How come no one pronounces the first r?
Tradition?
Error?
My son just says “the english language is funny.”
Your son is correct.
It depends where you are, I suppose. In the UK most people I know pronounce the “r”.
I pronounce the first r.
From Merriam Webster
It would appear that I am not alone, but in a minority.
mattk, I’m in the UK - Newcastle, in fact - and after saying “February, February” out loud, over and over again (seriously scaring my flat-mate, I reckon) I’ve decided I don’t pronounce the first ‘r’.
Then again, I never made any claims to normality. 
Um. Maybe it’s just something regional, then. I’m a soft southern lad by birth.
New Yorker here. I’ve always pronounced the first ‘r’ as well.
Zev Steinhardt
You know what? I’m near Newcastle and I pronounce it
‘Febrooee’
“Feb-Yew-Ree”.
That’s how I say it, and how I thought most people said it. On the other hand, maybe everyone hears the word the way they expect to? It’s such a common word, and so quick to say, that I had to stop and think about how I pronounce it. I doubt I’d notice if someone said it differently.
Then again, maybe I’m just a bit slow.
Cheers
I say “Febree.” I was raised in Europe.
Since it’s my birthday month, that makes me a de facto expert.
Wow. I’m beginning to feel like a weirdo (heh. Yeah, I know “beginning to…?”) I say: FEB-yew-air-ee. I’m in the US, in Wisconsin. This is how I’ve always heard it pronounced.
I was brung up to pronounce the first “r”, and it bothers me when announcers on TV DON’T. Mrs. Cal pronounces both "r"s , as well.
You’re not weird. I pronounce it the same way. Then again, I’m from Wisconsin too. Maybe it’s just Wisconsinites that are weird.
I say “Feb-yew-ar-ee” too. I’m from Virginia.
My mom is the only person I know who pronounces the first R, and I think it’s overcompensation in her case. She grew up in a working-class neighborhood in Queens, and went to great lengths to get rid of the accent. Her parents certainly do not pronounce the R.
I pronounce it ‘Feb-roo-air-ee’. A lot of people say ‘yoo’ instead of ‘roo’ but I’ve never heard anyone omit the ‘air’ syllable.
I say “Feb-yew-ar-ee” too.
I’m from Québec, so it’s certainly not limited to Wisconsin or Virginia. It’s also the only way I can remember hearing it pronounced (though it’s possible I just never noticed other pronounciations).
In conversation, I refer to February only as “Black History Month”. Much easier to pronounce.
It’s also Pet Dental Health Month.
Brung?!? Ackkkkkkkk! :eek:
I pronounce it Feb-uh-wary. But I’ve always been somewhat unsure how it is supposed to be pronounced, so I usually say it real fast so it sounds like this:
ƒë¶µª®¥.
Everybody seems to know what I’m talking about.