worry

Humble   Tue Nov 27, 2007 9:01 pm GMT
Hello,

1. I pronounce the first vowel as in “hurry”.
2. A Longman dictionary also gives another variant, as in “work”, but I’ve never ever heard it that way.
3. Some people make it very rounded as in the American “warrant”.

Please, could you tell me in what countries or regions WORRY sounds like #2 and #3?

Thank you.
JJ   Tue Nov 27, 2007 9:20 pm GMT
In my dialect #1 and #2 have the same vowel sound ("work" rhymes with "jerk").
JJ   Tue Nov 27, 2007 9:30 pm GMT
...thus, "worry" and "hurry" rhyme for me. I don't know what countries or regions pronounce "worry" like "warrant" but I have heard people pronounce it this way.
Lazar   Tue Nov 27, 2007 9:44 pm GMT
Humble: Like you, I pronounce "worry" to rhyme with "hurry" - that is, as ["hVr\i]. Are you from the Northeast? I'm from Massachusetts, and to my knowledge, the Northeast is the only region in North America where this pronunciation is common. Pronunciation #2, with the vowel of "work", is used by people who have what's called the "hurry-furry" merger. This would include the overwhelming majority of North American English speakers outside of the Northeast.

As for pronunciation #3, I've never heard of that one.
Lazar   Tue Nov 27, 2007 9:47 pm GMT
Sorry, I mean to say that I pronounce "worry" with the same vowel as in "hut" - that is, as ["wVr\i]. Except possibly for some speakers who use pronunciation #3, I think everybody would rhyme "worry" and "hurry".
Guest   Tue Nov 27, 2007 9:55 pm GMT
Humble is Russian.
Lazar   Tue Nov 27, 2007 10:03 pm GMT
Oh. Let me add that pretty much all English speakers outside of North America would use pronunciation #1 - with the vowel of "hut".
Humble   Thu Nov 29, 2007 5:56 am GMT
Thank you all very much.
I didn't know "hurry" could have the "work" vowel.
BTW I am not Russian but speaking predominantly Russian.
Guest   Thu Nov 29, 2007 6:02 am GMT
Oh, then what are you? Do you live in a country near Russia or are you an immigrant in Russia?
Sho   Thu Nov 29, 2007 3:49 pm GMT
I've heard some Australians and New Zealanders use /Or/ (as in 'war') for 'worry'.
Jim   Thu Nov 29, 2007 10:08 pm GMT
I find it very strange to hear "worry" pronounced with the vowel in "war" coming from a fellow Aussie/Kiwi. The STRUT vowel is the norm for us.
Milton   Thu Nov 29, 2007 11:54 pm GMT
worry is pronounced /wVri/ in RP, according to Oxford Dic.
US pronunciation of ''wander'' may sound like ''wonder'' to an English ear.
Lo   Fri Nov 30, 2007 3:26 pm GMT
My "wander" and my "wonder" sound clearly different... [wAnd@`] and [wVnd@`]
How is it that the English pronounce these?
Humble   Sat Dec 01, 2007 7:19 am GMT
Yeah, wonder&wander couple is a curious one, often mispronounced by learners.

Guest, I am from Belarus, where the national language is in pretty much the same situation as Irish in Ireland, even worse - the president and the parliament only speak in Russian.