# Why does Deborah Kerr rhyme with "car"? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 14, 2014, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-deborah-kerr-rhyme-with-car/698484 "2014-09-14T17:13:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![UDS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecae2f/32.png) [@UDS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UDS)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2014, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-deborah-kerr-rhyme-with-car/698484/21 "2014-09-15T00:30:24Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > Now that you’ve brought that up, what _is_ the deal with the British pronunciation of “erk” as “ark,” as in “Clerk” and “Berkeley”? Is it just, as **njtt** said, family tradition, or is there something linguistically special about that combination of letters? Certainly not family tradition, in the case of “Clerk”. The family name “Clerk” is pronounced _clark_ because the common noun “clerk”, one employed to do clerical work (from which the family presumably derives) is pronounced that way. “Cleric”, on the other hand, is pronounced _clerrick_. ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2014, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-deborah-kerr-rhyme-with-car/698484/22 "2014-09-15T00:34:26Z")
I wonder if Deborah Kerr cared to ever park a car in Boston? ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2014, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-deborah-kerr-rhyme-with-car/698484/23 "2014-09-15T00:39:14Z")
> [@Zeldar](#): > > I’ll need more than the emoticons to address whatever puzzles you. 🙂 It’s puzzling me, too. > [@](#): > > She pronounced it to rhyme with “fur” or “cur” (this may be why Karr may be preferred). What does pronouncing it to rhyme with “fur” have to do with "Karr being preferred? > [@](#): > > The fun thing about her is that her husband (at least at the time that I was delivering blueprints to architectural firms in the area) changed his surname to Kerr to avoid being thought of merely as Anita’s husband. Wouldn’t he be more likely to be known as Anita’s husband if he changed his name to Kerr? ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2014, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-deborah-kerr-rhyme-with-car/698484/24 "2014-09-15T00:43:11Z")
> [@doreen](#): > > It’s puzzling me, too. > > What does pronouncing it to rhyme with “fur” have to do with "Karr > being preferred? > > Wouldn’t he be more likely to be known as Anita’s husband if he changed his name to Kerr? The cur=dog connotation perhaps. Rather than keep his original surname (which I don’t even remember) he changed it to Kerr so as not to be referred to as Mr. Anita Kerr. Or at least that was the rumor which I have been unable to find an online version to refute. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2014, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-deborah-kerr-rhyme-with-car/698484/25 "2014-09-15T00:44:24Z")
Former NBA player Steve Kerr pronounces his last name as “cur.” ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2014, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-deborah-kerr-rhyme-with-car/698484/26 "2014-09-15T01:40:37Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > Now that you’ve brought that up, what _is_ the deal with the British pronunciation of “erk” as “ark,” as in “Clerk” and “Berkeley”? Is it just, as **njtt** said, family tradition, or is there something linguistically special about that combination of letters? I remember reading once that the two names Berkeley and Barclay are really the same name spelled differently. In some places their pronunciations have drifted apart. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2014, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-deborah-kerr-rhyme-with-car/698484/27 "2014-09-15T03:44:55Z")
> [@suranyi](#): > > I remember reading once that the two names Berkeley and Barclay are really the same name spelled differently. In some places their pronunciations have drifted apart. In the song “A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square,” “Berkeley” is sung as “Barclay.” In other words, sounds like “Bark-ly.” ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2014, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-deborah-kerr-rhyme-with-car/698484/28 "2014-09-15T03:56:44Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > In the song “A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square,” “Berkeley” is sung as “Barclay.” In other words, sounds like “Bark-ly.” As in the Kinks song “[Berkeley Mews](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sg84eWNMNUs).” ---
**Author:** ![UDS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecae2f/32.png) [@UDS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UDS)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2014, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-deborah-kerr-rhyme-with-car/698484/29 "2014-09-15T04:04:42Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > In the song “A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square,” “Berkeley” is sung as “Barclay.” In other words, sounds like “Bark-ly.” It’s universally pronounced that way in the UK and, indeed, everywhere outside North America, SFAIK. George Berkeley, after who the Californian educational institution and associated town are named, was Irish; he would have pronounced it that way. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2014, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-deborah-kerr-rhyme-with-car/698484/30 "2014-09-15T04:12:24Z")
> [@Zeldar](#): > > Rather than keep his original surname (which I don’t even remember) he changed it to Kerr so as not to be referred to as Mr. Anita Kerr. Or at least that was the rumor which I have been unable to find an online version to refute. Her husband’s name was Alex Grob. I’ll admit I also don’t understand why he would change his last name to Kerr if he was trying to maintain an identity outside of his marriage. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2014, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-deborah-kerr-rhyme-with-car/698484/31 "2014-09-15T04:15:59Z")
> [@hibernicus](#): > > To my surprise, the OED only mentions the “ur” pronunciation, with the vowel of “burn”. > [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](#): > > I’ve heard it both ways (not to get all Shawn Spencer on you). I’ve always assumed (without any good reason) that the first way is the American pronunciation and the second is the British. So how do Britons pronounce error? Air-er or ur-er? ---
**Author:** ![PaulParkhead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ea924/32.png) [@PaulParkhead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PaulParkhead)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2014, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-deborah-kerr-rhyme-with-car/698484/32 "2014-09-15T04:36:58Z")
> [@hibernicus](#): > > No. The more common pronunciation of the name “Kerr” is /kɛr/ which (in my accent at least) is the same as “care”, not “car”. And in my Scottish accent, “Kerr”, “care” and “car” are all different. ---
**Author:** ![PaulParkhead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ea924/32.png) [@PaulParkhead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PaulParkhead)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2014, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-deborah-kerr-rhyme-with-car/698484/33 "2014-09-15T04:40:12Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > So how do Britons pronounce error? Air-er or ur-er? No single answer to that. To me, it’s something like “err-ur”, since the second vowel is unstressed. ---
**Author:** ![UDS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecae2f/32.png) [@UDS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UDS)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2014, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-deborah-kerr-rhyme-with-car/698484/34 "2014-09-15T05:19:03Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > So how do Britons pronounce error? Air-er or ur-er? Rhymes with, and is stressed like, “terror”. ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2014, 6:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-deborah-kerr-rhyme-with-car/698484/35 "2014-09-15T06:02:46Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > On this subject, how is err pronounced? (As in, “To err is human.”) I’ve always though it was pronounced like air. But I’m listening to an audio book and the reader pronounces it as ur. Which of us is wrong? I’ve never heard it pronounced like either of those. 😕 I have always heard it said like the “er” in berry or perilous. > [@PaulParkhead](#): > > And in my Scottish accent, “Kerr”, “care” and “car” are all different. They are all different in my (American) accent as well. > [@UDS](#): > > Rhymes with, and is stressed like, “terror”. Same here. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2014, 6:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-deborah-kerr-rhyme-with-car/698484/36 "2014-09-15T06:43:09Z")
> [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](#): > > I’ve never heard it pronounced like either of those. 😕 I have always heard it said like the “er” in berry or perilous. Maybe we pronounce these words differently. I pronounce the er in berry and perilous like air (bair-ee and pair-ih-lus). ---
**Author:** ![UDS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecae2f/32.png) [@UDS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UDS)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2014, 7:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-deborah-kerr-rhyme-with-car/698484/37 "2014-09-15T07:10:03Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Maybe we pronounce these words differently. I pronounce the er in berry and perilous like air (bair-ee and pair-ih-lus). The two vowel sounds are very similar in BrE; it’s really just the length that differs. In BrE, _berry_ and _perilous_ are pronounced with a very short sound; the same sound that you get in, say, _dress_. _Air_ has the same sound, just drawn out a bit longer. Like in _square_. ---
**Author:** ![UDS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecae2f/32.png) [@UDS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UDS)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2014, 7:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-deborah-kerr-rhyme-with-car/698484/38 "2014-09-15T07:21:59Z")
Missed the edit window. In my Hiberno-English, _error_ has the same vowel-sound as _berry, perilous, dress_, whereas _err_ has a sound that comes somwhere between the sound in _burn_ and the sound in _air_. ---
**Author:** ![Knowed\_Out](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/knowed_out/32/7380_2.png) [@Knowed\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knowed_Out)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2014, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-deborah-kerr-rhyme-with-car/698484/39 "2014-09-15T19:26:54Z")
There is a Kerr Lake that borders NC and Va, pronounced _car_. Kerr is the name of a Scottish clan. From [Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clan_Kerr#cite_note-Clan.Encyclopedia.Kerr-2): > [@](#): > > The name Kerr is rendered in various forms such as Kerr, Ker, Carr and Carre. The name stems from the Old Norse \*kjrr \*which means _marsh dweller_, and came to Scotland from Normandy, the French settlement of the Norsemen. There is another variant found on the west coast of Scotland, particularly on the Isle of Arran, taken from the Gaelic _ciar_, meaning _dusky_. > > … > > Asked how to say his name, Admiral Mark Kerr told _The Literary Digest_ “In Scotland the name rhymes with _care_. Since many of the family have come to England the pronunciation in this country rhymes with _car_, which we have entirely submitted to”. ---
**Author:** ![Clark\_K](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c77e96/32.png) [@Clark\_K](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clark_K)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2014, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-deborah-kerr-rhyme-with-car/698484/40 "2014-09-15T22:52:29Z")
> [@jtur88](#): > > Like the Enroughty family in Virginia, who for many generations have pronounced their name as if it were spelled Darby. Am I reading this correctly? There’s a family that spells its name Enroughty and pronounces it “Darby”? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-deborah-kerr-rhyme-with-car/698484.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-deborah-kerr-rhyme-with-car/698484.md?page=3)