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Original poster

Xavier - pronunciation

40 replies

heron20 · 07/05/2020 10:37

Someone has named their baby Xavier.

Lovely name.

However they are pronouncing it Eks-ayv-eer

Surely it should be more French zzhav-ee-ay? Or Spanish hav-ee-air?

Should I keep my mouth shut?

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Quartz2208 · 08/05/2020 14:34

@daisypond yes there are two way to phonetically say x and for the most part the the /z/ one is more common. But that doesnt make it wrong though

\some googling found this

poll: How do you pronounce the name?
ZAY-vee-er (and I'm from the US) : (150 votes)
26 %
ZAY-vee-er (and I'm from Britain, Canada, Australia, or elsewhere) : (79 votes)
14 %
eck-ZAY-vee-er (and I'm from the US) : (273 votes)
47 %
eck-ZAY-vee-er (and I'm from Britain, Canada, Australia, or elsewhere) : (73 votes)
13 %
575 votes

bellinisurge · 08/05/2020 13:52

Javi - when I lived in Catalunya

ReinventingMe · 08/05/2020 13:07

Some of my Basque rellies pronounce it "Sab - ee - air"

YinMnBlue · 08/05/2020 13:06

Ex-ay-vier is just stupid. You don't pronounce Xander as "Eks-ander" or Xanthe as "Eks-anthee

It’s only a matter of time Wink

Edenember · 08/05/2020 12:59

@Whathappenedtothelego absolutely agreed.

Whathappenedtothelego · 08/05/2020 12:16

One of my dad's old school friends is pronounced eks-avier.
He's in his late seventies, (and not American - actually Irish catholic background, named for St Francis Xavier.) Nothing to do with X men. I always assumed his was the 'normal' pronunciation growing up. It is perfectly fine, normal and natural for different cultures to pronounce names in different ways, or indeed multiple ways.

Edenember · 08/05/2020 11:56

Love how everyone is treating language as this static and immovable thing - its ever evolving. So if different pronunciations have evolved, they have and they exist, you dont have to like it.

daisypond · 08/05/2020 10:20

But the phonetic sound for x in English is ks
The name of the letter does not equate to the phonetic sound. Words starting with x in English make a z sound phonetically. Xylophone. Xander. Xenophobia. Xerox. Only if you pronounce the letter x as a word in its own right - like x-ray - do you say ks. You don’t say William is pronounced double-yoo-illiam.

Parsley1234 · 08/05/2020 10:12

I love Xavier nn Xavi but ive just been put off 😳

Quartz2208 · 08/05/2020 10:08

But the phonetic sound for x in English is ks so isn’t it just using the English x sound rather than the French or Spanish

We don’t question the Spanish/Portuguese differences in Jorge because we allow cultural differences

This is a US one that doesn’t make it wrong

daisypond · 07/05/2020 23:12

The difference between potayto potahto etc is a change in how the vowels are pronounced and happens everywhere, even as regional accents. Changing the consonant so radically is very different. It alters the word. Would people say exander for Xander?

Quartz2208 · 07/05/2020 22:35

@daisypond but there are at least two ways of saying bath/scone etc

Hell there is a whole song about tomato/potato/either/neither

So yes sometimes there are just different way in different cultures. This (like it or not) is an X men American driven way of pronouncing it

MillicentMartha · 07/05/2020 20:19

I learnt it in my French lessons. It was the name of one of the characters in the book We learnt from so I’ve always said Ksav ee ay.

daisypond · 07/05/2020 19:53

It isnt wrong its just another way.
So do you say ex-ylophone and say it’s not wrong, just another way?

popcorndiva · 07/05/2020 19:30

Love this name. Top pick if I have another boy in the future and we will be going down the French route. Won't mind if people pronounce it differently though

JKScot4 · 07/05/2020 19:26

Saviour with a Z

Quartz2208 · 07/05/2020 19:25

Yep its in american pronouncation made popular by X men

It isnt wrong its just another way.

LochJessMonster · 07/05/2020 19:19

It’s not being pronounced ‘wrongly’ Hmm Different names are pronounced differently in different countries.

Have-e-air- is French.
Eks-aiv-e-er like Professor Xavier in the Xmen movies is an Americanised version. It’s not wrong.

GreyishDays · 07/05/2020 19:18

Sorry, that was to AmandaHolden

GreyishDays · 07/05/2020 19:18

How is that wrong, though? It’s just a shortening of the French pronounciation. I know a French one and we called him Zav.

Sulkypatsy · 07/05/2020 19:17

Is the Spanish have--ee-ay not Javier rather than xaviour. Where I'm from xaviour is pronounced x-ay-vee-or.

AmandaHoldensLips · 07/05/2020 19:15

My neighbour's son is called Xavier and they pronounce it wrongly too. However the mother shouts "Zavvy! Zavvy!" out of the door. Urgh.

Wanderlust21 · 07/05/2020 19:15

I would say zave-yar. Or x-zave-yar.

Original poster
heron20 · 07/05/2020 19:12

Thank you for all replies.

I won't say anything to the couple.

I still think it's wrong though.

OP posts:
Edenember · 07/05/2020 18:34

@heron20 I think there’s several ways to say this name and you can pick the one you prefer- I would say it like the French until told otherwise, but Americanised pronounciation is Ecks- avier

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