Mr. Jones and I sometimes get into these little mock arguments about the correct way to prounounce certain words. I was a midwestern girl until I was 8 years old and since then I’ve lived in FL. I don’t have much of a regional accent (but the midwest slips in every now and then) He’s from Long Island and has only lived in FL 8 years. There is absolutely no mistaking where he’s from when he speaks.
Most recently we were talking about a company called The Harry Fox Agency. I said the name and he started laughing because it sounded to him like I said hairy fox which was humorous (though not much if you ask me but the man will laugh at anything) To me the name Harry is pronounced exactly the same as the adjective hairy.
Hubby contends that because of the way Harry is spelled, vowel followed by double consonant, Harry is pronounced with a short a sound like the a in hat or cat. When he says Harry and hairy they sound different. I say they sound alike.
So I’m just asking, do those two words sound alike to you or are they distinct?
FTR we also differ on the pronounciation of orange and Florida but on those two I know I’m right.
I’m sure it’s a regional thing but since he gave me a gramatical explanation that I’ve not been able to think of a clever response to I’m stuck.
For him Larry sounds just like Harry (with the exception of the first letter of course) but not at all like hairy. To me they all rhyme.
My husband comes from a family that takes great pleasure in pointing out one another’s unfortunate slips of the tongue and since my accent (or lack of one) is so different than his some of what I say strikes him as just hysterical.
scout1222 I’m glad that you understand. This is vitally important. we do seem to spend an inordinate amount of time laughing. Is that bad?
His daugher was over for dinner last night (she’s 17) and agreed that Harry and hairy should not rhyme. I was ambushed I tell’s ya!
This thread makes my head hurt. Hairy and Harry are exactly the same. So are all the other examples everyone has been using to show the difference. Oh my.
They’re pronounced the same. Rhymes with merry. And with Mary. And with Larry. And with cherry. Very. Carrie. Carry. Berry. Fairy. Dairy. Jerry. Nary. Vary. Wary. Parry. They all rhyme, PEOPLE!!!
I’m with Hal Briston: “Harry” and “hairy” do not rhyme. Neither do “Larry” and “hairy.” For the most part I’m from the Baltimore area, so sometimes (like when I’m tired) they do rhyme, but usually they don’t – and I know that they should not.
But . . . but . . . a and e aren’t even the same letter! “Merry” and “cherry” rhyme, and so do “Mary” and “Larry.” But the e words do NOT rhyme with the a words!
Mary, carry, Larry, Gary, marry, and Jerry all sound the same in my mouth, here in central Indiana.
Harry is different, though, and I’ll tell you why. Harry is derived from Henry (Henri, in French.) In a Shakespeare play about one of the King Henrys, a character who pissed off the king gets bumped off. Somebody says he caught “a little touch of Harry in the night.” Anyway, in French, the n in Henri gets sorta swallowed, and the e sounds more like the a in hat than the a in Mary. So, when I say Harry, I’m influenced by “Henri.”
Well, my first inclination is to pronounce it the same way Harry does, expecting him to defer to my pronounciation of my own name as well.
Absent that, “Harry” and “Hairy” don’t rhyme coming out of my mouth. Nor does “Harrison” rhyme with “comparison” or “hatter” with “hater.” I pronounce “Harry” the same whether it’s used as a name or a verb.
To me they are completely different. Hairy is a long A and Harry is a short A. But, to me route and root are pronounced the same, as are Don and Dawn. It’s a funny language.
we do seem to spend an inordinate amount of time laughing. Is that bad?