Feb-roo-ary vs. Feb-yoo-ary
The Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation
Feb-roo-ary vs. Feb-yoo-ary
We all know that February is the only month of variable length, and the only month with fewer than 30 days. But of greater concern here: it’s the only month that most Americans can’t pronounce.
That includes radio and TV commentators, whose job it is to say things right. There are a few meticulous media types who correctly say “Feb-roo-ary.” But for every one of them, there are countless others who say “Feb-yoo-ary.” Then there are those who fecklessly say “Febber-ary”—at least they’re trying, but it only makes “Febber-ary” all the more annoying. Last and least is “Feb-wary,” a feeble cop-out.
I hauled out my American Heritage dictionary, about the best you can get this side of the 20-volume Oxford English Dictionary, and I checked to see what the renowned American Heritage Usage Panel had to say about pronouncing February.
It turns out the answer is: a lot. And I hate to butt heads with this great dictionary’s panel of experts, but I have a big problem with the “Usage Note” I found. It said that “Feb-yoo-ary” is “quite common in educated speech” and “generally considered acceptable.” Whaaat!?
Wait, it gets worse. “The loss of the first r in this pronunciation can be accounted for by the phonological process known as dissimilation, by which similar sounds in a word tend to become less similar.” By this dizzy reasoning, your six-year-old has been right all along in pronouncing library “lie-berry.”
“In the case of February,” the panel adds, “the loss of the first r is also owing to the influence of January, which has only one r.” I guess this means we get so accustomed to “yoo-ary” after 31 days of January that our poor little brains and tongues can’t make the adjustment—but the compassionate arbiters on the usage panel want us to know it’s OK, they understand.
Well, to me, this is a dismal misstep by the panel, usually so strict and no-nonsense in its findings. Legitimizing widespread carelessness is where madness lies. Such leniency is an unappetizing leftover from the anything-goes 1960s. That’s when the language was taken down the dead-end trail that has brought America to the brink of illiteracy. That’s when traditional grammar was attacked as elitist, even racist, for supposedly stifling spontaneity and marginalizing the underclasses by imposing on them its tyrannical rules. This was the position taken not only by the rebellious youth of that era, but also by many self-doubting teachers and professors, who chose appeasement over their solemn responsibilities as keepers of the cultural flame.
Anyway, reeling from this seeming betrayal by one of my most trusted allies, I sought and found a second opinion in There Is No Zoo in Zoology and Other Beastly Mispronunciations by Charles Harrington Elster. The enlightened Mr. Elster did not disappoint: Feb-roo-ary “is hard to say, and so most people say [Feb-yoo-ary] because it is easier, not because it is right … [Feb-yoo-ary] may now be standard, but it is still beastly.” Amen, brother.
But Elster wasn’t through. In a direct dig at the American Heritage panel, he said “certain dictionaries have gone to great lengths to tell you that a fancy linguistic process called dissimilation is at work here … the result being that most educated speakers now replace the first R in February with a Y …
“That is a very convenient explanation, which makes a mispronunciation look right because so many people use it, and makes the correct pronunciation look wrong …
“Therefore, I will not dissemble about dissimilation, or feed you some malarkey about how [Feb-yoo-ary] is an alternative pronunciation based on analogy with January.” Ouch—a stinging rebuke from an indignant word nerd!
As for me, I’m not quite that angry with the American Heritage dictionary, which I consider an invaluable resource. I’m just glad I have others like Elster, too.
—Tom Stern
If the article or the existing discussions do not address a thought or question you have on the subject, please use the "Comment" box at the bottom of this page.
I really enjoyed this article and agree with Tom Stern. I think Feb-roo-ary is easier to say. It also confirms and gives respect to the original meaning of the month. The latin term “februum” means “purification”, derived from “februa”, a Roman festival of purification held on February 15 around the time of the full moon.
I remember reading an obituary about 10 years ago about Jacques Derrida, who apparently had a lot of influence with educators world-wide about language usage. The journalist blamed Derrida for the attack on traditional grammar and the subsequent dead-end trail that Tom mentions in his article. The obituary also speculated that the rise of violent behaviour stems from the inability and lack of structure within those individuals to express themselves. Correct language tuition can organise thoughts and feelings so that individuals and groups gain self-understanding and control.
Thank you for the interesting information you’ve added to the discussion.
I agree that the first “r” in February should be pronounced. I also believe that Washington State should be pronounced as Washington, not Warshington (with an r) like so many Washingtonians people pronounce it.
I enjoyed this post too. In fact, it’s swayed me to pronounce the name of this month right! Haha.
Even american cannot pronounce an English word correctly.
It will be more difficult for those who are learning English as foreign language.
However learning foreign language is quite interesting.
I read your e-newsletter about the pronunciation of February. Do you use 4 syllables to say “vegetable”? These things evolve.
We know we sound old-fashioned, but we feel that lazy or ignorant mispronunciation does not constitute “evolving.”
Thank you for this newsletter – I read them all!
While you are on the soapbox of mispronunciations, my pet peeve is nuclear vs. the too often mispronounced nucular. I think some of us have just gotten lazy about grammar.
It may be laziness, or it may be that’s what some people heard from others around them when they were young, and the correct pronunciation never penetrated. Either way, it is annoying.
GrammarBook should take the initiative on this matter and spearhead a nation-wide contest to rename the second month of the year. I’m sure our two national political parties will jump on a topic so relevant to our daily lives. My vote will go to “Flubuary.”
I’m afraid we’re stuck with February. The two parties will not be able to come to agreement on a new name.
I have for many years been a huge fan of Charles Harrington Elster, and fly to “The Big Book of Beastly Mispronunciations” whenever I hear something I find “beastly” on the radio (this evening it was “preSAGE”, by an NPR reporter who should have known better).
Yes, but unfortunately it gets worse. If you haven’t seen Idiocracy https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0387808/ where in the future language is butchered much more than it is today, watch it.
I have been receiving the GrammarBook newsletter for a couple of years. Although I enjoy and appreciate it, I have never before felt motivated to comment on an article. However, your newsletter on “Feb-yoo-ary” made me laugh out loud … well done!
As an Australian, I haven’t noticed as many people mispronouncing this word in Australia as I have seen on American television, but it’s still a problem – thanks for upholding the standard!
Thank you for writing. We appreciate hearing from you.
Thank you, Tom Stern. Your Feb-roo-ary editorial is dead on.
This was a good one.
I read your article with dismay. As an Englishman, who was educated in an English grammar school, where caps and braided jackets (even in summer) were the order of the day, I cringe at the gradual destruction of our language by people who are too lazy to either write or speak it properly.
Unfortunately, because our children are exposed to so much American TV, they are too young to distinguish between (correct) English and American.
But one question, when Americans say “inner-national” (viz. international) are they really aware of the mis-pronunciation?
Anyway, keep up the good work, I will keep reading your interesting newsletters.
We weren’t aware there was a tendency among Americans to mispronounce “international.” We’ll keep our ears open on that one.
Listen to Bill Gates–he calls it the “inner-net” …
That seems paradoxical, doesn’t it? We’ll definitely keep our ears open for that one.
I regret that I missed the point of the newsletter I received today, 05 February 2014. I was not aware that GrammarBook.com was designed to teach elocution.
I have also noticed that past newsletters have become somewhat critical, and verging on being sarcastic, regarding some authors, as opposed to continuing to follow the subject of correct grammar–is there a particular reason for this?
For us at GrammarBook.com, grammar is an umbrella term that comprises grammar plus punctuation, spelling, and, indeed, pronunciation.
As for a “somewhat critical, and verging on being sarcastic” treatment of authors, we doubt you are speaking of Elmore Leonard, whom we extolled unreservedly upon learning of his death last fall. Regarding Jess Walter, please note that up front we agreed with critics that he is “ridiculously talented,” “his sentences nearly sing,” and that he is “One of my favorite young American writers.” We also acclaimed him for writing a masterpiece.
In newsletters such as these, we are seeking to teach correct grammar within a larger, and we hope entertaining, context.
Years ago, Walter Cronkite also felt Feb-u-ary was correct.
We also watched Walter Cronkite, but don’t remember his pronunciation of “Feb-yoo-ary.” If you find a YouTube or other link to a film clip, please pass it along.
Thank you very much for your thorough look at the various pronunciations in mainly the US of the word February. In my country, Sierra Leone(and I think other British influenced West African countries),the word is pronounced as if there is no ‘r’,like in January :febiari.
Interesting. Thanks.
I showed your newsletter to a friend at our local university and he says the pronunciation of FEBRUARY in the West African sub region is feb oo ari which rhythms with the pronunciation of JANUARY — jan oo ari.
I did find this discussion interesting; however, I am wondering whether you pronounce Wednesday as “Wed nes day.” What about the “l” in salmon, the “b” in comb? I must admit that even when growing up, I wondered why I never heard the first “r” in February. There are many conventions in the pronunciation of English that I find fascinating. I always pronounce “dew” as “dyue,” not as “do.” To me that pronunciation is as logical as giving a similar pronunciation to the vowel sounds in “pew.” No one would pronounce “pew” as “poo.” What are your thoughts on this?
English is a language of confounding inconsistencies, as you so ably point out. Thanks for writing.
Another is jaguar.
Jaguar is different. The Brits say “jag-you-are” and we in the U.S. say “”jag-wahr.” But neither is a mispronunciation, given the spelling—unlike “feb-yoo-ary.”
I am well aware that I’m a little late to the party, but I wanted to weigh in regardless.
I’d call this article a joke, but it’s far worse than that; it’s complete garbage. You actually make it seem as if your ignorant, uneducated OPINION has more worth than linguistic FACTS. You’re nothing but a prescriptivist, elitist language purist who knows absolutely nothing about language change, language variation, or how language works in general. Here’s a summary of your article: “I personally don’t like that pronunciation and it’s spelled with an R, so everyone who pronounces it differently than me is an idiot who contributes to the demise of the English language. I don’t care what all the experts and professors say; they’re idiots, too.” Furthermore, no one makes your preferred pronunciation look wrong. Please get a degree in linguistics before you keep spreading your verbal diarrhea. I do realize how incredibly harsh this comment is, but this article more than deserves it.
Get out much?
I agree with Dom. This article is rubbish. If you believe that language shouldn’t change, I hope you’re still using English the way it was spoken centuries ago. Do you believe an English speaker from 1750 wouldn’t be surprised by your use of modern English and all the changes that have occurred in it? Just because you don’t like something doesn’t make it incorrect. Anyway, language will continue to change whether you like or not, so you’re fighting a battle you’ve already lost.
Apparently, you are unfamiliar with the larger body of our work.