I have always pronounced lorry as "lur-ee" (as if to rhyme with worry), for as long as I can remember. Everyone else I know pronounces it as "lor-ee" (as if to rhyme with sorry).
Which one is correct, and why would the pronunciation of the vowel differ between sorry and worry when their spellings differ only in a consonant?
Answer
I don't do "correct", but I've never heard anybody pronounce "lorry" to rhyme with "worry".
I believe that the difference is because of the lip-rounding of the /w/. Many words starting with "w", "wh", "sw", "qu" or "squ" have different vowel sounds from similar words with a different consonant.
Eg
- watch, what vs patch, thatch, pat, that
- war, warm, swarm vs far, farm
- worth, worm vs forth, form
(There are exceptions to this rule).
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