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A question mainly for Americans:

Could you please confirm if some Americans indeed pronounce the "e" of "obesity" as the "ea" of "steady" rather than the "ee" of "bee" (o-be-si-ty instead of o-bee-si-ty? Merriam-Webster lists it as a variant pronunciation, yet, i haven't heard any American say the word this way. Thanks a lot!

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    Merriam-Webster online only shows the standard pronunciation. Which edition do you have? How old is it?
    – Peter Shor
    Commented Feb 2, 2014 at 13:20
  • I've subscribed to the unabridged version. Here's the entry: obe·si·ty noun \ōˈbēsətē, -bes-, -ətē, -i\...but I haven't heard anyone use the second variant. How would you pronounce it?
    – Louel
    Commented Feb 2, 2014 at 13:21
  • He's just “taking the piss out of“ Americans? : ) (No - never heard that pronunciation before.)
    – ipso
    Commented Feb 2, 2014 at 13:22
  • Appears to be nothing under after the "Here it is" but I've never heard a pronunciation of it that sounds like what you describe.
    – virmaior
    Commented Feb 2, 2014 at 13:23
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    On the other hand, the 1892 Webster's International only shows the "incorrect" pronunciation. I think is a case where the pronunciation has changed over time, and the dictionary has not yet dropped the old one.
    – Peter Shor
    Commented Feb 2, 2014 at 13:23

2 Answers 2

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The OED says of that word’s pronunciation:

obesity /əʊˈbiːsɪtɪ/, older /-ˈbɛsɪtɪ/.

That says it used to be pronounced with an /ɛ/ instead of the /i/ that is universally heard today.

Also, the first vowel in General American is more likely to be [oʊ] than the RP [əʊ] vowel which does not occur in GA. However, since it is not stressed, it is subject to typical reduction patterns, which can lead to [o], [ɒ], [ɵ], or [ə] in rapid or relaxed speech.

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  • Thanks for this. It's interesting that many Filipinos stick to the older pronunciation.
    – Louel
    Commented Feb 2, 2014 at 13:25
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I'm an American and have been for all my life, yet have never heard anyone pronounce it as "obesity" (not "obeesity"). I've always pronounced it as the latter, and everyone I know does. The Merriam-Webster online dictionary also states it as its pronunciation. ':)

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