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Help[Opinions] Names you've been mispronouncing this whole time?
I've always pronounced Sophie in my head as so-FEE, rhyming with Marie, until today when I looked at the English pronunciation listed on the name's page and realized the stress is actually on the first syllable.
Not the first time I've been mispronouncing a name in my head though (just recently I found out that Leon is pronounced LEE-on and not lay-AWN).
Has this happened to any of you guys too?
Not the first time I've been mispronouncing a name in my head though (just recently I found out that Leon is pronounced LEE-on and not lay-AWN).
Has this happened to any of you guys too?
Replies
Both names are pronounced that way in some languages, so you weren't wrong.
In my case it concernes
Anais- AN-NA-EES instead of Ann-nice
Thais- TIES instead of TAH-EES
Nike- NEE-keh instead of Naik
Niharika- NEE-HAHR-reeka instead of NEE-ha-reeka
Anais- AN-NA-EES instead of Ann-nice
Thais- TIES instead of TAH-EES
Nike- NEE-keh instead of Naik
Niharika- NEE-HAHR-reeka instead of NEE-ha-reeka
In French, it is pronounced AH-nah-EEZ. I have never heard this pronounced Ann-nice. That would be Annice.
In central america Anais is pronounced more like an-EYE-ees.
I believe Ariane was listing the correct pronunciations first.
I don't see why Basil can't be pronounced that way
Gilda ... yeah. It was just recently someone drew attention to the BtN pronunciation, and I noticed that mine is wrong.
However, Gilda Radner's name really is pronounced with a G as in gain, and came from the movie Gilda, in which it was pronounced like that.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gWaQxLcTDIs
Gilda Radner is actually the only Gilda I've ever heard of. But I'll bet that a lot, maybe most, of American Gildas pronounce their name with a G as in gain.
I wonder where the movie's writers got the wrong pronunciation.
I made a post on Facts asking if anyone knows of it being used in a language where the G was like in gain.
However, Gilda Radner's name really is pronounced with a G as in gain, and came from the movie Gilda, in which it was pronounced like that.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gWaQxLcTDIs
Gilda Radner is actually the only Gilda I've ever heard of. But I'll bet that a lot, maybe most, of American Gildas pronounce their name with a G as in gain.
I wonder where the movie's writers got the wrong pronunciation.
I made a post on Facts asking if anyone knows of it being used in a language where the G was like in gain.
This message was edited 4/19/2024, 11:18 PM
I said Basil that way forever too. Still do in my head.
For the longest time I pronounced Giles with a hard G. I think it sounds better that way.
I thought Alastair was ‘AL-ah-stair’ (rhyming with air), and I was pretty disappointed when I realized but I now prefer the correct pronunciation.
So many times
Aloysius as "al-oy-see-is" instead of "al-o-ish-is"
Alana as "uh-lah-na" instead of "uh-lan-a"
Leland as "leh-lind" instead of "lee-lind"
Xavier as "ex-ay-vee-er" instead of "zay-vee-er"
Micheala as "my-kull-uh" instead of "mi-kay-la"
Ambrose as "am-brohs" instead of "am-brahz"
Any Japanese name with "hide" in it is "KHEE-DEH", not "hee-deh". Hideko. Hideki. Hideaki.
In Japanese names ending in "Ji" I mispronounced them as "Jee" instead of "ZHEE". In Jiro and Jirota, it is "jee" because it's at the beginning.
Aloysius as "al-oy-see-is" instead of "al-o-ish-is"
Alana as "uh-lah-na" instead of "uh-lan-a"
Leland as "leh-lind" instead of "lee-lind"
Xavier as "ex-ay-vee-er" instead of "zay-vee-er"
Micheala as "my-kull-uh" instead of "mi-kay-la"
Ambrose as "am-brohs" instead of "am-brahz"
Any Japanese name with "hide" in it is "KHEE-DEH", not "hee-deh". Hideko. Hideki. Hideaki.
In Japanese names ending in "Ji" I mispronounced them as "Jee" instead of "ZHEE". In Jiro and Jirota, it is "jee" because it's at the beginning.
Ex-ay-vee-er and uh-lah-na aren't wrong. They're both acceptable pronunciations for those names.
This message was edited 4/20/2024, 2:03 PM
I always want to pronounce Xavier as “ex-ay-vee-er” too.
I've never heard "am-brahz". Or did you mean the S instead of Z? Like you rhymed it with gross instead of with doze?
I can't read the pronunciation for shit, my bad... To clarify, I read it with an S. So like gross instead of doze.
I still prefer "al-oy-see-us".
I've only ever heard Alana as "uh-lah-na", there's no way that's wrong!
I've also only ever heard Ambrose with a long "oh"
I've only ever heard Alana as "uh-lah-na", there's no way that's wrong!
I've also only ever heard Ambrose with a long "oh"
In French it's a soft ''C''. We say ''See-reel''. But I agree that even Sye-ril would be better in English than the hard ''C''.
I also mispronounced Cyril and liked it more that way lol. I'm pretty sure I've heard Muriel pronounced that first way before though - might be a regional variant or something.
I'm learning new things from you... Muriel is worse than I thought. I guess I won't be using Cyril for a child, either. :[
This is misspelling more than mispronouncing but for a long time I thought Cressida had an "n" in it and I pronounced it cress-IN-da. I never questioned it because it seemed to go with Melinda, Belinda, Clarinda, Lucinda, etc. I still think Cressinda should exist but at some point I realized that the name I'd been reading as Cressinda my whole life was actually Cressida.
I wouldn't necessarily call that mispronounciation.
I'm sure there are a lot of names that I pronounce differently from people with other accents. Caroline, for example...I say the 1st syllable as KAIR or KEHR neither of which are even listed as possible pronunciations on BtN, but that's also what people around me would say, including the people named Caroline I have met (and I'm a native English speaker). I don't normally imitate a French accent to say Giselle, but I pronounce my own middle name more French than the typical English way. I pronounce Penelope the English way, not the classical Greek way. Occasionally I see my intuitve pronunciation is more German, Dutch, Spanish, or French than "English" according to BtN, but whatever.
If a name seems totally unfamiliar to me, I do try to learn/imitate the language it originates from. And I would try to say a person's name how they do, but that's not "correct" just individual.
I'm sure there are a lot of names that I pronounce differently from people with other accents. Caroline, for example...I say the 1st syllable as KAIR or KEHR neither of which are even listed as possible pronunciations on BtN, but that's also what people around me would say, including the people named Caroline I have met (and I'm a native English speaker). I don't normally imitate a French accent to say Giselle, but I pronounce my own middle name more French than the typical English way. I pronounce Penelope the English way, not the classical Greek way. Occasionally I see my intuitve pronunciation is more German, Dutch, Spanish, or French than "English" according to BtN, but whatever.
If a name seems totally unfamiliar to me, I do try to learn/imitate the language it originates from. And I would try to say a person's name how they do, but that's not "correct" just individual.
This message was edited 4/19/2024, 12:15 PM
That's the only pronunciation of Caroline/Karoline I've ever heard. The way this website lists pronunciations makes no sense sometimes.
I think what's listed is more British? I feel like I've heard it in movies.
This message was edited 4/19/2024, 12:32 PM
Elowen and Ceridwen.
I always read them as "EL-low-en" and "KEH-rid-wen," but then I saw that Ceridwen is "keh-RID-wen."
And Elowen apparently (according to the comments anyway) rhymes with Rowan. "el-LOW-en." A lowin'. El Owen.
I like them my way better, and that makes it harder to learn the right way.
I always read them as "EL-low-en" and "KEH-rid-wen," but then I saw that Ceridwen is "keh-RID-wen."
And Elowen apparently (according to the comments anyway) rhymes with Rowan. "el-LOW-en." A lowin'. El Owen.
I like them my way better, and that makes it harder to learn the right way.
I wonder if the d in Ceridwen would sound softer in Welsh. In Gwydion, the d sounds almost like a th with a Welsh accent.
Hmm. https://forvo.com/search/ceridwen/cy/
Both this and the English pronunciation people recorded, sound like neither keh-RID-wen nor KER-rid-wen, but like keh-ri-DWEN. Interesting
I can't tell that the d is a th - if it is, then it is too short for me to hear it. An English th would be more obvious. I can kinda tell that it's a th in this one: https://forvo.com/search/Gwydion/cy/ although there are 2 pronunciations there and one has a d. Maybe it's a regional thing. I guess in Welsh people make the d sound closer to their teeth generally tho.
Both this and the English pronunciation people recorded, sound like neither keh-RID-wen nor KER-rid-wen, but like keh-ri-DWEN. Interesting
I can't tell that the d is a th - if it is, then it is too short for me to hear it. An English th would be more obvious. I can kinda tell that it's a th in this one: https://forvo.com/search/Gwydion/cy/ although there are 2 pronunciations there and one has a d. Maybe it's a regional thing. I guess in Welsh people make the d sound closer to their teeth generally tho.
This message was edited 4/19/2024, 1:19 PM
Yeah, I didn't mean actually a TH. I think it sounds less harsh than the English, though.
I also thought both were pronounced with the stress on the first syllable. It would make more sense...
I think in Welsh, the stress usually falls on the 2nd to last (penultimate) syllable? also apparently in Cornish.
This message was edited 4/19/2024, 1:30 PM
Oh yeah, I definitely say EL-ow-en and the only one I've ever met pronounced it that way too.
I'm halfway between KER-id-wen and ker-ID-wen.
I'm halfway between KER-id-wen and ker-ID-wen.
Yeah, Ceridwen with emphasis on the second syllable makes more sense than Elowen with stress in the middle.
Wait, what, I thought the same as you for Elowen. EL-o-wen is prettier, I agree.
Not the whole time but Malachy which I fist saw in Angela's Ashes. My barin would say "Mama-kee."
Mala-kee*****
Isn't that how it's pronounced?
Well, BTN says it's a variant of Maolsheachlann, so I'm not sure.
According to the comments, it's MAL-ə-kee.
I heard it on a person -- Malak-eye"
Then I googled and it is "Mala-kee"
I was right the whole time?
Then I googled and it is "Mala-kee"
I was right the whole time?
That first pronunciation is appropriate for Malachi.
I'm a french speaker, so there is tons of names I have mispronounced. Hahaha!
Just the fact the Maria and Mariah is different went completly over my head for years. In french ''h'' are more often silent. So the fact that it was placed after the ''a'' made no different for my brain. For a long time I thought it was just like... an spelling choice. (LOL)
Same with Mary and Marie. I still don't understand why the ending (''ry'' or ''rie'') changes the way the ''Ma'' is pronounced. I mean, I have learned it so I know that Marie is closer to ''Meh-ree'', but it's mainly because people told me how to say it. My brain still wants to say the open ''Mah''.
These are just examples I got on the spot. I'm sure there are tons more I am mispronouncing in my head.
Just the fact the Maria and Mariah is different went completly over my head for years. In french ''h'' are more often silent. So the fact that it was placed after the ''a'' made no different for my brain. For a long time I thought it was just like... an spelling choice. (LOL)
Same with Mary and Marie. I still don't understand why the ending (''ry'' or ''rie'') changes the way the ''Ma'' is pronounced. I mean, I have learned it so I know that Marie is closer to ''Meh-ree'', but it's mainly because people told me how to say it. My brain still wants to say the open ''Mah''.
These are just examples I got on the spot. I'm sure there are tons more I am mispronouncing in my head.
If it helps, my middle name is Marie and my mum's name uses Marie also. We both say Ma-ree, rather then Me-ree. My boyfriend's mum also has Marie in her name. I think this might be a locallised pronunciation of Marie (from the North of England) more than anything. If anything it might be even more specific to the area in which I live as we were all born here, but I won't reveal that part
- Magpie, being too lazy to log in
- Magpie, being too lazy to log in
I used to think the emphasis was on the second syllable of Declan. I've still never heard the name IRL.
I've only met one or two and they were like DECK-lin. (where the i is meant to be a schwa but I'm lazy)