0
Chiakingdom Posted 11 years ago
Speech & Pronunciation

Very & Vary

Pronunciation is different right??
  

Top answer

Yes.

  • Yes.
Free · every Monday

Get the Weekly English Kit 📬

New words, one handy idiom, and a 2-minute quiz — delivered to your inbox to keep your streak alive.

10 Answers
0
Chiakingdom Pronunciation is different right??
Not in most regions of the U.S. where these all rhyme:

very, vary, scary, Larry, Mary, merry, carry, Jerry, airy, nary

CJ
0
CalifJimvery, vary, scary, Larry, Mary, merry, carry, Jerry, airy, nary
In my Southern BrE variety, we have three vowels there:

/e/ - very, merry, Jerry
/æ/ - Larry, carry
/e?/ - vary, scary, Mary, airy, nary
0
fivejedjonIn my Southern BrE variety
And also along the mid-Atlantic coast of the U.S., but rhotic, of course.

CJ
0
CalifJimrhotic, of course.
That's not really relevant in those words. With the word-final /?/, the /r/ is pronounced even in non-rhotic varieties of English.
0
fivejedjon CalifJimrhotic, of course.That's not really relevant in those words. With the word-final /?/, the /r/ is pronounced even in non-rhotic varieties of English.
OK. I take it back. Are you happy now?

Here are the U.S. equivalents on the mid-Atlantic coast:

/?/ - very, merry, Jerry
/æ/ - Larry, carry
/e?/ - vary, scary,
0
CalifJim/e?/ - vary, scary, Mary, airy, nary
Are you sure about that /e?/? That's the diphthong of say and plate in BrE.
0
fivejedjonAre you sure about that /e?/?
Pretty sure. It's the way I hear "Mary" in American films of the 30's, anyway. /'me? r?/ Maybe it's not quite the same nowadays in the mouths of the 'common people', but close.

CJ
0
Ummm, complicated, but interesting.
0
Chiakingdom Pronunciation is different right??
You could have discovered that by checking a free dictionary site with sound recordings. Very http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/very and vary

Related Questions