# Pronouncing "Henry" as "Hendry"

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronouncing-henry-as-hendry/510705>\
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\
**Created:** [September 19, 2009, 11:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronouncing-henry-as-hendry/510705 "2009-09-19T11:37:16Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\
**Post date:** [September 19, 2009, 11:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronouncing-henry-as-hendry/510705/1 "2009-09-19T11:37:16Z")

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My grandpa, whenever talking about his (now deceased) older brother Henry, always pronounced his name “Hendry.” He has a very thick, crude-sounding Brooklyn accent, the kind of accent that only seems to exist with older people. I never heard this pronunciation from anyone else, except in _Goodfellas_, when Joe Pesci’s character first meets Ray Liotta’s character when they’re kids working on some cigarette-smuggling scam or something; Pesci shakes his hand and says, “Hi, Hendry.”

Is this at all common with people from New York?

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**Author:** ![Lunchy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Lunchy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lunchy)\
**Post date:** [September 24, 2009, 7:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronouncing-henry-as-hendry/510705/2 "2009-09-24T07:41:16Z")

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Noticed older people pronounce things differently! Wash=Warsh, Battery=Batry Also, i read an article which says heavier people pronounce their B’s D’s different!

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**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\
**Post date:** [September 24, 2009, 7:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronouncing-henry-as-hendry/510705/3 "2009-09-24T07:52:32Z")

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How did it take four days to get one reply to this?

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**Author:** ![Lunchy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Lunchy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lunchy)\
**Post date:** [September 24, 2009, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronouncing-henry-as-hendry/510705/4 "2009-09-24T13:48:33Z")

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> [@Argent\_Towers](#):
>
> How did it take four days to get one reply to this?

Not sure, i just joined! 😉 I was debating posting this because the article i read was from a few years ago and wasnt sure on the reliability of the info!

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**Author:** ![E-Sabbath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19adc/32.png) [@E-Sabbath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-Sabbath)\
**Post date:** [September 24, 2009, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronouncing-henry-as-hendry/510705/5 "2009-09-24T14:47:50Z")

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Heennnnndry!  
Oh, god, what show is that? Fibber MacGee’s Closet? No…  
Anyhow, yep, it’s a Brooklyn accent.

> **[New York City English](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_dialect)**
>
> New York City English, or Metropolitan New York English, is a regional dialect of American English spoken by many people in New York City and much of its surrounding metropolitan area. It is described by sociolinguist William Labov as the most recognizable regional dialect in North America. Its pronunciation system—the New York accent—is widely represented in American media with many public figures and fictional characters. Major features of the accent include a high, gliding /ɔ/ vowel (in Tod...

Specifically, (dh/th) fortition.