# Pronunciation: Valeri/Valery



## LoveVanPersie

Hello friends!

DCVB includes the first name and surname _Valeri_ but doesn't provide its pronunciation. So I wonder if you would pronounce the _e_ as */ˈɛ/* or */ˈe/*?

And there is a footballer named _Valery_ who pronounced his name in a video on twitter "BON DIA AFICIÓ! En Valery us deixa un missatge per avui! ……".
Was it /bəˈlɛɾi/ or /bəˈleɾi/ (or in Spanish way /baˈleɾi/)?


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## Dymn

LoveVanPersie said:


> Was it /bəˈlɛɾi/


This


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## Circunflejo

Dymn said:


> This


That confirms that I have awful hearing habilities. My apologies for giving an answer when I shouldn't have given it due to my well-known awful hearing habilities. I'll delete my previous answer. Sorry.


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## Dymn

No problem! It's always good to give it a try even if you're not a native speaker!


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## LoveVanPersie

Dymn said:


> This


Gràcies de nou! 
Is it also your way of pronouncing _Valeri_?



Circunflejo said:


> That confirms that I have awful hearing habilities. My apologies for giving an answer when I shouldn't have given it due to my well-known awful hearing habilities. I'll delete my previous answer. Sorry.


It doesn't matter! You just wanted to give some help! Thank you! 
I think it's the same to most other people, including me, when encountering non-native sounds...


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## tenienteramires

When an <e> or an <o> are followed by a <i> in the next syllable, they're open [ɛ] and [ɔ]. There are only very few exceptions like "església", "Dénia" or "sénia". I would pronounce it like [vaɫɛ́ɾi].


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## Dymn

LoveVanPersie said:


> Is it also your way of pronouncing _Valeri_?


Yes


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## Circunflejo

Did any of you, @Dymn or @tenienteramires, actually hear the Twitter vid? I ask because it sounded to me closer than the average e as pronounced in Spanish but, as I said, my hearing habilities are terrible.


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## Dymn

Yes. Here's the link if somebody wants to watch it. I've done a Vocaroo, first with _è, _then with _é._


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## Circunflejo

Dymn said:


> Yes. Here's the link if somebody wants to watch it. I've done a Vocaroo, first with _è, _then with _é._


Thank you. I even struggled after hearing your Vocaroo. I had to hear it several times and I had to hear the vid several times too. Sadly, no news for me because my hearing habilities are awful and I'm aware of it. Thanks once again for your time.


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## Penyafort

I also hear the guy in the video say /ɛ/. And I myself would, a bit more openly.

But honestly speaking, you'll find a wide range of 'openness' in the way Catalan speakers say their open e's, even among speakers of the same variety. Many though, specially those who speak Spanish as their first language, don't make much of a diffence. Generally speaking, I'd even say that young Catalans don't contrast them as much as in the past. Probably because in most cases, it doesn't cause any misunderstandings.

Same wide variety with o's. For instance, the more northwards you go, the closest a close o sounds, until becoming /u/.

Spanish speakers struggle to distinguish them because both sounds don't make a difference in Spanish (except in the Granada area, where openness means plurality). That is, even if someone from Cádiz pronounces the word _pues _with a very open e and no s, /pwɛ:/, most speakers just picture a normal e in their minds. That is because, in more technical words, they're not phonemically contrastive.


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## LoveVanPersie

Thanks for everyone's contributions! 


tenienteramires said:


> When an <e> or an <o> are followed by a <i> in the next syllable, they're open [ɛ] and [ɔ]. There are only very few exceptions like "església", "Dénia" or "sénia". I would pronounce it like [vaɫɛ́ɾi].


Thanks for letting me know this! It's helpful.
Is it your experience or is there any resource where I can learn this and other rules?


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