Cava - cavver or carver?

[StillCoughingandLaughing]

Just been on the phone to my mother, who was waxing lyrical about the lovely ‘cavver’ (Cava) she’s bought to go with Christmas lunch. I’ve always pronounced it ‘carver’, with a soft A, and that’s what I hear more often than not, but she’s not alone in her pronunciation, so I have a nagging doubt I could be wrong. Can I get the views of the MN jury?

YABU = Cavver with a hard A
YANBU = Carver with a soft A

Well if I said it either of those ways, it would sound ridiculous. Not sure why there's r's being added in anywhere. Its cava.

Essex and East London and southern English accents seem to be the ones most prone to sticking in random r's. Anyone know why?

What do you mean by hard or soft A?

Caava which I know is the same as 'carver' but the latter makes me hear it in Daisy May Cooper's accent and I'm considering doing that from now on because it sounds ace.

Ca-va No random r in the middle or at the end

It’s not ‘random’ - it’s just a way of spelling it phonetically!

Cahva there is no 'R'

So she'll be slicing the turkey with the carver, then drinking the Christmas carver lol.

CARvuh, but actually the real, official name is "fizzy plonk".

I think pp must have an accent that sounds a noticeable “r” in their pronunciation.

I have a fairly RP accent and wouldn’t sound an “r” in the middle of words, so caava and carva and carver would all sound pretty much the same in my accent.

Just as i wouldn’t pronounce any (rhyming) difference between law and lore, or tuna and tuner, or farmer and lama. I don’t know enough about it to guess how people might pronounce them differently with a sounded “r”, but guess a west-country or scottish accent?

Anyway, to answer the question, carver for me, not cavva

@StillCoughingandLaughing

Ca-va No random r in the middle or at the end

It’s not ‘random’ - it’s just a way of spelling it phonetically!

Spelling it phonetically? Eh? With some random r's thrown in? You've never studied languages have you?

Carver/cah-vah/cava to rhyme with lava.
In my accent there's no "r" sound in carver. It sounds the same as lava.

@pinkyredrose

Neither. It's 'caava'!

Yes. A Spanish "a" is slightly longer than the British English "a" in words like "cat" It's similar to the "a" in "can't" (in most British English accents.

What do you mean by hard or soft A?

Hard A like ‘apple’ or ‘animal’. Soft A like ‘arm’ or ‘arse’

Cah-vah. No extra rs thrown in anywhere. Carver and cava sound very different to me.

Even rhotic accents (= pronouncing the "r" where other accents wouldn't) aren't going to randomly add an "r" that isn't there.

A Spanish "a" is slightly longer than the British English "a" in words like "cat" It's similar to the "a" in "can't" (in most British English accents.

That’s a good way to describe it. I say it like ‘can’t’; my mother says it like ‘cat’.

@StillCoughingandLaughing

What do you mean by hard or soft A?

Hard A like ‘apple’ or ‘animal’. Soft A like ‘arm’ or ‘arse’

There's no such thing as hard and soft vowels. You mean a short "a" or a long "a".

Spelling it phonetically? Eh? With some random r's thrown in? You've never studied languages have you?

I knew someone would have to ruin a lighthearted thread by being unnecessarily patronising.

@StillCoughingandLaughing

What do you mean by hard or soft A?

Hard A like ‘apple’ or ‘animal’. Soft A like ‘arm’ or ‘arse’

All those 'a' sounds are the same to me

cabba

Why would you give a spanish word a south of england accent.

But, Americans do this with pasta for some reason, they give that ONE word a south of england pronunciation!

There's no such thing as hard and soft vowels. You mean a short "a" or a long "a".

Well call it short or long if that works for you.

@beautifulmonument

Carver/cah-vah/cava to rhyme with lava. In my accent there's no "r" sound in carver. It sounds the same as lava.

I'm laughing in my Scottish accent here 😂 For me lava and carver are totally different - la-vah and carrrrrrrrr-verrr. I'd say ca-vah for the Spanish drink! Wouldn't mind a nice cold one now in the sunshine...

A long A would have a sound like the end of Pay or Say

@SionnachRua

Cah-vah. No extra rs thrown in anywhere. Carver and cava sound very different to me.

The assumption that the Rs here aren't pronounced is so specific to the poster's own accent. To me Carver is a chair or the person who is carving the meat!

@StillCoughingandLaughing

There's no such thing as hard and soft vowels. You mean a short "a" or a long "a".

Well call it short or long if that works for you.

I'll call it that because that's the official linguistic terminology and how I earn my daily cava.