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I'd read John McWhorter's book The Power of Babel, about language, some years ago, and in it he made reference to people pronouncing the word "greasy" as "greazy". I had never heard anyone say that before, but I then I heard Eddie Murphy pronounce it as greazy in The Cotton Club, so I jumped to the conclusion that the pronounciation was an African-American thing.
Then last week I was watching one of those true-crime shows about a murder that took place in Nevada. The medical examiner, a white woman, talked about being able to determine that the bones they'd found were from someone who had been dead less than 18 months because they still had a "greazy" feel. Obviously, it's NOT just an AA thing.
So, how do you pronounce the word "greasy"--with a soft "s" or the harder "z" sound?
I also say "wahshh" not "warwsh." (As in "Car wash.") The "r" sound is a Midwest thing, I believe.
Soft "s" as well. Same with the pronunciation of wash. I have only heard the "r" inserted while living in the Northeast... you know they have to use up all those extra r's they take out of the words that are supposed to have them, so they toss them in words that don't have one or stick it on the end of random words.
Come to think of it, I did hear "Warsh" when I was visiting friends down in rural Indiana as well.
Soft "s" as well. Same with the pronunciation of wash. I have only heard the "r" inserted while living in the Northeast... you know they have to use up all those extra r's they take out of the words that are supposed to have them, so they toss them in words that don't have one or stick it on the end of random words.
Come to think of it, I did hear "Warsh" when I was visiting friends down in rural Indiana as well.
In the northeast, really? Maybe parts of New England, but not in New Jersey or New York. My late MIL was from Maine, and used to leave out the "r" in corn, car, scorch, etc., but then she'd tack one on to words like "idea" and even the name of her daughter, Donna.
Even NY and NJ are different with the "R" thing, and different within themselves. Most Jerseyans say their "r" with the exception of places like Jersey City. New York City people tend to drop the "r", but upstate New York mostly says the "r" clearly.
In the northeast, really? Maybe parts of New England, but not in New Jersey or New York. My late MIL was from Maine, and used to leave out the "r" in corn, car, scorch, etc., but then she'd tack one on to words like "idea" and even the name of her daughter, Donna.
Even NY and NJ are different with the "R" thing, and different within themselves. Most Jerseyans say their "r" with the exception of places like Jersey City. New York City people tend to drop the "r", but upstate New York mostly says the "r" clearly.
I don't even know where you'd hear it in New England. Anyway I say greasy with an s like it should be. The only time I think I've ever heard someone say greezy was when Spongebob said it once and it made me laugh because it sounded so weird.
In the northeast, really? Maybe parts of New England, but not in New Jersey or New York. My late MIL was from Maine, and used to leave out the "r" in corn, car, scorch, etc., but then she'd tack one on to words like "idea" and even the name of her daughter, Donna.
Even NY and NJ are different with the "R" thing, and different within themselves. Most Jerseyans say their "r" with the exception of places like Jersey City. New York City people tend to drop the "r", but upstate New York mostly says the "r" clearly.
I meant New England. Maine specifically. Idea was the exact word I was thinking when I said they tack an r on the end of a word. I wish I had a dollar for every time I heard "idear". Every thing that ended with an "a" got the r tacked on it seemed.
For Greazy, There were a few of the old timers that said it that way when I lived in a small town in Texas, and a couple friends who were raised very rural on the Alabama/Florida line. Other than those times the only other place I can recall hearing it was Spongebob as well.
I think so, too. A coworker moved here (NJ) from Indiana, and she said the first thing she learned is that "wash" doesn't have an "r" in it. LOL.
I don't know where else in the US people speak that way, but I do know that in the New York metropolitan area, Long Island gets the nod! If you listen to Billy Joel's "Scenes from an Italian Wedding," he clearly tells the story of Brender and Eddie.
So, how do you pronounce the word "greasy"--with a soft "s" or the harder "z" sound?
I had to think about this. Neither one sounds wrong to my ears, but I think I usually pronounce it greasy, although if I'm with other people that say greazy I probably will say it the same way they do.
Warsh vs wash, my grandmother in IN by way of KY says warsh. I grew up in MI and say wash.
What about 'your, our, and I'm'?
Yer, are, and ahm?
or yore, hour and eye'm?
I use both actually. My problem is the y turning into an "eh"
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