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Help[Opinions] Re: Zosia
in reply to a message by Amy
The vowel barely makes a difference to my Polish ears. It's the "sha". Most English speakers don't palatalise it enough. "Sha" isn't very far off from Polish but it just gives the name a completely different vibe to me, from sweet and cutesy it becomes harsh and unapproachable. As far as I can tell, in Russian it's a palatalised "s" which I think would be even more noticeable of a difference, which would explain why a Russian person would find the English pronunciation especially strange.
I think pronouncing Zosia (Зося) as Zo-see-a would follow the pattern of Nadia (Надя) so I think it should be no more confusing than Zo-sha.
Which just made me wonder... can someone tell me how many syllables there are in Katya in English? I'd always thought the spelling suggested two but it's analogous to Nadia in Russian and Nadia did get the additional split �
https://www.behindthename.com/pnl/109883
I think pronouncing Zosia (Зося) as Zo-see-a would follow the pattern of Nadia (Надя) so I think it should be no more confusing than Zo-sha.
Which just made me wonder... can someone tell me how many syllables there are in Katya in English? I'd always thought the spelling suggested two but it's analogous to Nadia in Russian and Nadia did get the additional split �
https://www.behindthename.com/pnl/109883
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Sorry, I didn't realize you were Polish. Thanks for the info!
I think most American English speakers would use a brisk three: KAHT-ee-ya. I suspect the two-syllable pronunciation might be a bit more likely among British English speakers since they enunciate their T's more. For an American speaker, this two-syllable transition could be more difficult, but it could be two or three depending on the person.
ETA: Oh and I meant choosing a ZOH-see-uh pronunciation might be confusing if you encounter a Slavic person, not for Americans, but good to know it can be considered an acceptable pronunciation. Marcia and Alicia are good analogies. Although I would suspect someone who chose to have their names pronounced with an "s" vs. an "sh" was of Spanish descent or something.
I think most American English speakers would use a brisk three: KAHT-ee-ya. I suspect the two-syllable pronunciation might be a bit more likely among British English speakers since they enunciate their T's more. For an American speaker, this two-syllable transition could be more difficult, but it could be two or three depending on the person.
ETA: Oh and I meant choosing a ZOH-see-uh pronunciation might be confusing if you encounter a Slavic person, not for Americans, but good to know it can be considered an acceptable pronunciation. Marcia and Alicia are good analogies. Although I would suspect someone who chose to have their names pronounced with an "s" vs. an "sh" was of Spanish descent or something.
This message was edited 4/1/2021, 9:31 AM
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