MUR-luh-bohn
/ˈmɝləboʊn/
Marylebone is pronounced MUR-luh-bohn (/ˈmɝləboʊn/). Marylebone is a London-area noun referring to a district in central London, known for its historic streets and Marylebone High Street. In casual use, it denotes the locality and institutions associated with the Marylebone name, including the railway station and surrounding amenities. The pronunciation emphasizes a two-syllable onset and a strong second syllable, typical of place names in southeast England.
nounMarylebone is a London-area noun referring to a district in central London, known for its historic streets and Marylebone High Street. In casual use, it denotes the locality and institutions associated with the Marylebone name, including the railway station and surrounding amenities. The pronunciation emphasizes a two-syllable onset and a strong second syllable, typical of place names in southeast England.
How to Pronounce Marylebone
"I took the train to Marylebone and walked to Baker Street."
"The Marylebone library has an excellent collection of reference books."
"I stayed in Marylebone last summer and enjoyed the village-like atmosphere."
US: Mary-le-bone is typically /ˈmær.i.ləˌboʊn/ with primary stress on the first syllable and secondary stress on the third. UK: /ˈmær.i.liˌboʊn/ with similar placement, but the middle syllable often reduced to a quick schwa. Begin with /ˈmær/ to form a clear onset, then relax the tongue for /i/ or /ɪ/ depending on speaker, and end with /boʊn/ where /oʊ/ is a clear diphthong. Mouth positions: start with a curled, tense lip-rounding on /ær/ and ease into a light, central vowel for /lə/; finish with a rounded, long /oʊ/ before the nasal /n/.
Common errors: 1) Stressing the second syllable (Mary-LE-bone) instead of Mary-le-BO-ne; keep primary stress on the first syllable and a lighter secondary on the fourth. 2) Pronouncing /ˈmɛr iː/ with an American flat œ vowel instead of /ˈmær.i/; use short, tense /æ/ in the first vowel. 3) Slurring /lə/ into /lɪ/ or /lə/ too quickly, which obscures the middle syllable. Correction: produce /ˈmær.i.lə/ with a distinct, unstressed /lə/ before /boʊn/. Practice by isolating the middle schwa and then linking smoothly to /boʊn/.
US: Often more pronounced /ˈmær.i.ləˌboʊn/ with clearer /ɪ/ in the middle. UK: /ˈmær.i.liˌboʊn/ with reduced middle vowel and nonrhotic /r/音, and less r-coloring. AU: /ˈmæɹ.iˌˈləːˌboʊn/ may show more airiness and vowel length variation in the middle and end, with final /n/ sometimes lightly nasalized. Across accents, the key changes are rhoticity (US may pronounce /ɹ/), vowel quality in the second syllable (/i/ vs /iː/), and the degree of schwa in the middle /lə/. IPA references highlight /ˈmær.i/ for the first two syllables and /ˈboʊn/ for the last, but the exact vowels shift subtly depending on accent.
The difficulty lies in the sequence of stressed and unstressed syllables and the reduced middle syllable. The first syllable carries strong stress, while the third is less prominent, and the middle syllable often reduces to a quick schwa or a short /i/. Learners often misplace stress or over-articulate /lə/ as /lɒ/ or /ləʊ/; the tip is to anchor the mouth with a crisp /mær/ onset, relax into a short /lə/ before gliding into the long /boʊn/. Visualize it as Mary-LE-bohn, with a light, almost whispered middle.
A unique feature is the nonrhotic or near nonrhotic treatment of the /r/ in many UK accents, causing the middle syllable to be perceived as /ˈmær.li/ with a mild /l/ and a subtle /boʊn/. In dense speech, the first two syllables blend quickly, while the final /boʊn/ remains a clear, rounded diphthong. The balance between a crisp onset /mær/ and a soft, compressed /li/ or /lə/ makes Marylebone sound like a compact, timbered name rather than a drawn-out sequence.
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Marylebone originates from Old English elements that described a dwelling or camp by a marshy area, evolving through medieval land-naming practices into a distinctive London district. The name is believed to combine a personal or descriptive element with a geographic descriptor, possibly related to a marsh or meadow by the River Tyburn, reflecting the area’s landscape at settlement times. Over centuries, as London grew, Marylebone remained a recognizable parish and later became a defined district within the City of Westminster. The modern form consolidates several historical spellings, such as Maryon and Marylebone, as refinements in charters and maps through the 16th to 19th centuries. First known uses appear in medieval charters and property records, with continued urban development crystallizing the district’s identity in the era of railway expansion and the establishment of Marylebone Station in the 19th century. The current pronunciation, with a nonrhotic, stressed second syllable and a soft initial “Mary-” followed by “lebone,” reflects typical London linguistic shifts and the influence of local speech patterns that favored reduced vowels and gliding consonants in rapid speech.
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Words that rhyme with "Marylebone"
-one sounds
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