Foyer / Foy-yay / Foy-er / Foy-ah / For-aye

[camlan]

Yes...and in England when someone is talking nonsense, we say they're talking "Double Dutch"!

In the US, "Double Dutch" often refers to a type of jumping rope, where there are two jump ropes, a person at each end to turn them and one person jumping both ropes in the middle.

For a more coherent explanation, see here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Double_Dutch_%28jump_rope%29

[veryfluffy]

I'm from Sussex so I say car-stle (castle) and darnce (dance). My boyfriend is from up north and he says ca-stle (sounds a bit like cattle) and da-nce (sounds like pants).

The problem with describing the "a" sounds, and saying it is like "ar" is that the "r" is generally less pronounced in the English accent. So it's not the way an American would hear "car" -- it's more like caah, the sort of sound the jackdaws make. There's no rolling at the back of the throat. So while "castle" is said just like "car-stle", it is not "car" the way an American would say it, but  caah and caah-stle.

Just like the "er" sound isn't strongly articulated at the end of words: eg the season after spring is "summah", as opposed to "sum-ur".

[Thipu1]

Pronunciation is always fun and educational to learn about. 

For a few years, most of my friends were Canadian.  On a ship, a stranger and I were looking at and discussing a map that showed the current position of the ship.  Cheerfully, he asked me who I favored in the up-coming Canadian elections.  I have never been in Canada for more than a few days at a time.

Mr. Thipu has often thought to come from the Midwest.  He has never lived west of the Hudson River.  However, he did spend seven years at the same boarding school as Franklin Graham (Billy Graham's son).  Many of the teachers were from the Midwest and probably influenced his speech patterns.

[Morticia]

As a Canadian, my words end in "eh".  My Grandmother was from rural Ontario, though, and she had some interesting ones:

• crick for creek
• ger-adge for garage
• sandrich for sandwich
• ter-anna for Toronto

[Margo]

I'm from the UK, and as other postes have said, it is definitely Foy-ay, Buff-ay, Val-ay.

I woulod only ever use foyer in relation to a public building - most typically a theatre, but possibly also a large hotel as well.  In a rivate house I would refer to the Hall or front hall.

In the North, 'yard' is used as well as garden. I lived in Manchester for many years and my (2-up/2-down coronation st terrace) had a yard - it was fully paved, with a gate to the back ginnel. I know a lot of people who would still use 'yard' even if they were living in properties which had gardens rather than a yard.

I think that 'garden' is the most common usage , however, and is used for any enclosed outdoor space whcih belongs to a particular home, whether it has grass, plants, hard surface or a combination. (the exception would be if you just have a driveway to park a car on, in which case you'd be likely to call it a drive, not a garden.

Having one parent from either side of the North/Side divide and having lived both in Manchester and in Somerset, I am inconsistent in my pronunciatio of things such as Bath etc.

[jmarvellous]

I'm from the UK, and as other postes have said, it is definitely Foy-ay, Buff-ay, Val-ay.

I woulod only ever use foyer in relation to a public building - most typically a theatre, but possibly also a large hotel as well.  In a rivate house I would refer to the Hall or front hall.

In the North, 'yard' is used as well as garden. I lived in Manchester for many years and my (2-up/2-down coronation st terrace) had a yard - it was fully paved, with a gate to the back ginnel. I know a lot of people who would still use 'yard' even if they were living in properties which had gardens rather than a yard.

I think that 'garden' is the most common usage , however, and is used for any enclosed outdoor space whcih belongs to a particular home, whether it has grass, plants, hard surface or a combination. (the exception would be if you just have a driveway to park a car on, in which case you'd be likely to call it a drive, not a garden.

Having one parent from either side of the North/Side divide and having lived both in Manchester and in Somerset, I am inconsistent in my pronunciatio of things such as Bath etc.

"ginnel"?

In my limited experience, the difference in "valet" on either side of the Atlantic is where you put the emphasis -- first syllable for UK, second for US.

[starry diadem]

"ginnel"?

In my limited experience, the difference in "valet" on either side of the Atlantic is where you put the emphasis -- first syllable for UK, second for US.

A ginnel is a dialect word for the lane or alley between two buildings or two  terraced streets that are back to back.

[katycoo]

Aussie = Foy-ah.

There's no way around it. Anyone saying 'foy-ay' is taking the piss- like in 'Tar-zhey' for Target.

ANd defs only used for a lobby area.  IN a home, it would be the entry.

[Ayelle]

Foy-yay, and for a long time I thought anybody saying foy - er was embarrassing themselves.

Here's a regional word not too many people know: dooryard.

[jaxsue]

I wouldn't usually say foyer (I'd be more likely to say 'hall' or 'entrance'), but if I did, I'd say foy-yay. I'm in the UK, if that helps.

Same here. (except I'm in Ireland)

I say it that way, too. I'm in the NE US. Where I grew up (upper midwest) it was said, "foy-er," but I now say it, "fo-yay."

[jaxsue]

As a Canadian, my words end in "eh".  My Grandmother was from rural Ontario, though, and she had some interesting ones:

• crick for creek
• ger-adge for garage
• sandrich for sandwich
• ter-anna for Toronto

That's interesting. My dad was from Toronto, my mom from Burlington. My dad's family has been in Toronto for several generations; they say it "trah-no." 

[jaxsue]

NYC here and we would say foy-er.

I'm in NJ and always want to know how NYers pronounce "Van Wyck." There doesn't seem to be a consensus.

[marcel]

You know what the best part is of threads like this. People are writing out how they would pronounce a word, however, you do not know how others would pronounce that word. maybe my foy-yay is exactly the same as another persons foy-ah.

I assume that this writing works for people that are from the same area, or country, and maybe even if they speak the same language, but when people speak different languages, you definitely can't be sure anymore if the way you write it down, actually clarifies your pronounciation.

[Thipu1]

As a Canadian, my words end in "eh".  My Grandmother was from rural Ontario, though, and she had some interesting ones:

• crick for creek
• ger-adge for garage
• sandrich for sandwich
• ter-anna for Toronto

I know Canadians who call Toronto 'Tranna'. 

[WillyNilly]

NYC here and we would say foy-er.

I'm in NJ and always want to know how NYers pronounce "Van Wyck." There doesn't seem to be a consensus.

Having grown up within a few miles of the Van Wyck (a NYC highway) I've had many occasions to not only say it, but I tend to listen for it during traffic reports because it will often affect traffic where-ever I'm driving to.  Most people pronounce it:

van - like a vehicle bigger then a car but smaller then a truck
wick - like you light on a candle

Some people though say

van - like a vehicle bigger then a car but smaller then a truck
wike - rhymes with like

But its significantly less common to pronounce it that way.