Do you pronounce Merry and Mary the same?

[SpringIsSpringing23]

The main character in a book I'm reading is called Merry. She has to introduce herself as "Merry as in Merry Christmas, not the Virgin Mary" for other people to spell it right.

In my accent they are pronounced differently!

If Merry and Mary are pronounced the same then does Mary Berry's name rhyme? Are ferry and fairy the same? Very and vary?

No they are pronounced differently. But we have both names in our family and people often mishear which of the two are being referred to, as they are very similar when said quickly / quietly / by a child.

Nope. Merry has an “eh” like “egg” sound in the middle and Mary has an “ay” sound- totally different in my accent. (And any normal speaking person!)

Short and long vowel difference for me, so yes different but not so different

How does Mary have an "ay" sound? I say Mary to rhyme with fairy. With "air" in the middle. "Ay" would be may-ree like the month may??

If Merry and Mary are pronounced the same then does Mary Berry's name rhyme? Are ferry and fairy the same? Very and vary?

In at least some American accents, yes. Was a minor subplot in an episode of Penguins of Madagascar (DS watches it a lot). The Long Island Fairy.

And yep, May-ree.

Barnsley accents would be even worse, May-uh-ree.

All about emphasis.
Merry. Emphasis is is the 'errie'
Mary. Emphasis is on the 'ehh'

Fairy also has an “ay” sound like “air” which sounds the same as the town “Ayr”

Im Scottish so I’m thinking your accent sounds nothing like mine- though I must admit when looking at phonics etc the Scots have a fab accent compared to many English dialects…

Dont even get me started on that Julia Donaldson book where giraffe and scarf are supposed to rhyme… 🤦🏻‍♀️

Emphasis on the wrong element of a word sounds really weird to me and drives me a bit nuts
I had a friend who used to say Nok EEEYA for Nokia and Star WARS for Star Wars.

The worst is a friend that not only calls it 'Asdas' but emphasises the 'Daz'

I think in some American accents they sound the same? I say Merry with a short e and Mary as Mairy.

Giraffe and scarf rhyme in my accent.

Round here (South West) Wales and Wells sound like the same word I feel like I constantly need to ask for clarification.

@SNWannabe what's weird about the giraffe/scarf thing is it only rhymes in one accent - london/SE. Nowhere else in the uk would rhyme those words. So it's odd to include it.

Is it an American book? I think in some American accents they'd be pronounced the same.

In my accent the sounds are very similar but Mary has more of an air sound, like fairy, which is a bit longer. Merry has a shorter meh as the first syllable.

I pronounce Merry as meh-rry and Mary with a long A, like Mairy.

Ever so slightly different

Merry/marry/Mary are merged in many American (and Canadian) accents. Notably they are not in the Northeast. See also the names Aaron/Erin. Different in New York and Boston, the same in Chicago.

Cot/caught are also merged outside the NE.

Eh? I’m West Midlands and giraffe and scarf rhyme!

And pronounce merry and Mary to rhyme with ferry and fairy.

Mary like Fairy
Merry like Berry

I also wondered if it was an American book.

In ER, I always thought the character was called Carrie Weaver because that’s how everyone says it, then a British actress started and said Kerry Weaver. I really had no idea that was her name.

Different for me, but similar enough that they could easily be confused if used in the middle of a seen have spoken quickly.

I live in NI and they're pronounced the same by many here.

... middle of a sentence spoken quickly, that should say.

They can sound the same in Northern Irish

Merry like sherry, Mary like hairy

Mary is a much more common name. So, even if most people say Merry differently, it's similar, so
someone hearing it the first time may think they heard Mary.