The magistrate said "Merry", the defendant said "Mary"

[Dan Goodman]

David Wake wrote:
> ---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       David Wake <dwake at STANFORDALUMNI.ORG>
> Subject:      Re: The magistrate said "Merry", the defendant said "Mary"
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Many Brits assume that "Maryland" is pronounced as though it were two
> words  "Mary Land", with successive SQUARE, happY and TRAP vowels
> (with the last syllable having secondary stress).  Since Brits have
> split Mary/marry/merry, this sounds very different from the actual
> pronunciation to be heard from Maryland natives.
>
>
Did Brits (and Americans who pronounce two or all of these differently)
split the sound, or did people who pronounce them all the same merge them?

--
Dan Goodman
"I have always depended on the kindness of stranglers."
Tennessee Williams, A Streetcar Named Expire
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