February

So many people mispronounce (to my ear) February. So many people say it as if the first ‘r’ doesn’t exist, Febuary.

After hearing yet another news broadcaster intone ‘Febuary’, I decided to see what Merriam-Webster has to say about it. What’s nice about the Merriam-Webster site is that they provide audio pronunciations of their words. Unless you have a degree in Linguistics or maybe Library Sciences, who can figure out \fe-b(y)ə-wer-ē\ vs. \fe-brə-wer-ē\? Much to my surprise, M-W says that the ‘Febuary’ pronunciation is acceptable. Ugh! On a hunch, I also looked up Library, and even ‘Libary’ is supposedly now acceptable. Come on! You have got to be kidding me? Libary?

I realize that English is a very dynamic language, as languages go. Anyone today would probably have a difficult time understanding people from just a few hundred years ago. Ever try reading Shakespeare? Even so, I find it impossible to accept either ‘Febuary’ or ‘Libary’ as acceptable pronunciations for anyone over the age of 10. What do you think?

I feel the same way about ‘anyway’ vs. ‘anyways’. Do you have a preference? Can you guess which one I prefer?