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Re: which pronunciation of Clara do you prefer?
I live in America and have only ever heard it pronounced CLAYR-uh. But what's really interesting is this:Cara = CAHR-uh
Clara = CLAYR-uh
Lara = LAHR-uh
Mara = MAHR-uh
Sara = SAYR-uh
Tara = TAYR-uh
Zara = ZAHR-uh
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Do you pronounce the 1st syllable of Caroline as CAHR, too? I've usually heard it said as KEHR which isn't even listed on BtN.I've heard Americans say Cara and Tara with both pronunciations.There's also Clarissa, Marissa, Larissa. I would say kla-riss-uh, which is I guess could be why Clara as CLAYR-uh feels awkward to me.

This message was edited 2/19/2024, 10:24 PM

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No, I say CAYR-oh-line. I find it extremely strange that's not listed on here considering that's the only pronunciation I've ever heard in the US??? I feel like the pronunciation guides on this website don't make any sense.I pronounce those completely differently. I say cluh-RISS-uh, muh-RISS-uh, luh-RISS-uh.
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The only one I disagree with you on is Cara. I pronounce both Cara and Kara as KEHR-ə.
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Yeah, I think both pronunciations are equally common.
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That is interesting. I would pronounce all of those names with the AHR sound instinctively, although I do recognize that other people might pronounce Clara, Sara, and Tara with the AYR sound. CLAYR-uh seems like an alternative pronunciation of CLAHR-uh to me, whereas to get SAYR-uh I feel as though it should be spelled Sarah and Sara is SAHR-uh. I hate the pronunciation TAYR-uh for Tara; it drives me crazy. Terra I would pronounce TAYR-uh, but I'm not a big fan of that name.(For reference: I live in Texas but I grew up in the UK and have a British accent. My parents are from different parts of the US. So my vocabulary and pronunciation influence is a bit jumbled.)
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