How would you pronounce Dahlia?

lazy

Yes, most people who have encountered this problem before probably have read the thread and thought "oh yeah, she means dah, not darrr".

But clearly there are non rhotic speakers who don't think things through very well either...? You know? Not wanting to pick on anyone, but there was a pp who said, even after the issue had been discussed, "I don't see how dar can be anything but dah" or something.

So, why would it surprise anyone that someone with a rhotic accent who just happened across the op wouldn't immediately think "oh I must put on an accent completely different to my own when I read this".

Thanks for the education. I am a Rhotic speaker. I stand by what I said, the word Darlia, as the OP wrote it, pronounced by a rhotic speaker would sound horrendous.

Except the OP is talking about Dahlia, not Darlia. She mentioned Dar Lee Uh because she has a non-rhotic accent and dar is her way of describing dah...

lazylinguist I get that people with some accents don't pronounce Rs, though it's not something I consciously thought of on opening the thread. What I don't get is why, if you don't even pronounce it, you'd add it into the phonetic spelling. That's what confused me. I'm not trying to offend anyone and was a bit puzzled to get replies like "there's always one."

Day-lee-ah, like the flower

Yep, I'm totally baffled that there can be rhotic-speakers who aren't aware of non-rhotic pronunciation, and vice versa. How can anyone live in the British Isles and not be aware of it? I mean ok, maybe you might not have given it any conscious thought, but when the 'r' issue comes up, surely you just imagine the word as pronounced by a Scottish or RP English person and all becomes clear?

Yeah, it’s a flower name, you’re in England, hence the “correct” pronunciation is like the English pronunciation of the flower.

The vampire in Buffy was Darla btw.

You're naming your daughter after a flower. People will assume the pronunciation is the same as the flower. Day-lee-a.

Rhotic speakers don't add extraneous Rs

Thanks for the education. I am a Rhotic speaker. I stand by what I said, the word Darlia, as the OP wrote it, pronounced by a rhotic speaker would sound horrendous.

A rotic Darlia would be horrendous.

Rhotic speakers don't add extraneous Rs

I have a feeling flowery is having a go at me here as I asked about the 'r'. I'm Irish and it didn't sound right to me. I'm not trying to insinuate anything!

I agree with Fatkins:

But obviously, when a lot of mumsnetters; people not from England, some people with west country accents etc were saying they are not the same.

The op on this case is trying to spell out the name phonetically, so it would make more sense not to include the r as many people will read that as darrr Lee ah! Which clearly isn't right.

It's a flower name, so it's pronounced like the flower.

I'm a rhotic speaker and I remember being utterly flummoxed the first time I saw people sticking random Rs in the middle of words. I genuinely wasn't being disingenuous I just didn't get it.

I finally worked it out when I tried to pronounce things with a put on English accent and realised to me it's like an enlongated A sound

Op I think it's a beautiful name but also automatically think of the murder. It's very famous and gruesome

Surely it's that people with rhotic accents pronounce rs that are there, which non-rhotic speakers don't? Like the Alistair example mentioned above. Not that rhotic speakers put an r in a word where there isn't one?

That's the 'intrusive r' which is often a feature of speech in the SE, hence that well known character Laura Norder, often mentioned by newsreaders and politicians. And the children's fictional character Ameliaranne.

I know the name of the flower is pronounced 'DAY-lee-uh', but almost every time I've seen it used as a name it's been pronounced 'DAR-lee-uh'. Despite the name of the flower, if I met someone with the name I would naturally say 'DAR-lee-uh'.

Day lee a

The Indian lentil dish darl you mean 😂

Dahlia to me is always pronounced like the Indian lentil dish Dhal.

I’ve taught a few Dahlia’s and have never come across a Daylia. I’ve only heard that pronunciation when pertaining to flowers and I don’t like the sound at all. Dahlia as in the Ah sound is much nicer.

A rotic Darlia would be horrendous.

@flowery

I remember a thread where someone was discussing the names Safiya (pronounced sa-fy-a) and sapphire. One poster was hopping mad and adamant that they were clean exactly the same name "how can ANYONE say differently? What are you talking about? They sound exactly the same". But obviously, when a lot of mumsnetters; people not from England, some people with west country accents etc were saying they are not the same.

The op on this case is trying to spell out the name phonetically, so it would make more sense not to include the r as many people will read that as darrr Lee ah! Which clearly isn't right.

To you it's obvious what the op means. To others it may not be.

People pretending they have never heard a non-rhotic accent:

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/a3085438-How-would-you-pronounce-this-name#73328317

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/3369183-To-ask-how-you-would-pronounce-this-name

I read it as day-lee-ya even though when I read your OP I can see how Dah-lee-ya makes more phonetic sense.
Think I just autocorrected in my mind to the flower.
For the record I really like the proncounciation you have. It’s pretty. Think there was a vampire with this name in Buffy 😂 Don’t worry that is a niche connotation though!

It's a flower name so Day-lee-ah.

"So, when people say dah and dar are exactly the same, they're right, but only for some English accents. In some West country, Lancastrian and all Irish and Scottish accents, the r is pronounced."

The difference is when someone who has a rhotic accent pretends they have no idea why someone uses an r to describe pronunciation. I have a non-rhotic accent but I am perfectly aware that some English and Irish/Scottish etc accents, the r is fully pronounced.

Irritates me when someone comes on saying all disingenuous "Why are you saying you pronounce bath as barth, when there's no r in it?".

Imagine star in a London accent though. It's stah. I know a few Alistahs, when in Scotland they would be Alistair with the r pronounced properly .

So, when people say dah and dar are exactly the same, they're right, but only for some English accents. In some West country, Lancastrian and all Irish and Scottish accents, the r is pronounced.

Other English speaking countries have these differences too. I. Australia star is stah. In America star is star with the r pronounced.

Give the child a break and call her something she won't have to correct half the time.