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Original poster

Amalie - a chavvy misspelling of Amelie?

39 replies

EdininiaMonsoon · 16/08/2020 16:42

My husband is Tamil (Indian) and we need a Tamil name that English people (including myself) will be able to pronounce easily.

I really like Amalie, but there's no set spelling for it in the Roman alphabet, and we need a spelling that will encounter the least mispronunciation.

It's essentially the same as the French Amelie, but my husband insists the second syllable is an 'a' not an 'e' (even though they sound the same in this context). People would also assume it's just the French name if we spell it that way.

My question is, would you pronounce Amalie the same as Amelie, or would you assume it's Am-aa-li? And if it's pronounced the same as Amelie, does Amalie look like a chavvy misspelling that's been done just to look interesting?

I'm also open to any other less ambiguous spelling suggestions...

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JanewaysBun · 18/08/2020 09:44

I know an EE + Asian Tara and it works well for her fam, it's a really pretty name in itself which is the most important thing.

Also if you have some Irish in you then connects to that side too. Easy for anyone on the planet to say and doesn't look "wrong"

Amalie I would expect to be the sister of nevaeh sorry!

Waiohwai · 17/08/2020 20:08

@mrsm43s

I think it depends to an extent where you live.

I'm in the South East with a fairly neutral southern accent (not heavily Sarf London), and I would pronounce Amelie, Amalie and Amali as A-muh-lee, with the "muh" bit said very quickly. Perhaps there would be a slight different "meh" or "muh", but I think you'd have to be listening very hard and carefully to hear the difference. Other regional accents are likely to vary, and the difference might be more pronounced.

This. I am really struggling to understand the people saying they would pronounce the middle syllable in Amalie / Amelie differently but that they would stress the first syllable: as soon as I pronounce the a in Amalie, that syllable becomes the one I stress.
CatteStreet · 17/08/2020 19:57

Tara's nice and very international, and isn't going to be mispronounced.

CatteStreet · 17/08/2020 19:56

I'd pronounce it Amahliuh like the German name of that spelling. If clarity of spelling/pronunciation is important to you, I'd go back to the drawing board tbh.

MikeUniformMike · 17/08/2020 19:38

How about Amalia?

katy1213 · 16/08/2020 18:56

Amélie should have an accent which makes pronunciation clear - but good luck getting people to manage that!
Preciousssss is best left to Gollum.

Joolsin · 16/08/2020 18:51

@whereorwhere

I like it and I would pronounce it AM -ah-Lee
Yes, me too
Original poster
EdininiaMonsoon · 16/08/2020 18:49

@babychange12

What about Kareena Lavanya Leena Tara Trisha
Thanks - I like Lavanya, but it happens to be the name of a male cousin. Might push for it as a last resort.
OP posts:
babychange12 · 16/08/2020 18:42

What about
Kareena
Lavanya
Leena
Tara
Trisha

Paddingtonthebear · 16/08/2020 18:38

I know a late thirties Amalie and it’s pronounced Am-ARRlie

WinterAndRoughWeather · 16/08/2020 18:35

The one I know pronounces it like that - Emily with As.

whereorwhere · 16/08/2020 18:31

I like it and I would pronounce it AM -ah-Lee

WinterAndRoughWeather · 16/08/2020 18:26

I know an Amalie OP - she is from the most English family you could imagine, and really quite posh. I don’t see it as chavvy at all.

Viennasienna · 16/08/2020 18:24

I know someone that had a similar problem.

In their culture it was pronounced more like:

Emelee/amel-lee

But they realised that Amelie in English is pronounced with a strong AM - mel-lee

So they just went with Emily in the end- as when you say the name quickly it sounds more like Emily.

Could you use Emily?

Original poster
EdininiaMonsoon · 16/08/2020 18:12

If you are looking for a phonetic spelling then how about Ammalie? It is clearly different from Amelie and gives you the nickname of Amma. Or Ammalee also works, but has two double letters.

Thanks @peajotter. I do want a phonetic spelling as I have a horribly complicated name and have always had to explain it, to the point I've just stopped correcting people on the phone etc. now. I don't want to do the same to my daughter!

Amma actually means mother in Tamil, but it could work Grin.

OP posts:
Original poster
EdininiaMonsoon · 16/08/2020 17:55

Thanks for all of the comments so far. It looks like lots of people would say 'Am-ah-li', so we'd probably have to go with Amelie and just have people thinking it's French (although the accented 'e' is another issue!).

I came across the German Amalie (pronounced 'Am-ah-lia') while researching the other today, but hoped it was too rare here for a mix up. It's very pretty, but unfortunately not Tamil.

It's been an absolute bugger finding a Tamil name 😩.

OP posts:
Whatthebloodyell · 16/08/2020 17:40

I would pronounce it in the way that she was introduced to me! I’ve taught for over 20 years and on the first day have read out unfamiliar names and pronounced them incorrectly. The child has corrected me and that was that, after that I said it correctly. The vast, vast majority of other people I meet, I am being introduced to them and hearing their name before I see it written down so I know how to pronounce it correctly right from the start.

mrsm43s · 16/08/2020 17:35

I think it depends to an extent where you live.

I'm in the South East with a fairly neutral southern accent (not heavily Sarf London), and I would pronounce Amelie, Amalie and Amali as A-muh-lee, with the "muh" bit said very quickly. Perhaps there would be a slight different "meh" or "muh", but I think you'd have to be listening very hard and carefully to hear the difference. Other regional accents are likely to vary, and the difference might be more pronounced.

TheRosariojewels · 16/08/2020 17:35

I wouldn’t think it was a misspelling of Amelie, but I would assume it is pronounced differently.

PatchworkElmer · 16/08/2020 17:33

It’s a nice name but I would pronounce it differently to Amelie.

peajotter · 16/08/2020 17:29

If you are looking for a phonetic spelling then how about Ammalie? It is clearly different from Amelie and gives you the nickname of Amma. Or Ammalee also works, but has two double letters.

I’m afraid when is saw Amalie I did think “wrong spelling of Amelie”. I wouldn’t have thought that if I knew she was mixed race, but there are a lot of white kids around here with interesting spellings of common names so I jumped to a conclusion. (I am aware that this is racist/classist but I’m being honest about my prejudice, and I think it’s quite a common view in our society).

Fleabagster · 16/08/2020 17:27

My niece is Amalia and she is French/Polish. It’s a lovely name. X

Spied · 16/08/2020 17:26

I'd pronounce them the same but I'd definitely Hmm the Amalie spelling thinking you were trying to be a bit 'different'.

Supersimkin2 · 16/08/2020 17:26

Amalia is pron A-Maaaaah-Lia.

Amalie looks pretty but not sure anyone will get it right first time.

My fave Hindu name means beautiful in Tamil but does't translate that well = Charvie Grin

Pippilangstrumpfie · 16/08/2020 17:26

Amelie - Ah me lee
Amalie - Ah ma lee
Both emphasise the first syllable.

Amelia - Ah mee lee ah
Amalia - Ah ma lee ah
Both stress the second syllable.

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