I'll take pronunciation for 800, Alex

[Cheetah]

And just to give a really, really southern perspective. (Australia, inland NSW)

Mary = Mare - ee (like a horse)

Marie = Marr - ee (long r sound)

Merry = Me - ree (short e in the first syllable, r starts the second syllable)

Marry = Ma - ree (short a, r starts the second syllable)

Fairy = Fair - ee (r finishes the first syllable)

Ferry = Fe - rry (r starts the second syllable)

Ben & Bin are completely different. Bin is a word you can use to pick an Aussie from a Kiwi. Our accents are very similar but we prounce vowels differently. A Kiwi saying 'i' sounds like an Aussie saying 'u'. When MrMiggy (Kiwi) says bin, I (Aussie) hear bun. A favourite over here is to ask Kiwis to say 'Fish & Chips' and hearing them say 'Fush & Chups'.

As for bagel, what is a bagel? Don't need to pronounce a food that only exists on tv. What is more important is: why don't Americans put beetroot on their hamburgers?

My hubby is Australian and I can totally hear the difference in Mary/Merry/Marry when he says it, but when I say them I'm pretty sure they still come out the same. (I've lived in CA more than half of my life, but spent my late elementary through high school years in Nebraska).

[txmommyof4]

If I say the entire name, Benjamin, I actually pronounce it with the Ben sound. However, when saying simply Ben it is always Bin. It is also one if the words that somehow increases my Southern accent. I can't even imagine adding the r to Benjamin. It was like nails on a chalkboard every time the preacher said his name! Oh, and I am from North west/central Arkansas...not too far from Duggarville.

Lol when my oldest son was in kindergarten (about 11 years ago) he came home one day and said Mom, I feel so sad for (his friend) Lily. I said why Sweetie? He replied because she has never had a bagel! :lol:

[halcionne]

The real question is....how do you all pronounce "bagel?"

lmao this is why I won't say sherbet outloud

[Miggy]

The Sandwich Swap - fabulous book - one child pitys another for not having peanut butter but that child pitys the first for not having humus.

I've never had a bagel but I pity those who don't have Tim Tams.

[halcionne]

And just to give a really, really southern perspective. (Australia, inland NSW)

Mary = Mare - ee (like a horse)

Marie = Marr - ee (long r sound)

Merry = Me - ree (short e in the first syllable, r starts the second syllable)

Marry = Ma - ree (short a, r starts the second syllable)

Fairy = Fair - ee (r finishes the first syllable)

Ferry = Fe - rry (r starts the second syllable)

Ben & Bin are completely different. Bin is a word you can use to pick an Aussie from a Kiwi. Our accents are very similar but we prounce vowels differently. A Kiwi saying 'i' sounds like an Aussie saying 'u'. When MrMiggy (Kiwi) says bin, I (Aussie) hear bun. A favourite over here is to ask Kiwis to say 'Fish & Chips' and hearing them say 'Fush & Chups'.

As for bagel, what is a bagel? Don't need to pronounce a food that only exists on tv. What is more important is: why don't Americans put beetroot on their hamburgers?

My sister is vacationing in Australia right now (from California) and saw a rump item on the menu at McDonalds that perplexed her. :lol: She couldn't even begin to explain it to me--I'll never know what it was. :think:

Tell me your favorite junk food, Aussies. I'm obsessed with junk food and that was my request from her, in lieu of a souvenir. Tim Tams are on the list, of course.

[ClaraOswin]

My hubby is Australian and I can totally hear the difference in Mary/Merry/Marry when he says it, but when I say them I'm pretty sure they still come out the same. (I've lived in CA more than half of my life, but spent my late elementary through high school years in Nebraska).

Where at in California and Nebraska? My husband lived most of his life in Orange County (Orange, Santa Ana, Villa Park, etc.) We are currently in the Omaha area.

[ClaraOswin]

lmao this is why I won't say sherbet outloud

How do you say sherbet?

[SomewhereSoutheast]

I'm from Missouri and my brother's name is Benjamin (goes by Ben) and the Duggar's pronunciation is really off to me.

I definitely pronounce Ben as bend without the "d". And there is no "jer" sound in the middle for me. But the Dugger pronunciation didn't bother me until FJ pointed it out!

I am also from MO, and while I also say Ben like Bend without the "d", no one else around me pronounces it that way. I am very much from a "Bin" area. Granted, most people around here would also pronounce "bend" as "bihnd"...haha. I have definitely used "whenever" and "when" interchangeably on occasion. I also pronounce the "h" and received a great deal of good-natured hell for that during college (in MA) and didn't realize everyone else dropped the "h". To be perfectly honest, since being back in my homeland for 8 years, I don't feel the Duggars have a very noticeable accent. If I were still in college, though, I am confident I would hear it as I considered my husband 's accent to be southern when we met and he was raised in a more Midwestern part of Missouri that I was. It is all relative.

[halcionne]

How do you say sherbet?

I can't decide if I'm supposed to say "sure bit" or "sure Bert"

I feel like they both leave me open to ridicule (family says sure Bert)

FYI I said nekkid as a child until I got mocked at school and I've had a bit of a complex ever since :violin:

[NachosFlandersStyle]

I am also from MO, and while I also say Ben like Bend without the "d", no one else around me pronounces it that way. I am very much from a "Bin" area. Granted, most people around here would also pronounce "bend" as "bihnd"...haha. I have definitely used "whenever" and "when" interchangeably on occasion. I also pronounce the "h" and received a great deal of good-natured hell for that during college (in MA) and didn't realize everyone else dropped the "h". To be perfectly honest, since being back in my homeland for 8 years, I don't feel the Duggars have a very noticeable accent. If I were still in college, though, I am confident I would hear it as I considered my husband 's accent to be southern when we met and he was raised in a more Midwestern part of Missouri that I was. It is all relative.

Missourians are unpredictable, no? I've had people ask me if my mom is from Minnesota or if my dad is southern. Nope, they both grew up in NEMO. And I've heard a bunch of conflicting theories about which part of the state says "Missourah"-- my personal theory is that no one actually says that and so each region blames it on someone else.

[SomewhereSoutheast]

Missourians are unpredictable, no? I've had people ask me if my mom is from Minnesota or if my dad is southern. Nope, they both grew up in NEMO. And I've heard a bunch of conflicting theories about which part of the state says "Missourah"-- my personal theory is that no one actually says that and so each region blames it on someone else.

I was born and bred in the Bootheel. I hear the occasional "Missourah"...in fact, I think my dad says it. I will have to pay attention next time he says Missouri. Generally, however, I blame the Missourah phenomenon on old people. I remember old people who were positively ancient when I was a very young child saying it. My dad will be 65 this year, but he seems to be somewhat of a historic speech preservationist.

[carebaer]

I was born and bred in the Bootheel. I hear the occasional "Missourah"...in fact, I think my dad says it. I will have to pay attention next time he says Missouri. Generally, however, I blame the Missourah phenomenon on old people. I remember old people who were positively ancient when I was a very young child saying it. My dad will be 65 this year, but he seems to be somewhat of a historic speech preservationist.

I have family from the Neosho area who definitely say "Missourah"... in fact I and many of my cousins who were born after our part of the family moved to the west coast say "Missourah" because that's how we heard it growing up....

[sorchah]

I was raised in... the north part of the south. I now live in northern California. My accent is a bit off from most people here, although there are a lot of different accents around here, so I blend usually.

ben and bin sound the same (trying to say BEHN actually hurts me... so weird)

binned and bend sound the same (I can pronounce them differently... but I sound pretentious to myself)

mary, merry, marry sound the same but I can see how you might differentiate

sherbert is a fine pronunciation for the horrible bastard of sor-BAY and ice cream :lol:

BAY-gulls are yummy

my mom says Missourah

her dad said windah and yellah (window and yellow)

my dad is from Rhode Island and says ARE-unge (orange)

his parents say cahn (corn), etc. (non-rhoticity)

I love regionalisms and dialects. Knowing how to "properly" communicate in official contexts is important, but so is belonging to your cultural group! So I don't really mind southern grammar unless it's printed or from a politician.

[ColeMarie86]

I'm from the upper midwest and around here, his name is:

Ben = Been/bend without the D

Ja = Juh/just without the st/judge without the dge

Min = Mint without the t/mineral without the eral

Merry, Mary, and Marry sound the same too.

Cot = K-ah-t and Caught = sounds like the beginning of cough with a t added/ K-aw-t

[Coco]

I was raised in... the north part of the south. I now live in northern California. My accent is a bit off from most people here, although there are a lot of different accents around here, so I blend usually.

ben and bin sound the same (trying to say BEHN actually hurts me... so weird)

binned and bend sound the same (I can pronounce them differently... but I sound pretentious to myself)

mary, merry, marry sound the same but I can see how you might differentiate

sherbert is a fine pronunciation for the horrible bastard of sor-BAY and ice cream :lol:

BAY-gulls are yummy

my mom says Missourah

her dad said windah and yellah (window and yellow)

my dad is from Rhode Island and says ARE-unge (orange)

his parents say cahn (corn), etc. (non-rhoticity)

I love regionalisms and dialects. Knowing how to "properly" communicate in official contexts is important, but so is belonging to your cultural group! So I don't really mind southern grammar unless it's printed or from a politician.

oh my gosh, yes.

my brother-in-law does this on every FB post he writes. And he's from the north. :angry-banghead:

[Miggy]

Pet peeve ... Y'all. FJ friends from the US, you can use this all the time and I won't notice but when an Aussie kid uses it I want slap them and scream "Speak Strine!"*

*I don't know how well it is known outside Australia but our accent combined with laziness turns Australia into Straya and Australian into Strine.

[oompa2129]

My hubby is Australian and I can totally hear the difference in Mary/Merry/Marry when he says it, but when I say them I'm pretty sure they still come out the same. (I've lived in CA more than half of my life, but spent my late elementary through high school years in Nebraska).

Indian here.. We pronounce Mary, marry and merry just like you.. Those who are well read pronounce Marie as Muh-ree, those who are not pronounce it as Maari.. Same with Fairy and ferry have the same pronunciation as Aussies.. Jim and gym sound the same.. Gem does not sound like either.. Benjamin is Ben-Juh-Min for us.. Never had a bagel but I always read it as Bay-gl in my mind..

[JillyO]

Okay, I'm just gonna ask: How could Jim and gym possibly sound different? :D

[2xx1xy1JD]

Here's another fun one: writer and rider.

They sound completely different to me, but apparently that's because of "Canadian raising" and elsewhere they sound alike.

[drivingmishcrazy]

The way I've always pronounced it is Ben as in ten, ja as in duh, and min as in men.

[Rachel333]

Okay, I'm just gonna ask: How could Jim and gym possibly sound different? :D

I don't think they could. :lol: It just occurred to me with the jim/gem example that there was another way to spell that.

[Lucy H]

Awww yeah, time to get my IPA out.

I'm from Northern England, and they are all pronounced very differently for me:

Merry = [mɛɹi]

Mary = [mɛəɹi]

Marry = [mæɹi]

(yes I know how this looks to the uninitiated, but I'm overexcited about phonetics being mentioned on FJ)

Ask someone from Brooklyn or Long Island to pronouce them. Each one will be pronounced differrntly.

[Lucy H]

I was raised in Chicago area, lived years on the east coast, and am now living in Oklahoma.

I was raised to say Bin and Ben differently. My nephew in Minnesota is pronounces his name Ben not Bin.

In OK Ben is pronounced Bin but that is changing. Strong Okie accents are rare here in Oklahoma City and are considered sort of unacceptable in educated people. Lots of professional people say Ben not Bin. If you go to Eastern OK by Arkansas your will hear Bin.

[Miggy]

Here's another fun one: writer and rider.

They sound completely different to me, but apparently that's because of "Canadian raising" and elsewhere they sound alike.

Completely different to me but ... prepare yourself for a long explanation here ... I teach brass instruments; Trumpet, Horn, etc. We use 'ta' and 'da' when articulating notes. The tongue action is very similar but to sound a 't' the tongue strikes the top of the teeth and 'd' the tongue strikes the roof of the mouth. We use this to get different effects when playing.

I notice in speech that my students from richer and/or more educated families make a clear distinction which one they are using. My students from poorer and/or less educated families only use the 'd' sound. They pronounce both words as 'ri-da'. I have to work especially hard to teach these students because they can't understand the two different tongue actions I am asking of them because they can't hear a difference between the two sounds. I have to go back and teach basic speech like you would teach a toddler.

So, rather than an accent thing, it's a class thing.

[Lucy H]

Completely different to me but ... prepare yourself for a long explanation here ... I teach brass instruments; Trumpet, Horn, etc. We use 'ta' and 'da' when articulating notes. The tongue action is very similar but to sound a 't' the tongue strikes the top of the teeth and 'd' the tongue strikes the roof of the mouth. We use this to get different effects when playing.

I notice in speech that my students from richer and/or more educated families make a clear distinction which one they are using. My students from poorer and/or less educated families only use the 'd' sound. They pronounce both words as 'ri-da'. I have to work especially hard to teach these students because they can't understand the two different tongue actions I am asking of them because they can't hear a difference between the two sounds. I have to go back and teach basic speech like you would teach a toddler.

So, rather than an accent thing, it's a class thing.

Yep, that is true here. When I said above that strong Okie accents are considered less educated I wanted to say low class but held back. They are considered low class, used by people,who love the state fair. I happen to love the fair but some people here look down on fair goers.

In politicians strong Okie accents just seem like pandering to me.