New Hampshire

Hey,
can you read IPA? Or Merriam-Webster's transcriptions? Hmm... I always use MW for pronunciations. They list two, and one of them is very close to the one you described, with an "ee" sound. Anyway, I think it's usually pronounced the other way, with a schwa, so it's HAMP-shur, but it's just my opinion. I heard people pronoucne it that way, and that's the way it's pronounced on MW-o

I've always thought that it must be pronounced like an "i"!

Fran, by "i" do you mean the /ai/ sound as in the word "shire"? I've never heard it pronounced that way. Like Kooyeen, I think it is pronounced with a schwa most of the time. Here's a very clear pronunciation of it on www.howjsay.com:

new hamp-sure

Orpheus

I've always thought that it must be pronounced like an "i"!

Fran, by "i" do you mean the /ai/ sound as in the word "shire"?

Yes Orpheus, I meant that! Now it's clear that either the journalists and I were wrong

How do you do on this one: Worcester

(wuster - with the u like put) - if you're in Massachusetts. Actually, if you're in Mass, you don't say the R either. wustah.

You mean that "wustah" is the pronunciation of "Worcester" in MA???

Thank *** nobody asked me something "Worcester" whi

Don't worry. I thought it was were-chester for a long time.

*sigh of relief*

FrancescaMany journalists, who work for the Italian TV in the USA...

By the way, don't listen to those journalists or correspondents. I've never heard an Italian say anything in good English on TV. They are funny, anyway, LOL.

In fact I usually don't trust them because everyone of them has got their own way to pronounce the words, but lately they seemed to agree all on the pronunciation of "New Hamsphire", that's why I asked