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Help[Facts] Pronunciation both in the US and globally
This might sound like splitting hairs, but I'm interested to know. My friend has a baby boy named Sawyer. She pronounces his name exactly as SAW-yer, very clearly saying SAW almost like SAH, and -yer, whereas I have always said SOY-er. Seems to me in movies I've heard it said Tom SOYer. It's the same difference for us with the word lawyer: LAWyer vs. LOYer. Now, we're both from small towns in Texas, albeit small ones. Recognizing that sheer spelling is on her side, I think she's the only person I've ever heard say it SAWyer. How does everyone else say Sawyer?
~Lillian~
Proud daughter of Ann and John
Proud sister of Lauren and Leah
Proud wife of David
Proud mother of Alexander, Scarlett, Sophia, and Gideon
~Lillian~
Proud daughter of Ann and John
Proud sister of Lauren and Leah
Proud wife of David
Proud mother of Alexander, Scarlett, Sophia, and Gideon
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Replies
SOY-er, and LOY-er as well. I'm from California.
my
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I also posted this question on babynames.com. Over there 45 responders said they use "Soyer/Loyer", 12 said they use "Saw-yer/Law-yer" and one said she says "Saw-yer" for the first and "loy-er" for the second (she is from Indiana).
11 of the 12 who use "aw" gave their places of origin. 1 just said "East Coast" of the USA; 1 was from Kansas, 1 from Oklahoma, and the rest from states in the Southern USA to the east of Texas. There may be a dividing line on this difference around the Baltimore/Washington area, as those from Baltimore seemed to say "oy" while those who grew up in Virginia suburbs of Washington, DC, seem to say "aw".
This was a fascinating question; thanks for posting it! :)
11 of the 12 who use "aw" gave their places of origin. 1 just said "East Coast" of the USA; 1 was from Kansas, 1 from Oklahoma, and the rest from states in the Southern USA to the east of Texas. There may be a dividing line on this difference around the Baltimore/Washington area, as those from Baltimore seemed to say "oy" while those who grew up in Virginia suburbs of Washington, DC, seem to say "aw".
This was a fascinating question; thanks for posting it! :)
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Well, then! It did turn out to be much more interesting than I expected. Thanks for asking the babynames.com folks, I never post there but knowing 58 more answers to the question is quite enlightening. I feel vindicated saying "soyer/loyer." :-)
~Lillian~
Proud daughter of Ann and John
Proud sister of Lauren and Leah
Proud wife of David
Proud mother of Alexander, Scarlett, Sophia, and Gideon
~Lillian~
Proud daughter of Ann and John
Proud sister of Lauren and Leah
Proud wife of David
Proud mother of Alexander, Scarlett, Sophia, and Gideon
1
SOY-er and LOY-er in Ireland always, too. I've never heard anyone pronounce them SAW-yer or LAW-yer actually.
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SOY-er and "attorney" ;o)
Now that I'm thinking about it, I hear myself saying LAW-yer, but if I say Sawyer as SOY-er, wouldn't I normally say LOY-er? I guess, to be honest, it's more like LAH-yer, but Sawyer is definitely SOY-er. ;O)
Now that I'm thinking about it, I hear myself saying LAW-yer, but if I say Sawyer as SOY-er, wouldn't I normally say LOY-er? I guess, to be honest, it's more like LAH-yer, but Sawyer is definitely SOY-er. ;O)
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My boyfriend, from Springfield Missouri says SAW-yer and LAW-yer
I always make fun of it. It sounds very odd to me.
I always make fun of it. It sounds very odd to me.
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Oh, and I'm from Colorado. SOY-er and LOY-er for me.
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Soyer and loyer in South Africa
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SOY-er and LOY-er n/t (Ontario, Canada)
This message was edited 7/2/2006, 12:00 AM
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SOY-er and LOY-er, too
As you know, I'm from Dallas, which is not a small town/city, LOL (but I studied in Massachusetts and NEVER heard SAW-yer or LAW-yer, either).
"What is a friend? A single soul in two bodies." -Aristotle
As you know, I'm from Dallas, which is not a small town/city, LOL (but I studied in Massachusetts and NEVER heard SAW-yer or LAW-yer, either).
"What is a friend? A single soul in two bodies." -Aristotle
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I have always said SOY-er, I'v never heard it any other way -- I'm from the midwest. And on LOST it is definitely SOY-er :]
~~Kelsey~~
I love my crazy family, Kourtney, Kiley, Keegan, and Kendra
~~Kelsey~~
I love my crazy family, Kourtney, Kiley, Keegan, and Kendra
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I'll stand in for your daddy's people, since I'm Wisconsinite, born and bred. :D
I say SOY-yer. And for the sake of experiment, I wrote down the name and asked each of my sisters (16 and almost 13) individually how they'd pronunce it; they say SOY-yer, too. Which makes points for your side, but it's fair to point out that we're also from a family in which "costed" is the correct past tense of "to cost." So there's always the possibility that we're in the wrong. ;)
Array (also has never heard SAW-yer)
ETA: I just remembered that one of my roommates (a Minnesotan to the bones) has a young cousin named Sawyer. Another SOY-yer vote from the Midwest for you.
...And then he said, "You're independent, aren't you?"
"Yes," said Laura.
A revolution without dancing is a revolution not worth having.
I say SOY-yer. And for the sake of experiment, I wrote down the name and asked each of my sisters (16 and almost 13) individually how they'd pronunce it; they say SOY-yer, too. Which makes points for your side, but it's fair to point out that we're also from a family in which "costed" is the correct past tense of "to cost." So there's always the possibility that we're in the wrong. ;)
Array (also has never heard SAW-yer)
ETA: I just remembered that one of my roommates (a Minnesotan to the bones) has a young cousin named Sawyer. Another SOY-yer vote from the Midwest for you.
...And then he said, "You're independent, aren't you?"
"Yes," said Laura.
A revolution without dancing is a revolution not worth having.
This message was edited 6/30/2006, 8:35 PM
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In Australia it's definitely SOY-er and LOY-er :-)
♦ Chrisell ♦
All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us. - J.R.R. Tolkien.
All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us. - J.R.R. Tolkien.
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I say SOY-er (and LOY-er). I'm originally from Nova Scotia(Can.), now live in New Brunswick(Can.)
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Have you been outside of Texas much? :) I would assume someone who pronounced Sawyer as "Soyer" did have a Texas (or otherwise Southwestern) accent. I have always said "Saw-yer", just like it's spelled. My accent is that of someone who grew up in a suburb of Buffalo, New York, modified a bit by the fact that my parents were from the Virginia-West Virginia border area.
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Offtopic. But. I love Buffalo. :) It's right across the border from where I live. Good shopping, good name + Channel 2 News Buffalo is the best news station ever.
This message was edited 7/2/2006, 12:03 AM
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Well, I get around plenty *LOL*
but was born in New Orleans, raised here from the age of 4, most of my family's here, but I have kin all over the South, as well as Mexico (second and third cousins on my mom's side) -- so most of my travels are down here. My daddy's people are from Wisconsin, though, and they say LOYer (haven't asked them about Sawyer, but one is likely to be just as the other, I'd guess). Like I said, my girlfriend who says SAWyer is from a small Texas town too, and in most other ways our accents are quite similar.
And the fact is I can turn my accent on and off, or at least dial up or down the intensity. I might fool you if we spoke by phone instead of typing. :)
~Lillian~
Proud daughter of Ann and John
Proud sister of Lauren and Leah
Proud wife of David
Proud mother of Alexander, Scarlett, Sophia, and Gideon
but was born in New Orleans, raised here from the age of 4, most of my family's here, but I have kin all over the South, as well as Mexico (second and third cousins on my mom's side) -- so most of my travels are down here. My daddy's people are from Wisconsin, though, and they say LOYer (haven't asked them about Sawyer, but one is likely to be just as the other, I'd guess). Like I said, my girlfriend who says SAWyer is from a small Texas town too, and in most other ways our accents are quite similar.
And the fact is I can turn my accent on and off, or at least dial up or down the intensity. I might fool you if we spoke by phone instead of typing. :)
~Lillian~
Proud daughter of Ann and John
Proud sister of Lauren and Leah
Proud wife of David
Proud mother of Alexander, Scarlett, Sophia, and Gideon
1
Well, this being July 3 there aren't many people around my university to ask today. My colleague who was raised in Los Angeles says Saw-yer. My colleague who was raised in central Illinois says Soy-er. However, this is obviously one of those differences that is hard to hear for people who aren't linguistically trained. I was sure she was saying Saw-yer myself even though she believes she says Soy-er. Don't know if that's more her mouth or my ears; probably a combination of both. :)
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And adding...
As I look down, the other responders seem to say SOYer / LOYer too! I think it's my girlfriend and you, doc, who are the oddballs! *LOL*
~Lillian~
Proud daughter of Ann and John
Proud sister of Lauren and Leah
Proud wife of David
Proud mother of Alexander, Scarlett, Sophia, and Gideon
As I look down, the other responders seem to say SOYer / LOYer too! I think it's my girlfriend and you, doc, who are the oddballs! *LOL*
~Lillian~
Proud daughter of Ann and John
Proud sister of Lauren and Leah
Proud wife of David
Proud mother of Alexander, Scarlett, Sophia, and Gideon
1
Interesting. I've always said SOY-er and LOY-er, and everyone else I hear says it the same way. (This is in California, BTW.) However, it sounds better to me when said SAH-yer, especially as a name.
+ + + +
Favourite names of the moment:
Boys: Cavanaugh, Lysander, Damien, Holden, Eberly, Warrick
Girls: Miela, Azucena, Kingsley, Parker, Thessaly, Jane
+ + + +
Favourite names of the moment:
Boys: Cavanaugh, Lysander, Damien, Holden, Eberly, Warrick
Girls: Miela, Azucena, Kingsley, Parker, Thessaly, Jane
+ + + +
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I'd say SOY-er. I've never heard "SAW-yer" before! Thought I like the name a lot.
-Kathryn (aka Kate)
-Kathryn (aka Kate)
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interesting question. every time I've seen this name on the opinions board, I've thought "Saw-yer" but I've always pronounced Tom Sawyer's name as "Soh-yer". I think it can go either way, depending on your personal tastes.
ps- I say "loy-er".:)
ps- I say "loy-er".:)
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