"Why do we pronounce bury like berry and not jury?"
We don't, if we're Cleveland Brown -- who also calls his friend Terry, "Tury."
There's a variant on and them that doesn't seem quite as regionally marked as those mentioned during the show: and all.
Ron Draney said:
There's a variant on and them that doesn't seem quite as regionally marked as those mentioned during the show: and all.
I was thinking the same thing. Being a northerner, I remember hearing family say things like "Aunt Elva and all are coming over today." Like "and them," I can use "and all" even when I have a single person in mind.
And as for the caller's pronunciation of bury (rhymes with furry and slurry), I must disagree with Grant's assertion that the pronunciation is not regional. I believe that pronunciation of bury also to be a very localized regional pronunciation in the Philadelphia, PA, area. I was born and raised in Philadelphia, and everyone pronounced bury in that way. They still do. When I moved away for school, it was one of the first things I had to modify about my speech to fit in.
I was surprised to hear that the caller had no connection to Philadelphia.
Other words pronounced to rhyme with furry:
berry (strawberry) — yes, just like bury
Jerry
merry (Merry Christmas)
Perry
surrey
Terry
very
worry
Where I experienced the most ridicule is with the pronoun her. As I was least conscious of its use, it would slip out in the vernacular. It had the same back vowel sound as bury and burr, and made my college roommates laugh.
Other words pronounced to rhyme with fur and burr:
confer
myrrh
per
sir
inter (as in the verb meaning bury)
were (both the verb form and the werewolf)
There is no reason why this regional pronunciation should be less celebrated than others. Perhaps it is time for us to stop this persecution, and cease burying our very heritage.
I just make it easy and make all of my vowel sounds vague enough that I use the same sound for all vowels.
My Young Padawan said:
I just make it easy and make all of my vowel sounds vague enough that I use the same sound for all vowels.
But I'll bet the bat that bit your boot bought beet-bite bait.