# What other "words" have disagreements on pronunciation? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 26, 2011, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-other-words-have-disagreements-on-pronunciation/604178 "2011-11-26T19:57:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2011, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-other-words-have-disagreements-on-pronunciation/604178/61 "2011-12-03T03:39:20Z")
> [@An\_Gadai](#): > > Do marry, merry, Marie, and Mary all sound different to you? Mary and marry are the same. Merry is definitely different. My tongue goes to a different spot in my mouth. Mary, the tongue is low on the initial vowel. Merry, the tongue is higher on the initial vowel. Marie is MAR-ee. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2011, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-other-words-have-disagreements-on-pronunciation/604178/62 "2011-12-03T03:47:27Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > Mary and marry are the same. Merry is definitely different. My tongue goes to a different spot in my mouth. Mary, the tongue is low on the initial vowel. Merry, the tongue is higher on the initial vowel. > > Marie is MAR-ee. Wait. Mary and Marry aren’t the same. No, the tongue is moving differently there too. Maery: Marry. Very subtle. Very subtle. ---
**Author:** ![Scathach](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Scathach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scathach)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2011, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-other-words-have-disagreements-on-pronunciation/604178/63 "2011-12-03T03:59:46Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > Wait. > > Mary and Marry aren’t the same. No, the tongue is moving differently there too. > > Maery: Marry. > > Very subtle. Very subtle. To me they’re all very distinct. 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Scathach](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Scathach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scathach)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2011, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-other-words-have-disagreements-on-pronunciation/604178/64 "2011-12-03T04:05:53Z")
> [@Scathach](#): > > To me they’re all very distinct. 😕 NETA: Sorry, I don’t know why I’m sounding surprised here. Accents are different, that’s what makes them accents. I guess it’s just strange how different some pronunciations are. ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2011, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-other-words-have-disagreements-on-pronunciation/604178/65 "2011-12-03T17:23:51Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > Marie is MAR-ee. I disagree… Marie is “Muh-REE” That’s how I’ve always heard it, and it’s my middle name and so I’ve had reason to say it quite often. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2011, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-other-words-have-disagreements-on-pronunciation/604178/66 "2011-12-04T01:29:24Z")
> [@OpalCat](#): > > I disagree… Marie is “Muh-REE” > That’s how I’ve always heard it, and it’s my middle name and so I’ve had reason to say it quite often. It’s pronounced that way and almost the same as marry is pronounced here. I think the second pronunication is more common in Northern Ireland though. ---
**Author:** ![Greg\_Charles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/839c29/32.png) [@Greg\_Charles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Greg_Charles)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2011, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-other-words-have-disagreements-on-pronunciation/604178/67 "2011-12-08T23:29:28Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > I think people who pronounce “html” as “hotmail” do so because they mistakenly think the former is the abbreviation for the latter; they’ve heard of hotmail, know it’s a Microsoft service, assume that Microsoft is ultimately responsible for all things internet-related, and draw what seems to them to be a reasonable conclusion. Wow, that’s just so completely wrong. Microsoft largely missed the boat on the early Internet. Fortunately for them they had enough money to buy boats and force them back to harbor, including the already well-established Hotmail and before that Spyglass (which they rebranded as Internet Explorer). I remember an early HTML editor called Hotmetal, and I think their logo actually rendered it as HoTMetaL. I’m not sure if they were encouraging people to pronounce HTML as “hot metal”, but I knew a couple who did. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2011, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-other-words-have-disagreements-on-pronunciation/604178/68 "2011-12-09T02:16:30Z")
> [@OpalCat](#): > > I disagree… Marie is “Muh-REE” > That’s how I’ve always heard it, and it’s my middle name and so I’ve had reason to say it quite often. It ain’t “Muh-REE” here. MAR rhymes with car. ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2011, 5:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-other-words-have-disagreements-on-pronunciation/604178/69 "2011-12-09T05:39:27Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > It ain’t “Muh-REE” here. MAR rhymes with car. Which is why I said “MUH” and not “MAR”… ---
**Author:** ![Terraplane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/74df32/32.png) [@Terraplane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terraplane)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2011, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-other-words-have-disagreements-on-pronunciation/604178/70 "2011-12-09T14:44:39Z")
There are people, rotten, awful, wicked people, who don’t pronounce ‘URL’ by spelling it out (you are ell) but instead say ‘earl’. ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2011, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-other-words-have-disagreements-on-pronunciation/604178/71 "2011-12-09T22:15:13Z")
> [@OpalCat](#): > > Which is why I said “MUH” and not “MAR”… nm this, I reread what you said and I think I misunderstood you the first time. I think we just pronounce it differently. ---
**Author:** ![elmwood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmwood/32/3060_2.png) [@elmwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elmwood)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2011, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-other-words-have-disagreements-on-pronunciation/604178/72 "2011-12-09T23:38:54Z")
In the United States, the pronunciation of _Pakistan_ seems split between “pack-UH-stan” and “pock-EE-stahn”. I’ve heard President Obama use the “UH-stan” pronunciation for Afghanistan, but the “EE-stahn” for Pakistan, in the same sentence. The name Laura was normally pronounced “LOR-uh”, but Long Islanders I met with the name insisted it be pronounced “LAAR-uh”. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2011, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-other-words-have-disagreements-on-pronunciation/604178/73 "2011-12-10T02:10:37Z")
> [@elmwood](#): > > In the United States, the pronunciation of _Pakistan_ seems split between “pack-UH-stan” and “pock-EE-stahn”. I’ve heard President Obama use the “UH-stan” pronunciation for Afghanistan, but the “EE-stahn” for Pakistan, in the same sentence. > > The name Laura was normally pronounced “LOR-uh”, but Long Islanders I met with the name insisted it be pronounced “LAAR-uh”. Yeah my Pakistani acquaintances say “Pawkistan” or “Pockistan” but if i say that i feel like it’s a silly affectation on my part. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-other-words-have-disagreements-on-pronunciation/604178.md?page=3)