Message: "Wesley pronunciation"

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[Opinions] Wesley pronunciation

by erb816

4/21/2020, 7:13 AM

I have actually heard both the S and Z pronunciations in the United States, sometimes from the same people actually. Though for Wesleys in the U.S., the nickname Wes (soft-S) is common.

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- Anneza +3

4/21/2020, 10:32 AM

That's a surprise! Or maybe a surprize? In British English, which we basically speak in South Africa if we're mother-tongue speakers, Leslie and Lesley both have a z sound, and so does Les, which was mostly a male nn I think. So, if Americans use Les as a nn for Leslie, does that sound like Less or Lez? Does Leslie sound like Lesslie or Lezlie? And is it possible to use, say, Wezley with nn Wess? Lezlie with nn Less? I'm fascinated! Of course, the USA is much too big to generalise about ...

- Dracotorix

4/21/2020, 8:03 PM

I'm American and I say Wess-ley and Less-lie but I've heard Wez-ley and Lez-lie.

- Cake or Death (queenv) +1

4/21/2020, 12:32 PM

I can't speak for every American, as has been discussed, but I definitely say Leslie with a Z sound, Lezlie. And although I pronounce Wesley as Wezley, I pronounce the nickname for it, Wes, with an S sound, and Leslie is Lezlie, but the nickname is Les with an S sound.

- Anneza

4/21/2020, 12:54 PM

Yikes!

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