How to pronounce Dahlia?

[MarsMama17]

Im not a fan of the Day-Lia pronunciation and much prefer Dahl-ia or Dahl-ya.
Dahl-ia comes out naturally for me I’m northern.

How do other people pronounce Dahlia in the UK?

Thank you xx

I say “few-sha”, @Magpiecomplex

I would have a stronger “cks” on the surname Fuchs but when the plant name was changed to Latin, it adopted a softer sh instead of chs. Another good one is Gardenia, come to think of it. Named after a Mr. Garden but the DEE in the middle is stronger in the plant than the name.

I was always taught that French or German you use the English pronunciation of the spelling, other languages you keep, but there are definitely loads of exceptions.

You didn't read it properly @AgnesMcDoo .
'dar' to sound like the da in 'darling'

/ˈdeɪ.li.ə/

DAHLIA definition and meaning | Collins English Dictionary

@AgnesMcDoo , / dɑːl / is how I'd say dahl

Absolutely with you on the many exceptions. I know a German horticulturist who laughs at the British pronunciation of fuchsia (I say it the same as you) and is quite insistent that "everyone else" pronounces it fooks-ia.

I did.

it was suggested that da in dally, darling and Darren sound different.

they don’t

and one of the problems with these threads is folk adding ‘r’s in which confuse the hell out of rhotic speakers

@AgnesMcDoo , it didn't. It suggested that the da in dally and darling were different, and that the dar in darren and darling were different.

it doesn't need to be confusing, ar usually is a long ah sound like in baa baa black sheep, ah usually indicates the a in bat.
It's pretty obvious that there's no rhotic R in dahlia.

I say darling like dahl+ing
My friend who's Scottish says Karl like Karrul.

I agree that it is confusing but you can just accept it.

@YippeeKayayeMF , gardenia is gar-deen-ia because the -ia changes how the rest of the word is said. Ocean changes when you add the -ia, Austral changes when you add -ia.

It’s Dahl-ee-ya

its lovely. I pronounced it Day-Lee-ya before I knew better.

Day lee a

In the US the pronunciation of the flower is Dah-lia, whereas it's Day-lia in the UK, so that might affect the pronunciation of it as a person's name.

@Emanwenym. You’ve lost track of me and I’ve lost track of you.

just stop throwing ‘r’s around and we will all be grand 👍

I've not lost track of you @AgnesMcDoo , but I can imagine you havea strong accent. I'm not throwing Rs around because I think many names with an r in sound awful with a non-rhotic R (usually Scottish, Irish and Welsh ones)

Dahl dɑːl
Dahlia DAHLIA | English meaning - Cambridge Dictionary

@Emanwenymi was trying be polite to you and move on.

my accent is not strong
I’ve read and understood correctly

🤷‍♀️

I just don’t agree with you

l

Day-lee-uh, like the flower.

To me Dalia is Dar-lee-uh.

I’ve only ever heard DAY-lee-a.

It’s definitely day-lia in the UK.

The same as the flower. Day-lee-a.

North West, definitely Day-lee-a.

I’ve always pronounced it as dah-lee-a. Never heard anyone say Day-lia.

I don't get the dah-lee-a explanation - does the lee-a bit rhyme with Mia and Sophia? @Namesy

If you say the dar in darling and Darren the same, that sounds like a strong accent. @AgnesMcDoo . It might not be considered strong where you are.

@MarsMama17 , if you like the name, use it. You might need to correct a few people but you'd get that with many names.

DAY-lia. Like the flower.

I have never heard any other pronunciation than day-lee-uh

I say Dahl-ia.
I think it’s prettier than the day pronunciation.

I always assumed the name was Dah-lia.

OED (online) confirms “Day-lia”. It speaks the pronunciation for you.