How do you pronounce 'mayor'?

[DontPhoneItIn]

I've heard so many people saying 'may-er' recently - I was sure that it was pronounced as 'mare' in British English.

Please help, it's driving me batty!

[cumfy]

So is mayoral ever pronounced mairel ?

[PrideOfChanur]

mare - Southern RP.

[DontPhoneItIn]

Ah, this has made me feel better.

It could well be a regional thing - I'm from the far far South West, but then so is the friend who says 'may-er'.

Maybe we ought to agree to disagree?

[NotGeoffVader]

I say 'mare' although I have heard 'may-or'. Regionally (to me) it's 'mare'.

[Hulababy]

M-air

1 syllable

From/Live - S Yorks

[RamblingRosa]

mare

[DadOnIce]

I say "mayer". To rhyme with gayer and Leo Sayer. Although maybe with a slight skip over the E. So may'r.

On the other hand, I had a friend from Liverpool at university who used to pronounce it "murr", so anything is possible. "Ar ay, we went to a reception and the murr was thurr, and our Clurr, oh, and Cilla. She had loovely hurr."

[CatWithKittens]

I agree "mare" - even when they are donkeys.

[lottiegarbanzo]

Mare but may-or-al not mare-al.

[Tigerbomb]

Mare - Black Country

[tabulahrasa]

I have two syllables as well, but I'm Scottish and add extra syllables to loads of words.

[DeepRedBetty]

haven't read other answers deliberately. Mare - like Mrs Horse, but a tiny bit longer. Perhaps Mahre would be the best I can manage without a phonetic alphabet.

Southern RP.

[SconeRhymesWithGone]

I say may-er (American). I think the difference is largely whether the accent is rhotic (e.g. most Americans, Scots, and Irish) or non-rhotic (e.g. British RP, Southern English). But to confuse the issue, some normally rhotic-speaking Americans would smooth the final "r" when speaking quickly so it would come out more like "mair" especially if followed by the mayor's surname.

[Kowalski]

Mare - in Midlands

[sausagesandwich34]

mare

and I'm from manchester

[steppemum]

right sorry, just found the us and uk vocals but the uk one says mare.

[steppemum]

ummm, cardibach, unless I am missing somethign, that link has an American voice doing the pronuncuation (2 syllables)

Then it has the phonetic pronunciation written next to the word, it gives both may-or and mare (can't write in phonetic as no accents over letters)
So both are correct.

[steppemum]

mare - I am southern english a bit RP pronunciation

[cardibach]

I say may-er. It's an accent thing. THis site has an American and British pronunciation example, and both have two syllables. I think Mare sounds silly, so I'm pleased.

[MirandaWest]

I say mare. I think.

[WhoKnowsWhereTheTimeGoes]

Never have cause to say it to be honest, but if i did I'd say May-ur.

[edam]

mare. To rhyme with hare and dare.

[fuzzysnout]

Mare

[MikeOxardAndWellard]

Mare

[AnaisB]

"obviously"