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EyeSeeYou Posted 20 years ago
Speech & Pronunciation

The word BABY

I usually hear it pronounced differently in movies or songs than what the dictionary suggests: /'beibe/, instead of /'beibi/. Is just me or does it really happen?
  

Top answer

Hard to answer. We'd have to hear it, I think, to judge. I don't know of a case where /beibe/ is used, but it's not impossible.

— CalifJim

  • Hard to answer.
  • We'd have to hear it, I think, to judge.
  • I don't know of a case where /beibe/ is used, but it's not impossible.
  • It suggests a sort of country music twang to me.
  • CJ
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12 Answers
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Hard to answer. We'd have to hear it, I think, to judge. I don't know of a case where /beibe/ is used, but it's not impossible. It suggests a sort of country music twang to me.

CJ
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CalifJimHard to answer. We'd have to hear it, I think, to judge. I don't know of a case where /beibe/ is used, but it's not impossible. It suggests a sort of country music twang to me.

CJ

Instead of the 'i' sound, it sounds more like an 'e' or more like the ' i ' of ship than the ' i ' sound in 'my' if you know what I mean.

Take
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Paul Anka's You're Having My Baby is a good example of what I asked. I'll try to come up with a link.
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0 According to Wikipedia in the Southern American English article, /i/ is pronounced [ E ] (lax) at the end of a word. 0-
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0 I hear that very often. I guess that phenomenon has something to do with lazy pronunciation, since I heard it mostly in songs, especially in rock or metal songs where singers shout and don't articulate the words properly. While I'm writing this post, I'm listening to a song where you can notice that clearly, 01i00Paradise City02i00 by Guns 'n' Roses:02br
02br
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0 That's actually not at all how it's pronounced in music. Pronouncing -y as [ I ] is a feature of conservative RP. If you're learning General American English, please pronounce final -y as [ i ] . (as in "seat"). If you're trying to copy a Southern accent, pronounce it as [ E ]. Singers often do pronounce it as [ E ] as well, but they never do it in their normal speaking voice. But never
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0 Thanks Marvin.What you say is true, but you know, we learners don't pay much attention to some kinds of pronunciation rules, we just tend to imitate what we hear. Anyway, the way I pronounce a final y now is more similar to the way you suggested, and I guess it's because I've been listening to online talk radios more frequently lately, and my accent tends to change. So it's also important to v
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0Thank you Kooyeen and Marvin A. Then it wan't just me who heard it that way. 05000 Though it's true that where I've heard it most is in songs rather than in conversations.02br
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00Kooyeen: the example of GNR you provided came in really handy. I've noticed Axl Rose sing 'baby' that way too.02br
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00Marvin: what do you mean by 'conservative RP'
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0 01blockquote
01cite10EyeSeeYou12cite10Marvin: what do you mean by 'conservative RP'.12blockquote
10Conservative RP is called "the British accent" in North America. Words that end with -y, are pronounced with [ I ] (the "i" sound as in "it"), but with a higher pitch. In North American English, those same words are pronounced wit
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0 01blockquote
01cite10Marvin A.12cite11blockquote
11cite20EyeSeeYou22cite20Marvin: what do you mean by 'conservative RP'.22blockquote
20Conservative RP is called "the British accent" in North America. Words that end with -y, are pronounced with [ I ] (the "i" sound as in "it"), but with a hi
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