form watching US TV, Americans tend to pronounce all the syllables clearly in a word (especially those ending in “ory” and the like, which is very pronounced), and will emphasize lesser words (conjunctives, things like “them” and stuff, whatever they’re called) clearly. So they’ll say “I gave it to them” with the “eh” sound in “them” very clear, while Brit treats the “them” as not much more than a grunt; “thm”. TV does _not_ (often) represent the typical speech of many Americans. In my parts, “to them” is as likely to be heard as “toom” as anything else. The distinction from “to him” may be subtle indeed. ---
**Author:** ![Candyman74](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ad7895/32.png) [@Candyman74](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Candyman74)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2011, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-all-british-names-with-bury-pronounced-bree/571366/14 "2011-02-15T03:29:22Z")
> [@These are my own pants](#): > > To my ears it doesn’t sound wrong to to pronouce Canterbury, etc as “Canter-berry”, but “Canterb’ry” sounds slightly better.. > > Reminds me though of the joke about the Australian who asked if he was thw right train for “Loogaa-Booroogaa” (i.e. Loughborough - pronounced “loff-burra”) Or “War-sess-ter” (Worcestor), which is “Wuhster”. ---
**Author:** ![Candyman74](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ad7895/32.png) [@Candyman74](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Candyman74)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2011, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-all-british-names-with-bury-pronounced-bree/571366/15 "2011-02-15T03:33:29Z")
> [@spark240](#): > > TV does _not_ (often) represent the typical speech of many Americans. > > In my parts, “to them” is as likely to be heard as “toom” as anything else. The distinction from “to him” may be subtle indeed. Well, for example - an American would (I believe) say : La-boh-ra-tore-ee, while a British person would say La-boh-ru-tree (for Laboratory). It’s that “tore-ee” that I hear on US shows. Not just that word, obviously, but the tendency to cut out entire syllables seems to me to be far less common in the US. British pronunciation will often dispense with entire syllables which are pronounced in American pronunciation. The “ory” thing is the most noticable one to me. ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2011, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-all-british-names-with-bury-pronounced-bree/571366/16 "2011-02-15T03:45:33Z")
> [@Candyman74](#): > > British pronunciation will often dispense with entire syllables which are pronounced in American pronunciation. _Some_ Americans’ pronunciation. [For counter-example](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Appalachian_English), > [@](#): > > Contraction can occur naturally and frequently. > … > A: "Hey, 'jii’eat yet? > B: “Naw’d’joo?” > A: “Yantu?” > B: “Ah-yte!” ---
**Author:** ![amanset](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8dc957/32.png) [@amanset](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amanset)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2011, 8:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-all-british-names-with-bury-pronounced-bree/571366/17 "2011-02-15T08:14:19Z")
> [@Candyman74](#): > > Or “War-sess-ter” (Worcestor), which is “Wuhster”. And anyone that has lived in London will have seen many Americans wondering where “Lay-cess-ter Square” is. ---
**Author:** ![Rayne\_Man](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/df705f/32.png) [@Rayne\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rayne_Man)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2011, 8:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-all-british-names-with-bury-pronounced-bree/571366/18 "2011-02-15T08:18:51Z")
There is no consistency about pronunciation. Take “Witham” for instance. The Lincolnshire river by that name is pronounced “with-am”, while the Essex town is “wit-ham”. ---
**Author:** ![Candyman74](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ad7895/32.png) [@Candyman74](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Candyman74)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2011, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-all-british-names-with-bury-pronounced-bree/571366/19 "2011-02-15T12:36:58Z")
> [@spark240](#): > > _Some_ Americans’ pronunciation. Thus the “that I tend to notice on US shows”. I don’t pretend to have experience with more than a couple of cities in America. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2011, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-all-british-names-with-bury-pronounced-bree/571366/20 "2011-02-15T12:38:47Z")
> [@Darryl\_Lict](#): > > How do you pronounce Cadbury? UK television adverts (and most Brits I know, including myself) pronounce it with a schwa (CAD-b@-ree), but it’s very unstressed so you could hear it as simply CAD-bree. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-all-british-names-with-bury-pronounced-bree/571366.md?page=2)