The BBC and Mareeeeland

I've noticed that the Beeb always pronounced it Mareeeeland rather than Maruland.   Why?  I've never heard it pronounced like that anywhere in the states.  I could be wrong, do Northerners say it like that?

It's been bugging me.

I've noticed that the Beeb always pronounced it Mareeeeland rather than Maruland.   Why?  I've never heard it pronounced like that anywhere in the states.  I could be wrong, do Northerners say it like that?

It's been bugging me.

Oh, are you talking about Maryland? I'm from Minnesota and I say it Mare-(upsidedown e)-lind. As a kid I assumed it was said Mare-ee-land, but that was because I never heard anyone say it!

I also had no idea how to say Arkansas. I knew Kansas (kan-sis) and assumed it was the same. As do most Brits! haha. I didn't learn to say Arkansas (are-kin-saw) right until I was 10 and was learning the states and capitals.

I just have to add, that calling the BBC 'the Beeb', confused me for a moment as I know that's similar to what his fans call Beiber. haha.

Oh, are you talking about Maryland? I'm from Minnesota and I say it Mare-(upsidedown e)-lind. As a kid I assumed it was said Mare-ee-land, but that was because I never heard anyone say it!

I also had no idea how to say Arkansas. I knew Kansas (kan-sis) and assumed it was the same. As do most Brits! haha. I didn't learn to say Arkansas (are-kin-saw) right until I was 10 and was learning the states and capitals.

I know that lots of people say Arkansas different ways but I thought everybody agreed on how to say Maryland.  I'm not entirely convinced that we are saying it the same way.  I don't remember how the upside e is pronounced.

It's a schwa and this get's it right for the sound.

http://rachelsenglish.com/english-pronounce-schwa/

I had to learn the international phonetic alphabet when I took a dialects class in college.

So it's kind of like MARE-schwa-lind, with a rather soft d. It sounds a lot like how I say the name Marilyn. But I know a lot of people say that name differently...

That's it, it's a schwa.

Thanks for the link, that was a bit surreal.

Anyway, why does the BBC pronounce it so weirdly?  They must have made a conscious decision because they are consistent

Probably just pronouncing it the way it looks, which is ironic considering there are places here like "Reading", "Derby", "Warwick" and many, many others :-P

The same reason people here pronounce Michigan "Mitch-i-gan." Drives me crazy.

A few weeks after I moved here, something newsworthy happened in Binghamton, NY, and British people were all over the news calling it bing-HAM-ton. I said to my husband, you (collective British you) don't get to make fun of Americans who can't say Gloucester when you do the same thing.

It's a minefield! 

The same reason people here pronounce Michigan "Mitch-i-gan." Drives me crazy.

And Houston as "Hoo-ston"! Arghhh!

I Googled this and found out that I'm not the only one to notice and the answer is long and boring.   People really want to talk a lot about BBC pronunciation.  The short answer is that the British tend to say things more Englishized and the Americans at least try to preserve the sounds of the local language.  Not sure what that has to do with Maryland but I got bored. 

The same reason people here pronounce Michigan "Mitch-i-gan." Drives me crazy.

A few weeks after I moved here, something newsworthy happened in Binghamton, NY, and British people were all over the news calling it bing-HAM-ton. I said to my husband, you (collective British you) don't get to make fun of Americans who can't say Gloucester when you do the same thing.

I'm from Houston (HEW-STON, it is what it is but definitely not House-ton) and I had no idea that Binghamton isn't pronounced "Bing-HAM-ton"! How is it pronounced?

Never ask a Brit to say Nicaragua....

Never ask a Brit to say Nicaragua....

Or jaguar. Or puma. *shudder* Those are nails on a chalkboard for me.

(accidentally quoted KFDancer twice)

I'm from Houston (HEW-STON, it is what it is but definitely not House-ton) and I had no idea that Binghamton isn't pronounced "Bing-HAM-ton"! How is it pronounced?

BING-um-tun. Which is in keeping with how Brits pronounce things like Gloucester and Norfolk, omitting sounds you would expect to hear and inserting the schwa in at every opportunity.