Amelie or Thea?

[Orangemochafrappacino]

Cant decide!

Amelie is French. Is there a connection?

I love Thea, it was on my short list! I think it is a lot more unique and won't blend in with all the similar popular names right now.

I adore Thea, pronounced like Theo but ahhh not ohhh. I've only heard it pronounced as Tia though.

My two year old is called Thea - thought we had chosen a really unique name at the time but it has become much more popular! Love it though and really suits her.

I know a Athena she calls herself "Thea"
I do prefer Thea over Amelie but that's personal preference

I love Thea (can have NN Teddy) BUT, If you live anywhere that people routinely say 'F' rather than 'Th' I'd rule it out as Fear isn't ideal. We live near one of those places. Drives me mad.

Thanks all. I'm not too bothered about popularity although I wouldnt want her to be one of 4 in the class so maybe Thea is the way to go!

I’ve never met anyone who couldn’t pronounce TH, it’s not like S and R.

Amelie is never pronounced properly in the U.K.

It’s not A muh lee, emphasis on A.

But A mey lee, equal emphasis on each syllable.

So, on that basis, Thea.

*In this country I mean - the French can’t say Th easily.

Much prefer Amelie

TatianaBis
I’ve never met anyone who couldn’t pronounce TH

I have. Plenty. Quite obvious if they are talking about Maffew or Feo.

Ah that's just accent. London accents can pronounce Th as F but it's a custom not a speech impediment.

It's not accent. They can't say it. I have friends from comfortable backgrounds, who were educated privately and at university, and neither can say TH.

I also know someone french who can't say it.

They could probably be taught to say it, but they haven't been.

It is accent in London - nothing = nuffin , something = sumfin.

As I said above the French can't say it - they usually say ze.

Can't speak for you mates, but like I say I've never met anyone British who can't say th.

@TatianaBis,
Neither of them are from London. Both are native English speakers.
The French person I know would say Edith as Ediff.

I also know a Welsh first language adult with a TH in their first name and they always says it as FF.

And I know an englishman who can't say J.

Just because you haven't encountered it doesn't mean it doesn't happen.

You're confusing pronunciation and speech impediment.

Welsh renders letters differently to English, DD to TH for example. I can't comment on your friend's name as I don't know what it is. It may be an impediment may be dialect.

The French language does not have the sound TH so it's hard for French to say.

Which are separate issues to English speakers you claim to know who can't say TH.

Thea

@TatianaBis, It's definitely not dialect.

I am not confusing anything. DD renders to TH like in The and That, not like TH in Thing

I won't say the name as it could possibly out the person and out me.
It is something like Beffan for Bethan or Geffin for Gethin. and is quite possibly a speech impediment. Person has been teased about it since childhood but is so likeable that no one cares. They pronounce it the way they do, speech impediment or not. It has nothing to do with accent.

Not sure if my two friends have speech impediments. One might. The other speaks a bit lazily.

The person who can't say J has an impediment.

Many young children struggle with TH. They usually grow out of it, are corrected or have speech therapy.

As I said, just because you haven't encountered it doesn't mean it doesn't happen.

@Jericha

I adore Thea, pronounced like Theo but ahhh not ohhh. I've only heard it pronounced as Tia though.

I’ve never heard Thea pronounced as Tia.

I prefer Thea to Amelie.

@IloveShula

Congrats, you have a Welsh friend with a speech impediment. Knowing one or however many you claim to know doesn't make it common.

I've met people with a lisp and who can't say their Rs like Lucy Worsley, but as I said, never someone who can't say TH.

It's not a friend @TatianaBis, just someone I have known since childhood, so congatulations aren't necessary.

Given that I know several people who say TH as F/PH, I would say it was quite common. If I added people in the media (who are not friends either before you congratulate me again), it would be quite a lot.

I can think of a few who can't say R but not as many. A handful at most.

I don't underrstand why you are arguing about it because it's not just me saying that they know people say TH as F. It doesn't really matter if it a sppech impediment or accent. They will say Thea as Fea.

Thea

tatiana it’s an endemic issue in London / the SE. I don’t think that’s controversial, is it? If you look up MN on names like Theo you’ll likely find similar comments.

I don't underrstand why you are arguing about it because it's not just me saying that they know people say TH as F.

I don't know why you argued the toss over my original statement, it's no less true now than when you started.

@EssentialHummus

tatiana it’s an endemic issue in London / the SE. I don’t think that’s controversial, is it? If you look up MN on names like Theo you’ll likely find similar comments.

I've already said that upthread. ^^

There are many vowels and consonants that London accents mangle. If you speak RP or a non-London regional English accent - it's irrelevant.