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scrimshandy t1_j9wduwz wrote

Reply to comment by C4bl3Fl4m3 in Survey on Pennsylvania Dialect (“cot” and “caught”) by pretty_hooligan

I’m from the east, and they all sound different. Mary rhymes with Carrie, Marry rhymes with carry, and merry rhymes with ferry.

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C4bl3Fl4m3 t1_j9wfame wrote

....Carrie & carry sound alike, and ferry rhymes with all of them. I'm still not sure how they sound different. Can you describe the actual sounds?

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thehoagieboy t1_j9wjanm wrote

I'm not sure if this helps, but:

Mary–merry distinction:[55] Hence merry is [mɛɹɪ], but Mary is [mɛəɹɪ]. Mary also has an opener variant of [ɛ] than merry. Marry is pronounced as /æ/, which is distinct from the vowels of both Mary and merry.[55]

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scrimshandy t1_j9wjc7y wrote

…right, the accent probably transfers to other sounds/words as well. Here’s a c&p from the Wiki Page:

“Mary has the a sound of mare, marry has the "short a" sound of mat, and merry has the "short e" sound of met.”

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