[fool1987]

> No one argues with pronouncing the first syllables of those words with the "air" sound.

I do.

Never met anyone who would rhyme the first syllable in "character" with "air" - maybe this is true in some US accents? I'm British and would say "character" as "kah-rik-tuh" or "kah-rak-tuh" which definitely has no "air" sound anywhere.

For me, by this logic, it would be "Vair-Kar"

[mjw1007]

I think we're seeing the "Mary–marry–merry merger" (specifically the Mary–marry part). [1] claims about three quarters of American English speakers suffer from it.

[1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English-language_vowel_changes...

[cafard]

I have heard nobody in the US pronounce the first syllable in "character" other than as rhyming with "air".

But yes, when I (rarely) have to pronounce it, it's "vairkair".

[pipeline_peak]

In the US, I’ve heard both.