[HPFGU-OTChatter] Pronunciation of Sirius

[Random832]

Marti L. wrote:
> I'm American (northeast) and had never heard of the short "i"
> pronunciation, but when I read the posts here, I figured it was from one
> of the English accents.  Now that I've heard Stephen Fry say Sirius with
> the long ee sound, I don't think it is.

Well, as is often the case with these things, it's not quite so simple. 
I earlier asserted that this was just a case of an unfamiliar word, 
rather than a phonic merge - I've since learned that is untrue. And, the 
thing about merged phonemes in particular is - if you don't make the 
distinction, 90%, you can't _hear_ the difference either, even from 
those who do.