How do YOU say it?

Mallow. There's no e in it.

I have now had to google to find out why it is called marshmallow



when I should be gardening, trimming the mallow.

I’m Irish and would always say mallow. Years ago an Irish friend was teaching English in Germany and was called in by her boss because of her pronunciation. Apparently they wanted the children to learn “Received Pronunciation “ (RP) English, where the a is said more like e. “Man” sounds more like “men” in RP, and mallow, mellow.

Maw I know what its like with these keys!
I don't have any accent at all but I am from up north, Cheshire.
Just phoned two friends to check, and they both say mellow ....both Northern ladies.

So another vote for “marsh mellows”
I am assuming that you are neither The Queen nor Mrs Dale?

“B” and “V” ARE next to each other oops!
vowels natch!

Maw we are all wondering about your 'bowel dialect variations' !
Sounds painful.
I say marshmellow but actually write mallow.

I mind bad enunciation in anyone except toddlers.

Althaea officinalis

Apparently the roots of Marsh Mallow/^Althaea officinalis^ were originally used to made this sweet.

No problem with regional accents here but I do mind bad enunciation from persons paid to speak on the radio or TV,

Oh my eazybee your prejudices are showing.
Is having childcare something to apologise for? ?

alsaQueen Thu 14-Feb-19 10:32:54
Mellow. Everyone I know says mellow. It perhaps is a regional thing? I live in Derby, East Midlands

So I am not imagining it!

My DGD certainly does not pronounce “bad” as “bed” at 4 she is unlikely to have even heard of “The Queen” or been exposed to those clipped 50’s vowels that some of us remember from Mrs Dales Diary.
I do not agree that it is anything to do with h any “ah/eh” bowel dialect variation either, but if anything I first heard it in London/SE English.

Dear me.
Seck the Nenny.

The hard 'a' is mostly a northern/scottish sound.
Maw - ask your DGD how to say 'bad'. If she says 'bed'?

I've never heard anyone say marshmellow, but I can imagine that perhaps that's the way the Queen says it.
Has your DGD been watching The Crown, Maw?

Yes, I noticed that when I spent a lot of time there.
If it is 'mallow' then it must be correct to call it so.
I hadn't really thought about how I pronounced it until this thread.

Scots pronounce words much more phonetically than the English do. This is why the BBC employ Scottish speakers as news readers so often.
They pronounce the H in where, who, why, when etc and both the Ds in Wednesday..
Of course it's mallow though autocorrect wanted me to write mellow .
I also hate ther or thuh when saying the. It's just lazy.

Never heard it called anything other than marshmallow.

No, I've no wish to sound posh whatsoever.
Again, its like Prymark vs Preemark, mygraine vs meegraine, girarffe vs girafff..

MarshmEllow Grrrrr

Marshmallow, for me. Welsh but brought up in Hertfordshire. Some there would say marshmallow, sounds posher? ?

I think marshmellow is just 'posh' for marshmallow.
Or it could be connected with the various mellow yellow links.

Flipping heck I never gave it a thought now I am sat here talking to myself
' Do you want a Marshmallow '
' Do you want a Marshmellow '

I have now over thought it and don't know which I usual use. I am discombobulated now for the day , thanks Maw.

I speak in standard southern English bordering on RP but have Irish ancestry. I say marshmallow with something closer to a short e sound than short a.

The Oxford English Dictionary has two variants for British and American English:

Brit. /ˌmɑːʃˈmaləʊ/ U.S. /ˈmɑrʃˌmɛloʊ/

Maybe that's the reason in my case as American English is much influenced by Irish English.

If your libary has a subscription to OED, you should be able to log in with your library card to see this link:

www.oed.com/view/Entry/114380?redirectedFrom=marshmallow#eid