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Help[Opinions] Amelie
Amelie was mentioned in one of the "who do you picture" posts below.
I've heard it pronounced here, by non-French speaking people, both as AH-meh-LEE (similar to Emily) and ah-MAY-lee.
I'm curious as to how you personally pronounce it, and how you think other non-namenerds in your area would pronounce it (especially if you're from the US)?
I've heard it pronounced here, by non-French speaking people, both as AH-meh-LEE (similar to Emily) and ah-MAY-lee.
I'm curious as to how you personally pronounce it, and how you think other non-namenerds in your area would pronounce it (especially if you're from the US)?
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Replies
I say AM-uh-LEE, or something similar. I've never heard ah-MAY-lee.
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I've only known of the name used in French, and it's moderately popular here, a child up the street, age 5, is called Amelie.
I'm in Canada.
I'm in Canada.
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I'd pronounce it in the French way, but the few people I've seen here using it on non-French kids seem to pronounce it 'Amerly' (more or less Emily with an A) which is awful, imo. Might as well stick with Emily or Amelia.
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Well I live in Australia and pronounce the name like AH-meh-lee. Tbh I think the name may get pronounced as AM-uh-lee here!
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I would pronounce it AM-uh-lee. No ahh sound at all. I'm from the U.S.
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Ah-me-lee or Ah-mah-lee. The stress always tended to be on the first syllable, though. I actually knew an American girl with this name in college. Her family was from Louisiana, and were of Acadian heritage. In the New Orleans/Gulf Coast area there seems to be a lot of usage of what would typically be considered French names... considering she was ten-eleven when the movie came out, we knew it wasn't inspired by that.
Honestly, I love that name, and if I didn't already associate it with her or the movie, I'd use it.
Honestly, I love that name, and if I didn't already associate it with her or the movie, I'd use it.
This message was edited 3/9/2013, 12:11 PM
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I heard a mother addressing her daughter Amelie and pronouncing it like Emily, with the first syllable of ominous or omelet. OM-uh-lee. Yuck! But that is what comes naturally. I don't think it's comfortable to pronounce it any other way in my accent - if I try to say AH-meh-LEE it sounds so phoney. I mean, if she were a French speaker and said her own name with authenticity, I'd try to imitate that, and it wouldn't be phoney, it'd just sound like I was being respectful. But for a non-French-speaking local person to call herself AH-meh-LEE or AM-may-LEE would be sort of obnoxious. ah-MAY-lee just sounds either incorrect, or invented.
I could see pronouncing it ah-MAYL-yuh if it had no accent mark. It'd be unexpected, but not uncomfortable.
I could see pronouncing it ah-MAYL-yuh if it had no accent mark. It'd be unexpected, but not uncomfortable.
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In French it sounds more like AH-meh-LEE, but I'm really bad at explaining pronunciations. The -eh is long, but it doesn't sound like an AY at all either. Just like a really long -eh, you don't open your mouth as much as you would when you say AY. I hope that makes sense. I'd definitely not say ah-MAY-lee.
This might help: http://www.forvo.com/word/am%C3%A9lie/
I'd expect someone in the US to say AH-meh-lee, like Emily just with an AH sound at the beginning.
Do you happen to have a DVD of the movie Amélie at home? You could watch it in French and hear the name pronounced many times. I'd definitely spell it Amélie.
It is very overused in both France and Germany (where I live right now to go to school). So it bores me. Also it means something really unfortunate in Latin. Something to do with disease. It doesn't bother me, but friends who took Latin in school told me they can't understand how anyone would use it.
This might help: http://www.forvo.com/word/am%C3%A9lie/
I'd expect someone in the US to say AH-meh-lee, like Emily just with an AH sound at the beginning.
Do you happen to have a DVD of the movie Amélie at home? You could watch it in French and hear the name pronounced many times. I'd definitely spell it Amélie.
It is very overused in both France and Germany (where I live right now to go to school). So it bores me. Also it means something really unfortunate in Latin. Something to do with disease. It doesn't bother me, but friends who took Latin in school told me they can't understand how anyone would use it.
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I say ah-MAY-lee, but it takes lots of concentration and still ends up coming out of my mouth all garbled and country sounding. (I'm from the US) It seems the Brits are better with the pronunciation, and probably the Australians too, because this name seems to be pretty common there.
I don't think it works in the US. I don't really like it either.
I don't think it works in the US. I don't really like it either.
This message was edited 3/9/2013, 11:11 AM
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I pronounce it ah-meh-LEE with the second syllable quite short. I'm in Texas, and I'm not sure how my fellow Texans who aren't namenerds, french speakers, or fans of films with subtitles would pronounce it. Maybe AM-eh-lee or like a smush of Amy + Lee. I don't think they'd go for ah-MEE-lee or ah-MAY-lee, but I'm not sure. I've actually never heard anyone pronounce the name unless we were talking about "Amélie," the movie, and that was years ago.
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Everyone in my area pronounces it AH-mah-lee, my mother told me this after I was talking about a character in a book I read with the name and I was pronouncing it ah-MEE-lee, like Amelia but without "a". But I'm not from the US, I'm from England, and I just guess it's regional, there is no right or wrong, but I much prefer the way I've been saying it so ah-mah-lee (which personally I think should be reserved for the spelling Amalie). :)
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