Page 3 | Thoughts on the baby name Carla with Spanish pronunciation?

FLAMENCOQUEEN · 2026-08-06T10:22:21+00:00

In Spanish i love it - it reminds me of ELITE (A show i like) and carla from scrubs, but i prefer ELITE pronounciation (CARR-LAH) - in english i dont like it, too old lady lol _______ thoughts????? coming back to me after watching Elite and a few videos on leanring spanish

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DeeNiall · 08/08/2026 14:05

@RaraRachael , Alba is not AL-buh but AL-uh-ba, in some accents world is WUR-uhld.

RaraRachael · 08/08/2026 14:00

DeeNiall · 08/08/2026 13:27

@RaraRachael , It is but in strange places like world and Alba.

Sorry I don't understand

DeeNiall · 08/08/2026 13:27

@RaraRachael , It is but in strange places like world and Alba.

RaraRachael · 08/08/2026 13:23

From what I've read, the schwa sound isn't normal in a Scottish accent.
We'd say Car-ah, not Car-uh.

I'd always wondered why posters described a word as having an uh sound when I'd have said ah.
Now I know.

DeeNiall · 08/08/2026 13:01

HelpmaBoabb · 07/08/2026 23:28

How can Cara have the "schwa" sound ??

It's Cara.

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@HelpmaBoabb , The usual British pronunciation is Ca-ruh, the uh sound is the schwa.

In ˈkɑːrə, the ' indicates the stressed syllable, the ka is the Ca sound, the : shows where the next syllable starts, and the rə is the ruh sound.
In other words, the usual British pronunciation is KA-ruh.

FunnyOrca · 08/08/2026 12:24

HelpmaBoabb · 07/08/2026 22:51

I have no idea what this "schwa" sound is and I'm Scottish.

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It’s from linguistics and it’s used to describe the most common vowel sound in English. I’ve explained it a few times up thread. Wikipedia also has a good explanation. You may never have heard of it, but if you were to read this post aloud you would make it at least 7 times.

DeeNiall · 07/08/2026 23:39

ˈkɑːrə
The name Cara is pronounced as /ˈkɑːrə/. This phonetic transcription indicates the sound of the word in the International Phonetic Alphabet.

HelpmaBoabb · 07/08/2026 23:28

DeeNiall · 07/08/2026 23:07

@HelpmaBoabb , Schwa Sound | English Pronunciation

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How can Cara have the "schwa" sound ??

It's Cara.

DeeNiall · 07/08/2026 23:07

HelpmaBoabb · 07/08/2026 22:51

I have no idea what this "schwa" sound is and I'm Scottish.

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@HelpmaBoabb , Schwa Sound | English Pronunciation

HelpmaBoabb · 07/08/2026 22:51

FunnyOrca · 06/08/2026 14:17

It’s not though because in a Scottish accent, while you will get the rolled R, you still get the schwa sound with the a meaning it’s actually quite ugly.

Cara in a Scottish accent gets the schwa on the last a rather than the first and sounds much prettier.

Unfortunately OP, because Carla is a commonly known name in English you won’t be able to dictate the pronunciation.

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I have no idea what this "schwa" sound is and I'm Scottish.

DeeNiall · 07/08/2026 22:46

User6761 · 07/08/2026 22:36

Interesting. I say all these names in your 'not as' way! (West coast Scotland accent).

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Which is why I said "It might not apply in your local accent."

User6761 · 07/08/2026 22:36

DeeNiall · 07/08/2026 12:06

It's the 'uh' sound you get for vowels in unstressed syllable in words in English.
For example, Ian is said as Ee-un not EE-an, Emma is said as EMM-uh not EMM-ah, Simon is said as SIGH-mun not SIGH-mon

Mid central vowel - Wikipedia

It might not apply in your local accent.

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Interesting. I say all these names in your 'not as' way! (West coast Scotland accent).

DeeNiall · 07/08/2026 22:28

@FunnyOrca , It's not interesting when somebody reads my 'I say EMM-ah.' as "Because then it would be a stressed a. Emm-A! And would sort of imply surprise or a foreign accent. "
I used uppercase to indicate the syllable I stress.

It wasn't a Kit Kat, it was a 'Kit-KAT!!!'. A .
I am a native English speaker but not English. Not all British people are English and many of us have regional accents.

FunnyOrca · 07/08/2026 19:31

DeeNiall · 07/08/2026 14:46

No because it is unstressed. I'm not foreign or English. I am British.

It would be the same as the in Bobcat or Doormat. I do not refer to them as bob-CAT! and door-MAT! in some surprised or foreign manner.

I think I need a kik-KAT!!! to get over your rather silly post.

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Apologies, I thought this was an interesting conversation.

Enjoy your Kit Kat.

Mandarinclementine · 07/08/2026 15:18

supercrone · 07/08/2026 14:19

I never know what rolling the rrs means? I'm Irish, I pronounce my R's, but how do you know if you roll them?

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I’m Irish too. You’re probably not rolling the r’s.

Here’s Carla said in other accents/languages:
https://forvo.com/word/carla/

It’s not how Irish people would typically say the name, though we still pronounce the r.

RaraRachael · 07/08/2026 15:11

@supercrone I pronounce Rs but don't roll them.

Rolling Rs always reminds me of the old Taggart phrase, "There's been a murrrderrrr"

DeeNiall · 07/08/2026 14:46

FunnyOrca · 07/08/2026 14:38

But is that -ah the same as in ant? Because then it would be a stressed a. Emm-A! And would sort of imply surprise or a foreign accent. Nearly all native English speakers are not stressing that last a in Emma. Have a look at the schwa and some examples on YouTube and it will make sense.

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No because it is unstressed. I'm not foreign or English. I am British.

It would be the same as the in Bobcat or Doormat. I do not refer to them as bob-CAT! and door-MAT! in some surprised or foreign manner.

I think I need a kik-KAT!!! to get over your rather silly post.

FunnyOrca · 07/08/2026 14:38

DeeNiall · 07/08/2026 14:35

Same here. I say EMM-ah.

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But is that -ah the same as in ant? Because then it would be a stressed a. Emm-A! And would sort of imply surprise or a foreign accent. Nearly all native English speakers are not stressing that last a in Emma. Have a look at the schwa and some examples on YouTube and it will make sense.

DeeNiall · 07/08/2026 14:35

RaraRachael · 07/08/2026 12:29

I've always wondered what a schwa sound is.
I now know that I don't say it. To me Emma is exactly that Emm-ah, not Emm-uh.

Thanks @DeeNiall

I don't roll Rs but I do pronounce them. I wouldn't say murrrrder but kind of swallow the R sound - very hard to explain.

Same here. I say EMM-ah.

FunnyOrca · 07/08/2026 14:35

supercrone · 07/08/2026 14:19

I never know what rolling the rrs means? I'm Irish, I pronounce my R's, but how do you know if you roll them?

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Try saying “burr” as if you were cold and try to make the r as long as possible. If your tongue is still, you are not rolling the r and it will be harder to elongate. If your tongue is vibrating it should be easy to stretch the burrrrrrrrr and you are rolling an r.

Garfieldloveslasagnepie · 07/08/2026 14:23

WildCherryBlossom · 06/08/2026 11:52

So many names sound prettier in Spanish: Paula, Claudia, Patricia…. But I think it’s unlikely people will pronounce it in a Spanish way. And even if they did, it would sound odd. I speak French and Spanish but when I am talking in English I don’t say “ParEE” or “BartheLOHnah”.

Haha brilliant.

supercrone · 07/08/2026 14:19

FunnyOrca · 07/08/2026 13:54

the first a sound is much lighter in Spanish. Almost like, “Caaar-La” (assuming you roll the r).

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I never know what rolling the rrs means? I'm Irish, I pronounce my R's, but how do you know if you roll them?

mamateta · 07/08/2026 14:04

I’m half Spanish, I have a Spanish name. In England It has always been pronounced the English way. Trying to enforce Spanish pronunciation when not in Spain will be an uphill battle you won’t win!

FunnyOrca · 07/08/2026 13:54

RaraRachael · 06/08/2026 18:02

Me too. I've been saying Carla and Carr-lah but to me they're exactly the same.

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the first a sound is much lighter in Spanish. Almost like, “Caaar-La” (assuming you roll the r).

FunnyOrca · 07/08/2026 13:51

supercrone · 07/08/2026 04:23

What is a schwa sound?

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When the “a” (or any vowel) is unstressed it makes more of an “uh” sound. It is the most common vowel sound in English (and not taught in any DfE approved phonics schemes.)

Something like panda. The first a is a typical short a sound and the last sound is more uh. More obviously things like lemon are said more lemin rather than lem-on. If that makes sense?

I once sat through Read Write Inc training with a video of a teacher trying to get a group to read the word “lesson” about 5 times the children barked out: “l-e-s-o-n… less-on” and the teacher asked them shot five times to have another go before finally saying it himself, “l-e-s-o-n… lesin” 🤦‍♀️