I’d say either way is acceptable, though, being from the Midwest myself, I pronounce Harry and Hairy the same, though an ex of mine who was from Brooklyn pronounced it the way your husband does.
I’m glad someone else gets into these arguments with their husband/SO. My husband and I have a dispute over the word intestines. I pronounce it in-TEST-ins (emphasis on the second syllable, last syllable pronounced as though the “e” weren’t there). He pronounces it intest-INES (first two syllables equal in emphasis, with the last pronounced in such a way it rhymes with lines). He’s from India, but he’s said it has nothing to do with the way he pronounces it - basically, he’s rarely heard the word used in conversation, so he just made his own assumptions as to the pronunciation.
New Yorker here. I am not sure I am consistent in my pronunciation of “Harry”. I sometimes pronounce it differently from “hairy” and sometimes the same as “hairy”; similarly, with “marry” and “Mary” (“merry” is different though). I suppose the rhyming pronunciation is heavily influenced by my talking to many Midwesterners and Californians. I will probably unconsciously adopt the pronunciation of the person I talking to. (I have this weird tick where I unconsciously adopt the speech patterns of those I’m talking to; it is very annoying sometimes.)
I didn’t realize that people rhymed “year” and “fear”. I will have to start listening for it now. To me, “year” rhymes with “bear”, which rhymes with “bare”; “fear” rhymes with “beer”, which rhymes with “leer”.
My Philadelphia-born sister in law went ballistic a few years ago when my brother and I (native Kansans) insisted “bury” and “berry” are pronounced the same. Much ridicule and torment was incurred by us, until I picked up *her * dictionary, and pointed out the pronounciation guide listed the two as identical.
She then declared that “the dictionary is wrong.”
This is the same person who says “yous guys”, calls spaghetti sauce “gravy”, and calls gravy “brown sauce”.
Yup, I’m one of those who pronounce bury and berry (and Barry for that matter) exactly the same.
bitwise year rhymes with bear and bare? That just sounds so weird when I try to say it. Interesting. Where are you from in NY? I know that NY accents vary widely by burrough. Long Island doesn’t really sound anything like Brooklyn or the Bronx.
Hubby is unrepentant and furthermore he objects to being called Mr. Jones. I asked him to register as a guest so he could rant further (he’s read most of the posts now) and he declined with an only slightly sarcastic F U.
Good thing we both know that this is all just in fun…could get ugly.
My wife is from the New York area. I’m from Tulsa.
She was amused to discover a few years ago that I had identical pronounciations for “carry” (the verb), “Kerry” (the name), and “Cary” (a different name). In fact, I could barely hear any difference between them when she said them.
I think Midwesterners make one sound that’s in the middle of three different sounds that the Northeasterners make. It’s kind of like native Japanese speakers and the “R” and “L” sounds.
the other day my girlfriend and others mocked me for the way i say “orange.”
i pronounce it OHR-runj, or something to that affect. two syllables. and i’m from southerm indiana, with a dad from west virginia, so i have an admitted touch of a southern accent. for some reason she pronounces it “ornj” or something. almost in one syllable. i think we were playing some game and we had to write down 2 syllable words starting with “o”, and i think they ruled out my answer. i vehemently fought them, but it was like 3 northern hoosiers versus me. maybe i hang around idiots, because that stuff is always happening to me. and during board games, usually. i think one time we were playing the same game and we had to write down animals that started with a “g” and i write grasshopper. those idiots sweared up and down an insect was NOT an animal! what the hell else would it be?
Brooklyn. But I checked with two friends, one from the Bronx and one from Queens, and both pronounce it “yeer”. So maybe I’m just odd. I don’t think my accent is that strong though. You can probably identify me as a Northeasterner, but I’m not sure that you would be able to tell I’m from New York by just hearing me.
The vowel in the first syllable of “Harry” is different from the one in “hairy.”
According to both the Oxford English Dictionary and the Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, “Harry” is pronounced “hærI.” The “a” is short, as in “hat.”
“Hairy” is pronounced “hε[schwa]rI” [sorry, the schwa won’t copy as an upside-down “e”], which rhymes with “fairy.”
This is a subtle but distinct difference.
And it is the pronunciation we follow in my family (my father’s name is “Harry”).
I’m also from Baltimore, and “Harry” and “hairy” do rhyme. As do “Larry” and “Barry” and “fairy” and “Mary” and “merry” and “marry” and “berry” and “bury.”
I know we had a thread about this before…
A poster insisted that “Mary” and “merry” and “marry” were all pronounced very differently, and I could never figure out what he or she meant.
I say them all the same.
Noooo!
Merry and Mary don’t sound the same and don’t rhyme with Larry!
Merry rhymes with cherry. Mary doesn’t.
Very rhymes with merry and cherry.
Carrie doesn’t rhyme with merry or Mary or cherry or very, but it does rhyme with Larry. Carry and Carrie sound the same. Parry also rhymes with Larry, Carrie and Carry. All the remaining words rhyme with each other.
Oh, and Parry and Perry sound nothing alike.
FWIW, I pronounce “Harry” the same way that the actors in the Harry Potter movies do.
