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[conuly]

Poll #19396

Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 114

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How do you pronounce the word February?

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As spelled, with two rs.
43 (39.1%)

Febyuary
44 (40.0%)

Febuary
16 (14.5%)

Other (comments)
7 (6.4%)

If I'd taken the time to put that in IPA, could you have read it?

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Yes
17 (15.6%)

Sort of
35 (32.1%)

No
22 (20.2%)

What?
35 (32.1%)

Ticky!

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Rabbit rabbit
90 (100.0%)

Comments

[siderea]

I'm badly out of practice with the IPA. I studied it more than thirty years ago.

[conuly]

It's always been the vowels that trip me up.

[pauamma]

Febrary.

I'm not sure.

[darkoshi]

Febuary, or Febwerry or Februeee or Febrrurree.

Re: I'm not sure.

[monanotlisa]

I legit LOL'd.

Re: I'm not sure.

[style_tester]

Same here; skipped answering the question because I don't know which way I'll say it most of the time.

[thawrecka]

Febree. Because who needs all those syllables?

[archangelbeth]

Feb-you-airy.

[peoriapeoriawhereart]

^This^

Look at the charmer icon.

[flexagon]

I'm halfway between Feb-you-airy and Feb-roo-airy. I do make an attempt at the first R, but I won't try to say it again or something if it's still a Y-ish R.

[conuly]

What a cute little snake!

[pebblerocker]

Febyury.

I first heard about the rabbit rabbit thing from the Trixie Belden books.

[dragovianknight]

I first heard about the rabbit rabbit thing from the Trixie Belden books.

Me too!

[darkoshi]

Trixie Belden, yay! I think I read all the books, but don't remember that part (not surprisingly, as it was so long ago). The book is referenced on the Wikipedia Rabbit,Rabbit page too, though. Aside from that, I wasn't familiar with the tradition either.

[jesuswasbatman]

"Febrary", which I think is the most common in London.

[fred_mouse]

..and now I've said it fourteen times and I'm not sure. I've managed Fe'bry at least one and Feb-yu-ry twice, but it is getting the 'a' in that I'm having the most trouble with.

[oloriel]

I'm not pronouncing it the way it's spelled, but I do pronounce it with two Rs - like Febbrary. (In my native language, I pronounce it pretty much as spelled, though -- Februar, all vowels long.)

[gingicat]

Depends on where I am on the tired/pedantic spectrum.

[conuly]

Which one is pedantic?

[redbird]

With two r's, but the r's aren't pronounced the same, and I'm not sure if that's just that one is after a hard consonant and the other is between two vowels.

[conuly]

Semivowels are like that.

[cactuswatcher]

Yes, sadly, I could read the IPA. I see Webster's likes FEH-buh-wear-ee or FEH-byuh-wear-ee over FEH-bruh-wear-ee. I actually pronounce it FEB-you-airy. As a linguist, I can say with confidence that first 'r' would be a easier to pronounce with a little metathesis "feburrary". LOL

[conuly]

I've always thought metathesis would be easier to pronounce if we said methatesis.

[mythicgeek]

I commented 'what' on the IPA question because I 100% could not stop my brain from thinking you meant India Pale Ale and I couldn't see how that connected.

I need some coffee.

[peoriapeoriawhereart]

I will admit the India Pale Ale was coming first (so many hoppy beers in the stores) but I'd allow one more if it played the International Phonetic Alphabet card in its name.

_{Tell me if one already is.}

[kengr]

Depending on how I'm feeling, Feb-you-ary *or* Feb-roo-ary

[nostalgia]

FEBYOORY?

I knew the IPA for about 6 months and university and then promptly forgot it all. My lasting memory of it is trying to decide how words should be said in RP so I could see what the symbols meant. I had Problems with the idea that boot and foot don't have the same vowel sound. I asked the linguistics tutor about it and he made me say them over and over because I was the only Scot in the class (in St Andrews ffs!) and everyone else seemed to agree that they don't sound idential vowelwise.

[conuly]

They definitely don't. You can't hear the difference when other people who distinguish the sounds talk?

[archersangel]

i'm not sure if i'm saying it like feb-u-ary or feb-u-rare-y.

maybe both at times?

[isis]

I once had a boss who insisted on Feb-ru-ary, and I liked and admired him, and so that's what I say. I find myself unable to change the habit.