How would you pronounce Alaïa??

[Shanonymous23]

I love the name Alaïa which I would pronounce as (A-lay-ah) but was just wondering how other people would pronounce it or whether it would be best to spell it Alaia without the double dot above the i.

I personally prefer the way it looks with an i/ï than spelt with a y (Alaya)

A (short a like in bat)
Lie
A (short a again)

emphasis on the lie

I'd assume the dots separate the sounds out like Anaïs or naïve so the two vowels are said separately - Al-a-i-a rather than together Al-ai-a

I would automatically pronounce it like the designer Ah - lie - ah. Not sure if the ï should make it a different sound though.

I'd look at it and would instinctively be unsure.

A lot of English speakers don't really get what the diaresis means, unless it's in words from French/other languages that are already commonly used and thus their pronunciation is known to most English speakers.

After negotiating that, many people would settle on something that sounds similar to 'a liar' - which isn't the nicest thing for your name to be commonly mistaken for.

This. pronouncing Alaïa as “A-lay-ah” doesn’t really make sense. The ï is there to show the i is pronounced separately from the a.

Maybe Alah-Aya?

If you want Alaya I'd probably just spell in Alaya!

What PP have said. Alaïa would be pronounced Al-a-ee-a. If you don't want that pronunciation then spell it Alaya or Alaia without the dieresis (which serves a linguistic purpose - it's not just there to make the name look exotic).

Technically correct.

But in the UK today - God knows!

For me, I’d assume a variation of Aliya so Ahleeyah

I would take a guess at Al-ay-a as a pronunciation.
But I think the French / Spanish way is more A-lie-a
And I wouldn't go with dots for a name in the UK - unnecessary complication / spelling it out
But the name isn't the name without.

Also, would I name my child after a handbag brand? Probably not.

This. Like Anaïs where the an and I are two separate sounds as indicated by the dot.

Also like the designer (a-lie-a) and then I’d say, in my head…

An a-whatta?
he’s like a totally important designer!

#Clueless

Like this. I’d pronounce Alaia the way you want, but Alaïa is Al-a-ee-a with an extra syllable.

Instinctively I'd go with Ah-lie-ya then I'd see the diaresis and try for Ah-la-ee-ah but the way names are going these days I'd be prepared to be told that it's pronounced 'Sharon'.

Can’t you just call her something normal which doesn’t condemn her to a lifetime of spelling out her name, or teaching people how to pronounce it?

You'd be surprised - I gave DD2 an unusual but completely phonetic name (think like Barbara) and virtually no one manages to get it right.

Both Hermione and Persephone are phonetic but are regularly mangled by those who've never heard them said.

I would pronounce it the same way as you, OP.

Ah-lie-ee-ah or ah-la-ee-ah

Alaïa is a totally serious designer!

short “A” as in “bat” then
lie
ee
ya

So almost four syllables

I’d completely avoid saying it to be honest. And secretly I’d be thinking it was awful - looks very low rent. It gives pieced ears on a baby and velour tracksuits for me.

Ah-lie-yah - the way Cher pronounces her dress brand in Clueless.

Alah-ee-a

Another thing to consider is that characters like é (and thus presumably ï) can’t be used in some official documents (yup, that’s annoying). So she’ll be Alaia on those.

Unless things have changed in the last couple of years. I would check though. Think birth certificate, passport

I didn't know it was handbag brand name

I would pronounce it Ah-lie-a