BURR-Y is not 'non-standard' (was Eggcorn?)

[Laurence Horn]

At 7:43 AM -0500 2/18/07, RonButters at AOL.COM wrote:
>In a message dated 2/15/07 1:35:30 PM, zwicky at CSLI.STANFORD.EDU writes:
>
>
>>  a footnote: i pronounce "bury" to rhyme with "curry" rather than
>>  "Terry" -- yes, i know this is non-standard
>>
>The "curry" pronunciation is certainly not "non-standard" in those regions
>where it is standard. That is to say, this is a regionalism, and in such
>respectable places as New Jersey the most educated of speakers
>pronounce BURY as if
>it were etymologically related to Aaron Burr.
>
>Are there any words other than BURY that are spelled -UR- but have the -E-
>vowel in any standard variety of American English? It seems to me that the
>''berry'' pronunciation of BURY is the excentric one, spellingwise. FURY HURRY
>MURRY JURY as well as CURRY ...

Well, across the Hudson, I grew up pronouncing "bury" as a homophone
of "berry", but I also distinguish among the other examples.  "Furry"
(I assume that's what Ron is referring to, since "fury" is rather
different), derived from "fur", has the [U] vowel of "fur", while I
grew up pronouncing "curry", "hurry", and "Murry" with something much
more like a [^].  (Now, I vary them between the two vowels, while
"furry" is never [^].)  "Jury" is again different, with more of an
[u].

>
>In some North Carolina courts, the Law French "Oyez! Oyez!" has come down to
>us as "Oh yes! Oh yes!" They should of course have translated it as "Listen
>up, y'all!"
>
>The opening of court thus sounds a little like the middle of a porn film.

Or the end of _Ulysses_.

LH

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