Miss Pronunciation Rues the Day (or rather the month)
This latest pronunciation post was inspired by a twitter from one Ms. Frost.
It’s difficult to know quite how to pronounce this one and so, let’s try to set it straight: not all words have one absolute correct pronunciation.
This one falls within that category. Many times over.
The most traditional of tongues might go for really hitting that medial ‘r’ - Feb-roo-ery - fɛb ruː ͜ əriː
However......
Although sometimes critisised, the form Feb-yoo-ery - fɛb juː ͜əriː- is quite often heard amongst the most educated speakers - especially in American English and (according to my trusty Longman Pronunciation Dictionary) also preferred by them.
Do you think it stops there? Oh no..... Other pronunciations may be:
- feb-ru-ri (fɛb rʊ rɪ)
- feb-re-ri (fɛb rə rɪ)
- feb-ye-ri (fɛb jə rɪ)
- .............and even febri (fɛb rɪ)
As for Miss P - she really doesn't care - as long as the sun is shining and she can spend those last Summer days at the beach .
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