Friends' baby name, told by text, don't know how to pronouce

[theotherfossilsister]

I Googled it - with audio and got La-la-Gae or La-La-zhay or La-Lag

The name is Lalage.

Am I going to have to be that dickhead who says 'interesting name, how do you say it?

@bedunkalilt like Lah-lah-Gey?

could you ask something that makes them say the name

Lalage almost rhymes with Gallagher?

If you give your child a ridiculous can’t be offended when someone asks how it’s pronounced surely? Just ask. I don’t see the big deal

*name

You need the MN classicists! Lalage was a name made up by Horace for his love in an ode. I think it's a hard g in Ancient Greek so La-luh-gee.

As there seems to be more than one pronunciation, why don't you ask if they are using the Ancient Greek pronunciation like Horace? Thereby flattering their implied classical knowledge and showing off your own. Or you will come across as a know-it-all pretentious dickhead friend rather than an ignorant dickhead friend but, you know, swings and roundabouts...

Oh dear, this poor child is going to have a lifetime of this, only just been born and it’s a problem already.

hah, I kind of like the idea of being a know it all dickhead friend @runoutofnamechanges. Also though, I am now wanting to google an audiobook of Horace poems to hear it said. Might go for the former though, and hope they then say it.

It's not a 'ridiculous' or 'impossible' name I rather like it, and it's certainly been around for centuries it's just unusual in that the way it's written means there are several possible pronunciations.

Like I would have vaguely assumed it should be given a French-style pronunciation ('La-LAAHJ') until John Fowles said it had three syllables.

I've never heard of it before but I like it.

I googled a pronunciation and got something like lauw-lage (to rhyme with 'cow' and 'rage').

You have to ask and then report back! Just say 'Oh, that's lovely, which pronunciation are you using?'

Not saying it’s the case, but if you call a baby Lalage and get offended when someone asks how it’s pronounced, you’re a knob. Just ask how it’s pronounced. I don’t get the number of posters here who make issues out of non issues

Maybe it's a typo. Maybe the text meant to say "Baby is here. She's large" - meaning she is a 10 pounder.

I knew a couple of Lalages growing up, they both pronounced it la-la-gee

@theotherfossilsister Sort of, yes (no idea how to spell things phonetically!) - so ‘lah-lah’ like the Teletubbie, and ‘Ghee’ like the clarified butter/rhymes with the ‘key’

It’s pronounced all even in terms of emphasis, as in there isn’t a noticeable emphasis on one particular syllable. But that’s the only place I’ve come into contact with the name (it’s a fairly snazzy shop in central London).

I read a bit, but I've never heard of it (not saying its not real of course)

so its LAH LAH GEEE?

Just say how is your daughter until you hear them reply.

I think if it’s pronounced with a hard g it sounds quite ugly. ☹️

Maybe your friend had lots of pain meds and once they have worn off.....
Bet it gets called Larger! Or Lager!!

Or Lady Ga Ga!

I knew one! A friend of my grandmother's, she was La-la-gee ... we called her Great Aunt Lala. She'd be in her late 90s now.

Whereas I think if pronounced with a soft 'g' it sounds quite Indian not sure which languages, but definitely Gujerati and Hindi? where you use it as a polite form of address by adding it as a suffix to someone's name? 'Lala-ji'.

La lar-ge? I’m curious now!

I've never heard of this name and would have thought the same as nice. I'd love to know how they chose it.

I was trying to be friendly to candidates I was interviewing by asking if they had a preferred name - think are you a Sue or a Susan? Helped break the ice until for some reason I asked a Richard if he was a Dick....

Reminds me of algae