SUE: Siw or Soo???

[TwatCat]

I never realised until today that people pronounce the name Sue differently. So is it:

Siw as in new or
Soo as in too?

I say Siw, but the Sue (Susan) I know, today said her name is pronounced Soo (Soosan) and I was mind blown. I always thought it was pronounced Siw (Siwsan) and our workplace was divided on the issue, about half and half of Siw vs Soo.

I think I can do it if I 'smile' when I make the vowel sound rather than just keeping the corners of my mouth where they are normally.

Maybe.

What I've found interesting about this, is that I started off thinking 'new and too rhyme, so what do you mean?' But of course new is not noo, there is a you sound there, that isn't in too - or Sue.

If I ever hear a Welsh person say Sue, I shall listen intently!

I know what you mean.

Definitely Siw for me. Rhymes with Huw.

I have never thought about this and always pronounce Sue as Soo. However issue and tissue I pronounce with more of a 'syou' sound for the same set of letters. Another quirk of English pronunciation I suppose.

I'm really confused now, that voice recording is exactly how I'd pronounce Hugh.

I'm Welsh and I know exactly what you are trying to explain OP.

I think anyone Welsh doesn't need it explaining. Maybe non Welsh people's ears just don't pick up on it as they're not trained to like ours are.

@Myimaginarycathasfleas

I remember hearing "Syoozun" when I was little, I associate it with rather grand ladies of my grandmother's generation. The same people who say "Hellin" for Helen. I haven't heard it in years.

Exactly this! Was going to say, you must be either Welsh or very posh

I love listening to the welsh accent - and this is definitely a welsh accent thing! I can just hear one of the welsh rugby presenters pronouncing Hugh and it would almost have two syllables, the “w” sound at the end being quite audible. h’you-wa would be an exaggeration but is along the right lines
Whereas to me (Dorset born and bred) it would only have one syllable. That’s the beauty of the welsh accent!

Id say Soo as Siw is a totally different name in Welshz

Op, I'm Welsh and I also know exactly what you mean. It's very difficult to explain. My father was from Abertillery and he used to say siw, I'm from Cardiff and I'd say soo.

I'm desperately trying to think how else you can pronounce pork so that it doesn't rhyme with fork ....???

Pour-k
For-k

OP I knew you were going to be Welsh! I think there is also a difference in how we say Stuart (stiw-at/styoo-ut).

I'm a Welsh Susan and know exactly what you mean by Siw. People in Wales call me Siwsan, the English say Soosan. I'm somewhere in between, having lived in England for a while.
(The Welsh end English pronounce "English" differently too)

I don't understand the pork/fork thing. Pour and for are the same in my accent!

Soo

I have just chanted Siw over and over to try and visualise the sound written down.

Best I can come up with is

SeeYew said very quickly with the S and Y said at the same time

As a Welsh person I should have said.

Soo zan is how I would pronounce Susan and Sue would be soo
Me too, and it's my name!

New sounds like "nyew" in my accent. I wouldn't say Sue like New or like Too.

More like the sew at the start of Sewer.

The only Sue I’ve ever known pronounce her name as Siw was Welsh. All non Welsh Sues I’ve encountered pronounce theirs as Soo. I think the Siw could well be down to the Welsh accent

It's old-fashioned RP to pronounce it Syoo

No-one speaks RP any more (50s dinner jacketed BBC announcer cut glass accent) so I'm not surprised that the Syoo version is now so rare that most people are utterly unfamiliar with it.

The change to pronunciation in this name was used a teaching point in the evolution of the sounds of a language, back when I was doing my degree in the 80s

OP's 'siw' isn't s-you though. It seems to be something in Welsh that doesn't exist in English.

She said: It rhymes with Huw, which is pronounced different to Hugh, Huw is Hiw whereas Hugh is Hyou.

Listening to the 'Huw' clip, there is slightly less 'you' sound than in Hugh (only very slightly less). It's half way between 'who' and 'Hugh'. That would equate to Soo not S-you though!

I still don't know how the desired sound is represented by the letter 'i' though and struggle to say si-w (like the si in sip? Or in Simon?). That must be a Welsh thing.

I thought it was on the pattern of the differences between the UK dominant pronunciation of news, and the one that is increasing (from some resounds and the US) which comes out as 'nooz'

Or something closely akin to that, depending on other features of accent

I knew you'd be Welsh! I am too and say Siw.

My friend has a little Huw and his (English) dad pronounces it 'Hyoo', which irritates me no end!