With three syllables. No real emphasis on either: perhaps a wee bit on the final syllable.
I’ll bet you surf the inner-net, too.
on the rare occasions when I utter the complete word, MAYnaze, usually just mayo, Don’t think I’ve ever heard anyone actually pronounce it May-o-naze. I’ve heard pronounce May-on-aze once.
This is what I had in mind when I created the poll but I don’t think I described it correctly.
[QUOTE=bibliophage]
Quote:
Originally Posted by panache45 View Post
This. Why pronounce it any differently?
A vowel in an unaccented medial syllable is often elided in English.
In my fam-lee, by pref-rence we have sev-ral veg-ta-blz prac-tic-ly ev-ry eev-ning, and we’re gen-ra-ly happy.
In your fam-i-ly, by pref-e-rence you have sev-e-ral veg-e-ta-blz prac-tic-a-ly ev-e-ry eev-e-ning but then you can’t enjoy them because you’ve wasted all your time pronouncing all those extra syllables.
[/QUOTE]
Dropping the the middle syllable I can kind of get, but where the heck does the “man” pronunciation come from?
Whenever possible I say “Miracle Whip!” 
Right! Yes, thanks for that, not only for the i before e exception, but yes, mythical beings ejaculate, just not in real life.
Fans of Doctor Demento will remember the pronunciation used by Big Daddy in their song, Hamster Love:
Hamster sandwich, hamster and cheese.
Hamster sandwiches with mayoneeze,
are delicious, and so nutritious.
I pronounce it may-oh-nayse, with a slight hardness on the last syllable.
It’s a very easy sound shift from “mayo” to “man” of you’re speaking quickly.
MAN-aze. I’m in Texas. Apparently may-uh-naze is a Midwesterner thing? What about the west and east coasts?
I went with the second option (MANaze) but the first pronunciation (MAY on naze) seems just as natural to me, and if I’m not in a hurry while speaking I think I might lean a little toward #1.
I have never been a mayo fan, but recently, to my surprise, I developed a taste for mac salad, just because I encounter it so often (it is an essential part of a Hawaiian plate lunch, and I’ve had lots of those over the past few years). So, I now keep a jar of mayo in the house so I can make mac salad. I’m not proud of myself, but there it is.
may uh NAYS.
Texas
It’s MANaize, but I can fall back a bit into the more hillbilly “mayun” for that first syllable. (Think the not-Jessica-Rabbit from the Roger Rabbit movie). But it’s still a triphthong, not a separate syllable.
Though, most often, I just say “mayo.” MAE-(y)oh: the (y) is sorta there.
Vowel narrowing. We probably say “man” differently than you do. It’s not the same vowel as in cat.
Now I’m intrigued. I swear, the things I’ve learned about language here . . .
If it’s not the same sound as “cat” and it doesn’t sound like the month of May, how would you describe it? And, is it only for multi syllable words that contain “man” or do you pronounce the actual word “man” in some other way?
Actually in my experience the “man” in “man-aze” is exactly the same vowel as in “cat” for that speaker.
Obviously, it’s MAY-o-NAYS.
Otherwise, lyrics to the song “TV Set” by the Cramps would never work.
Oh baby I see you in my Frigidaire
Yeah baby I see you in my Frigidaire
Behind the mayonnaise, way in the back
I’m gonna see you tonight for a midnight snack
:eek:
I’m saddened that there aren’t more votes for “Satan’s Ejaculate”.
Which I assume was inspired by the commercial for something or other where the man is searching for something and says "there it is, back behind the may-o-naaaize (?) Now that I think about it, I occasionally still use that expression.
Well, this Midwesterner (born in Ohio, now an Indiana resident) has never been to Texas, and yet says “MAN-aze”.
This map may be of interest.