To ask how you pronounce Amelia

[moonlightmile]

DD is called Amelia. Most people I know seem to pronounce it 'ah-mil-yuh', which is how I have always said it. However, we have recently moved to a completely new area and EVERYONE here pronounces it 'ah-mee-lee-yah', which imo sounds so so annoying. I know I am probably being pretentious not liking the way people say it, but I never realised it was pronounced like that!

Is this the normal way and I've always been saying it wrong??

My niece is Polish and hers is pronounced Am el ya. However I think it is a regional thing. When I was a child it irritated me slightly that my northern grandmother pronounced my name as nikler and my Mum as Eee lair ne (Elaine). Some names are more universal than others.

Another American here, and I've never ever heard it pronounced the first way. I knew a couple of Amelias in the US, and they both pronounced it the second way. Please don't peg it on the Americans if you aren't absolutely certain! We're watching you.

The 2nd way is the proper way to pronounce it

Have you moved along way? Could it be a difference of accent? They say "bus" very weirdly in some places, if you ask me.

The first pronunciation sounds to me as if it should be written Emilia.

NRTWT but always used ah-me-lee-ah. Never crossed my mind to say it any other way.

donthate what is the other meaning?

the first, like Tanya, Vanya and досвидания

I'm not sure if English traditionally uses that sound.

The second way is the only way to pronounce it as far as I'm concerned-it sounds like you've made the first one up!

I'm from the south and I have never heard it pronounced Ah-mil-yuh, to me that sounds really forced, like someone covering up their "real" accent with a forced comical fake posh accent

Everyone in the part of the south I'm from says Am-eel-e-ya

A Meal EA

I just looked on Wikipedia and it looks like there is not a native English pronunciation of the " 'ya " sound. I looked up " Я " and also "mañana"

Does anyone know an English example that is not an imported word or name?

Said quickly, ameel-ya and Ameli-a sound exactly the same to me?!

ClockBusCanada Amelia is the medical term for being born missing one or more limbs.

Thanks, Dont, I hadn't come across that before.

2nd way

Ex colleague argued that Emilia should be pronounced Em-ill-ee-a, which kind of makes sense from the spelling, but I would pronounce it Em-ee-lee-a

I would say Ai-meel-I-a. It originally was spelt Aemelia like that Latin.

A - meel - ee - ah sounds wrong to me. I've always says Uh-MEEL-yuh because the only Amelia's I know pronounce their name that way.
Guess it's what you get used to hearing which makes it 'right' or 'wrong'.

My personal favourite mispronunciation is of the Welsh name, Mfanwy - I heard of someone who thought it was Mee-fan-WEE

How do you pronounce Myfanwe??

I heard of someone who thought it was Mee-fan-WEE

Unless they are a Welsh speaker, that's hardly surprising

If it has no accent I'd say it the second way. Like Am mee Lee-a
Where I live it has accent on the e (Amélia) so it becomes am Ay lia. Closer to the first way with the tonic sound on the second syllable.

I think as English doesn't have syllabic rules for accents a lot of people name their children names without accents and then try to pronounce them as if they have accents, as they don't know diddly and think the accent is just there because it's French or Spanish name or something and it can be said the same way with or without the accent, but that's simply not the case.

A meal ee ya

2nd way. Never heard anyone say it the first way

Ah mee lya or ah mee liah

Ah mil yuh is very common imo the other one is saying the name correctly and sounds much nicer lol