Pronunciation of werewolf

[PotteringPondering]

When I was growing up everybody pronounced it WEER-WOLF.

Now everybody seems to pronounce it WHERE-WOLF. I'm assuming it's an American thing. But even films with British accents seem to say 'WHERE-WOLF, no doubt for the American market.

I find this odd, particularly given the pronunciation of mere, here, sphere, sincere, adhere, revere etc.

I guess there's also premiere and derriere, but they both come from French words where a grave accent helps the 'air' sound (première, derrière).

The best evidence for the defence is there and where. But I suspect shenanigans going on with the h in both cases, which creates the AIR sound.

If I see an American werewolf round here I'm going to give it a sincere kick in the derrière.

It’s always been “WHERE-wolf” in my experience but Cambridge Dictionary says both (/ˈwɪə.wʊlf/ /ˈweə.wʊlf/). https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/werewolf

Maybe it comes down to the word origins?

I've never in 44 years heard anyone in the UK pronounce it weerwolf.

I'm guessing this is a regional thing. I live in North Essex.

On a similar note, in some parts of America they pronounce wolf 'woof', which unreasonably grinds my gears for some reason!

54 here. Never heard it called weer wolf

Also never heard it called Weer-wolf, only ever where-wolf.

Mid 40s, lived in Scotland, northern England and southern England. Never heard it as weer-wolf or as where-wolf. It’s more like ware (like beware).

65 years in the UK and also never heard "weerwolf" - northern England / Scotland or Ireland (also never heard it in the Republic). The original word comes from germanic languages and is "wer" pronounced more like "where" than "weer".

SE England, “where” and “ware as in beware” sound the same.

It's just you op , it's always been "where" wolf.

Germanic origin, werwulf (pronounced with hard V, vervulf).

From NI but lived in England for a long time since a child. Neither of my parents are English and my grandfather is from another country all together.

I would say the same pronunciation as @AbacusAvocado

I have always pronounced werewolf to rhyme with airwolf, but in my lifetime I have noticed a change in the pronunciation of sloth (the animal). When I was younger, sloth had a long o to rhyme with both, but these days I mostly hear sloth with a short o to rhyme with moth.

Werwulf meaning “man wolf”

I've always heard it pronounced where-wolf.

I've always pronounced it were wolf. So neither where nor weer.

I am from the SE and don't think where and ware sound the same at all.

Same situation with sloth; when I was a child I was told it was SLOW-th, now apparently it has developed a short O sound instead

Weir - like you get on a river - wolf

I am 41 and only every heard sloth (to rhyme with moth)

Feel like I missed some pronunciation lessons 😂

I'm American. I pronounce it and have usually heard it pronounced "wear-wolf" (no "h" sound).

Note: I live in a region of the US (part of the Deep South) where the "wine-whine" merger is not a feature of the accent.

Us Scots have it right @AbacusAvocado
no h as in wh for whale or where in werewolf. It’s Way-r-wolf
And sloth has always been rhyming with moth and cloth for me @Faircastle

Nearly 60, where-wolf.

The word sloth has the same etymological root as the word slow; I'm not sure when we started shortening the vowel.

David Attenborough still pronounces sloth to rhyme with both, but I think he is definitely in the minority.

I say sloath too. Is it because I’m northern?

I wonder if the weer-wolf pronunciation is from an association with the word weird? Or eerie?

Where wolf. which is exactly the same as Ware wolf.

And slowth