How would you pronounce Pearl?

[Horispondle]

I like the name Pearl but I'm worried how people would pronounce it in different accents? I would say it 'Purl' but I think my DH's side of the family would say it 'Peh-ril'. How would you say it?

Actually, I suspect most of the people here who claim to say 'purl' actually say 'puhl' or 'puehl' or 'pehl'. The 'r' modifies the vowel in non-rhotic accents, rather than being pronounced in itself.

I am from NI, and I say 'perl' (one syllable). Other NI accents might say 'peh-ril' or 'paarl' or, indeed, 'purl'.

The Scottish pronunciation of Pearl is not a mispronunciation; it's just different. At least we Scots pronounce the Rs in words, which many English people seem to omit. If you think the inlaws' way of pronouncing the name will grate on you, your only option is to not use the name.

I hadn't noticed that the OP had called the Scottish way of saying Pearl a mispronunciation. Of course it isn't! It is a Scottish pronunciation, which is just as valid as any English pronunciation, and entirely appropriate for a Scottish person!

Horispondle Wed 21-May-14 22:52:21
Yes they are Scottish! I think I might face a lifetime of getting irritated at the mis-pronunciationhmm. It's such a shame though as I think it's such a pretty name!

I wonder if they get irritated at you mispronouncing things too

If it's any consolation, I think it's a horrid name and in fact, isn't really a name at all it a diminutive of Margaret used at a time when 1 in 3 women were called Margaret to help distinguish them from each other :o

Now, lets move on and find something nice to call your baby :)

Diminutives are 'real' names. Pearl is a hell of a lot better than Margaret. YUCK.

Soontobe- The name Margaret is derived from the Greek word for Pearl. Not quite the same as Pearl being a diminutive. It's a beautiful name.

I love the name Margaret. And doesn't the Scottish name Marsali also mean Pearl?

I stand by my view that Pearl isn't a nice name - I am one of the Scottish contingent that hear it pronounced Peh ril though so I guess that colours my judgement somewhat.

Marsali is actually really pretty.

Just to add, there is a Pearl in my son's year at school and, this is going to sound really really shallow, but I'll say it anyway, she is a somewhat lumpen girl and not really the image that I expect Pearl fans have in their heads.

I think sometimes when naming your child, you need to have a good look at your gene pool before plunging in - whilst I do think that it's difficult sometimes to imagine a baby with a more adult name, if the women in your and your partners family tend to the short and round build, Willow might not be a good choice, same for boys, the name Dante doesn't really conjure up a sandy haired studious type.

Anyway......I'll head off before the fiery arrows start falling on me :o

I'm still of an age where I remember Pearl from Last of the Summer Wine - killed the name stone dead for me.

Scottish but Edinburgh and definitely Purl for me, at a push a perl sound but definitely not a peril, or peh-ril.

Mind you lots of people say the Edinburgh accent is english sounding!

But the English don't say 'purl', they say 'puhl'.

I would say Puhrel (west country!).

I don't see anything wrong considering local/family accents when choosing names. I would never have gone for a name with a 't' in the middle due to the glottal stop issue where I live (e.g. Natalie become Naah-a-lee).

Sorry, Bee. I did mean to write 'most English people'! There are also some rhotic northern accents.

I actually agree about the regional accents. In the 70s and 80s, there were loads of people in NI called Karn and Darn and Sharn (although their birth certificates may have suggested that their names were Karen and Darren and Sharon).

And, less personally, I have a real aversion to the name 'Fleur' in some English accents. It depends on the vowel and the 'r', but I sometimes cringe inwardly when I hear it. It sounds lovely in French, though.

Purl - I'm Scottish (Edinburgh) but originally from SE England. It depends where in Scotland you're from as how strong the Peh-ril would sound.

Yeah, everlong, but how do you say girl? The Scottish people who say 'peh-ril', would also say 'geh-ril' for girl.

Do you pronounce the 'r' as a separate sound (like a rolled r, for example) or does it just change how the vowel sounds?

Yes - some Scottish people will also say geh-ril. Tends to be stronger on the west coast and amongst the Lanarkshire lot, but also depends on how strong your Scottish/Scoa'ish accent is.

No, I get it perfectly.

The thing with this thread is that it is based on someone trying to explain someone else's pronunciation in terms of their own accent.

Scottish people saying 'Pearl' pronounce it 'pearl'. So do English people. The actual phonetics are a separate thing, and I was trying to get people to think about that.

Also I'm interested - are you rhotic or not (so I can add it to my non-existent accent map of the UK and Ireland)?

Scottish here and that's my mum's name. So that so many of you think the name she has answered to all her life is horrible in the way that all her family and friends pronounce it.
I like it however it's pronounced but then it has very positive associations for me .

I say Gurrel for girl. But then where I live we also pronounce the 'L' in palm, calm. Yet not in the way Liverpudlians do IYSWIM (pahllm not psalm).

We like (or loike ) a good strong 'L' in these here parts.

Don't you just love regional accents!

And my cockney friend pronounce girl as 'gil' or actually more like 'gilw' IYSWIM.

• Paalm not psalm