Poll: How do you pronounce buoy?

[Merkavar]

So i keep hearing people say buoy but pronounce it different each time.

So how do you say buoy and have you ever been on a boat before?

By buoy i mean the maritime thing that floats out in the water.

 

[Bags159]

I have always heard it pronounced "boo-e".

 

[ZeZZZZevy]

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/buoy

boo-ee

According to dictionary.com this is the correct pronunciation.

 

[Betancore]

I pronounce it was 'bu-oy' - pretty much 'boy' but with a vague allusion that it's the word 'buoy.' If that makes sense. Essentially it sounds like 'boy.'

 

[Fiz_The_Toaster]

I've always heard it said, 'boo-e' and nothing else.

If I heard it pronounced any other way I probably wouldn't know what the hell they were talking about.

 

[The Thinker]

Yeah, I'd go with boo-e(e). Who's been pronouncing it differently?

 

[Merkavar]

most people i know say boy but i was watching an american show on tv and they kept saying boo-e. was wondering about it. figured they are saying it wrong since ive also heard people say peugeot and pronounce the t at the end in american shows.\



http://www.howjsay.com/index.php?word=buoy&submit=Submit

might be the answer. a guy says the word for you to hear.

 

[Rabish Bini]

I always just said 'boy'. That's how I was taught.

 

[Mechanical Cat Fish]

boo-ee

According to dictionary.com this is the correct pronunciation.

Does dictionary.com only do American English, then? I've honestly never heard it as boo-ee anywhere but American television and the like. Boy all the way. Long live the Queen's English and such (although I don't see why she gets to lay claim to it, lots of people in England use it, but whatever...)

 

[Craorach]

Boy, I'm English. We actually speak the English language how it should be spoken.

 

[Cheesus333]

I've never heard anyone say 'boo-e' to me before. And if they do, I'm pretty sure I'll laugh in their face.

It's a 'boy', as far as I'm concerned. Maybe with a hint of the 'u' if you're feeling exotic.

 

[feeback06]

Usually use boo-e, but I have heard Bowie before.

 

[Exia91]

According to British Phonetics Buoy has the same 'transcription' (i.e. the way you pronounce a word is the way you write it down) as Boy.

Buoy: /bɔɪ/
Boy: /bɔɪ/ (these signs are used to change sounds (phonemes) into readable words)
http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/buoy
http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/boy

American English shares the same pronunciation.

This is the British English Phonetic Chart; It shows all the phonemes you need. Look up how you should pronounce Buoy/Boy.
http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/try/activities/phonemic-chart

 

[Merkavar]

so from whati have seen so far anything other than boy is just wrong and is just people reading the letters in the word instead of pronouncing it right. like saying p-hone in stead of fone or leaving in the silent letters.

 

[Layz92]

Boy. That's roughly how I have always said it. Don't see why Americans try to do everything differently, yes I am looking at you NTSC.

 

[Thaluikhain]

Boy, I'm English. We actually speak the English language how it should be spoken.

Sarcastically?

 

[Eleuthera]

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, it's pronounced similarly to "boy". Similarly, "buoyant" and "buoyancy" are pronounced with "boi-" as their initial syllable.

Yup, this.

Though I tend to have a hint of a 'w' in all those words as well so 'bwoy'

 

[Alfador_VII]

In the UK it's just "boy". I've heard a few different ones from Americans.