Active discussions

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Baby names

Find baby name inspiration and advice on the Mumsnet Baby Names forum.

Original poster

How do you pronounce Beatrice?

59 replies

Difficultchoice · 16/11/2015 10:12

beer-triss or bee-a-triss

Or some other way?

OP posts:
Are your children’s vaccines up to date?
Set a reminder
IoraRua · 16/11/2015 16:24

If you pronounce

ThenLaterWhenItGotDark · 16/11/2015 16:22

Bee and beer do not sound the same, of course they don't. One has one syllable and the other has two.

But Beer-triss and Bee-a-triss do. Unless the OP is pronouncing that middle A like the A in cat. Which I doubt.

timelytess · 16/11/2015 15:47

Bee and Beer do not sound the same. Lancashire born and bred.
You can drown your sorrows by swallowing beer. Swallowing a bee is a whole different ball game.

MitzyLeFrouf · 16/11/2015 15:45
Hmm

The whole bloody point is that 'bee' and 'beer' don't sound the same to everybody. They may to you, they don't to me.

ThenLaterWhenItGotDark · 16/11/2015 15:41

They do sound the same because they are the same!

Hipotle · 16/11/2015 15:40

I know of a Beatrice in a Scandinavian country who gets called Bay-a-treece. It sounds lovely when you hear it!

MitzyLeFrouf · 16/11/2015 15:35

I know!

You said 'What exactly would be the difference between beer-triss and bee-a-triss?' implying they both sound the same to you.

ThenLaterWhenItGotDark · 16/11/2015 15:33

But rhotic accents don't add a R where there isn't one! They just pronounce one where there is! /car/ /bar/ as opposed to a non-rhotic /ca:/ /ba:/ etc.

timelytess · 16/11/2015 15:18

beer-triss or if I'm being careful, bee-triss.
the r is for the a in bea.

if it were my girl, I'd want her to be Bee-triss not Beer-triss.

if Beatrice is Bee-triss, why is Beata 'Bay ah tah'

SevenOfNineTrue · 16/11/2015 15:17

Bee-a-triss

MitzyLeFrouf · 16/11/2015 15:16

You asked 'What exactly would be the difference between beer-triss and bee-a-triss?'. I've tried to explain that there's a big difference for people with rhotic accents.

Beer-triss sounds nothing like bee-a-triss in my accent.

BBQsAreSooooOverrated · 16/11/2015 15:16

Bee a triss

ThenLaterWhenItGotDark · 16/11/2015 15:14

"Exactly. That's why 'beer-triss' makes no sense to me."

Which is why I asked what the difference was between the two in the OP Grin

MitzyLeFrouf · 16/11/2015 15:14

But I know that people with non-rhotic accents don't pronounce the r in 'beer', hence posters saying they pronounce Beatrice as beer-triss.

ThenLaterWhenItGotDark · 16/11/2015 15:13

In fact, the only variation I've ever heard (obviously apart from actual foreign pronunciations like the Italian one above) have been in the final syllable where some pronounce it /tris/ and some with a slightly more neutral schwa sound.

MitzyLeFrouf · 16/11/2015 15:12

'As there is no (letter) R in Beatrice, no-one is going to add a /r/ sound surely?'

Exactly. That's why 'beer-triss' makes no sense to me.

ThenLaterWhenItGotDark · 16/11/2015 15:11

(no letter R in the first syllable, clearly, even us northerners can see the one in the second Wink)

ThenLaterWhenItGotDark · 16/11/2015 15:10

I'm not from the south-east either.

As there is no (letter) R in Beatrice, no-one is going to add a /r/ sound surely?

IoraRua · 16/11/2015 15:01

I'm Irish, I'd pronounce it Bee-a-triss. Or Bee-triss, possibly.

MitzyLeFrouf · 16/11/2015 14:50

Like a Worzel?

Or maybe an Irish person, a Scottish person, an American person.........

Not everyone is from the South East of England! Some people are quite fond of pronouncing their 'r's you know.

Sunshine511 · 16/11/2015 14:50

Well I'm Scottish and beer-triss and bee-a-triss sound very different, I suppose it depends on the accent.

I would say bee-a-triss Smile

mirren3 · 16/11/2015 14:49

I have an aunt Beatrice, we all call her Beet-ris. No "r"or "a" in the middle, don't know if it makes any difference, but we're Scottish.

ThenLaterWhenItGotDark · 16/11/2015 14:48

What exactly would be the difference between beer-triss and bee-a-triss?

Unless we are pronouncing "beer" like a Worzel?

PrimalLass · 16/11/2015 14:42

Bee-a-triss

Reiltin · 16/11/2015 14:35

Bee-a-tris