At a function today, the emcee said, “Please bear with us while we wait for …” but it sounded like “Please beer with us …”
I have heard a few Punjabis pronounce “wear” as “weir”, so it seems that some misguided teacher has created this confusion among thousands of Punjabis. My guess is that when he was at school he missed the lesson where the difference between the pronunciation of “tear” (tear drops) and “tear” (rip apart) was pointed out.
So here it is.
- Bear (sounds like bare) = बेर/ਬੇਰ
- Beer = बीअर/ਬੀਅਰ
- Wear (sounds like ware) = वेर/ਵੇਰ
- Tear (drop) = टीअर/ਟੀਆਰ
- Tear (rip) = टेर/ਟੇਰ