how do you pronounce boys name louis?

[mariannegrace]

thank you.

Yeah, I always think that about Louis Walsh olliesmum234 pretentious, french impersonating wanker

Quite a few of my family (going back to the 19thC) are Louis. It is pronounced Lou-ee.

Pronouncing it such does not make me pretentious.

But Sophie and Natalie are pronounced very similarly in both languages. And actually the French emphasise the -ie of Sophie whereas many English say SO-phie, so we have anglified the name a little.

The French would never ever pronounce an English name the English way - think how they pronounce Thomas (without the s) or Fabian (without the n), so why are some Brits so keen to pronounce Louis the French way?!

The Americans, Germans, Swedes, Norweigans, Dutch etc etc all pronounce the name Louis as it is written, Lou-is, despite it being a French name originally.

Umm, well Loo-ee can also be seen to be anglicised as the French pronounce it L'wee.

Pronouncing Louis a French name, as Lewis means that you could also then pronounce Sophie as So-pie.

Why don't we pronounce Pierre as Pier?

Because we have Peter

Ok

But people called Pierre aren't mistakenly called Pier. That's my point.

Well, I'm sure non-French speakers pronounce Pierre in all kinds of ways

At the end of the day, people can choose any name they want and any pronunciation they prefer. But they need to be aware that there may be more than one 'correct' pronunciation of many names. And Louis is one of them.

I agree with that.

You can pronounce it both ways. The Americans say Lou-is but pronounce filet steak as Fil-ay. In the UK people say Lou-ee but use the British pronunciaion for fillet steak.

There's a bit of everything going on and I'm sure all Louis' are used to all variations.

All the ones I've ever known have been Lou-ee if they're spelt Louis and Loo-iss if they're spelt Lewis.

There'll always be some who are different though so do what you prefer.

How would you spell Lou-ee if not Louis?

As it is written, Lou-is.

Why would you want to spell Louis differently?

I pronounce Louis as Lou-is. Most Americans do too.

If you prefer the French pronunciation but live in the US/UK, you could spell it Louie.

Lou-ee . DD's friend in Reception is called Louis and thats how it is pronounced because they lived in France for a while.

Just think

Louis Vuitton
Louis Armstrong
Louis Walsh

No not Louie! Reminds me of Donald Duck's nephew. And then you`d need a Huey and Dewey too.

Louis Armstong pronounced his name often as Lou-is. I know a lot of Louis's who pronounce their name as Lou-is. Very popular on the Continent where it is also pronounced phonetically (Lou-is).

Louis Vuitton is obviously a French name and Louis Walsh wants to sound french/posh!

Louis Walsh is Irish though and every Irish Louis I`ve ever met has been a Lou-ee. I don't think it's an attempt at posh.

Louis = Loo-ee for me too. Lewis = loo-is.

I can just imagine The Antiques Roadshow getting all excited about a Loo-is XIV armchair .

I was asking because my DS is a Louis (ee) and it didn't occur to me that there might be an alternative way to spell it.

I am from the same town as Louis Walsh and Louis (Lou-ee) was quite a popular name in that area when I was growing up. Nothing pretentious or about it!! I have never heard it pronounced any way other than Lou-ee in Ireland.

Do they have posters of him everywhere ludog? Does his Mum drive around in a pimped out Rolls?

No and no!! Actually I don't live there anymore but I don't think anyone is that overawed by his fame anyway

Lou-ee

Lou-ee