Message: "Why do you pronounce Sara and Sarah differently?"

Why do you pronounce Sara and Sarah differently?

by Lily8

1/2/2009, 8:49 AM

Just wondering. I heard some people were pronouncing them differently and it doesn't make sense to me at all. I mean you don't pronounce Nora and Norah differently either or Susanna and Susannah etc

Here in Germany Sara and Sarah are both pronounced SAH-ra and Hanna and Hannah are both HUN-na and when I pronounce them in English they are both SEH-ra and HAN-na.

#pronunciation

Replies

- queenv

1/3/2009, 6:43 AM

I don't, and I find it strange that some people say they do. I've known several Sarahs and several Saras, and they were pronounced the same.

- ma5x

1/2/2009, 9:07 PM

i think it's just an accent thing.

- Bear

1/2/2009, 11:25 AM

I pronounce Sara and Sarah exactly the same way, and exactly the way you do in English. :-)

- jennifer +7

1/2/2009, 10:56 AM

It depends on which language you're using. In some, the vowels are always pronounced the same, such as in Spanish. In English especially, we have 11 vowel sounds and 3 dipthongs (blended vowel sounds). The sound used depends on if the syllable is stressed or not.

- Lily8 +6

1/2/2009, 11:14 AM

I know but

why is Cara CARE-ah but Sara SAH-ra? or does it all depend on the accent?

- Delphi_Blue +2

1/2/2009, 3:46 PM

Well, it's not

Usually if you pronounce Sara as Sah-rah, you also prn. Cara and Tara and Zara this way too, as we do here in Aus and also in the UK. It seems to only be an American (and Canadian? how do you pronounce these names in Canada? Any other countries say them this way?) thing to say them as Care-, Sare-, Tare- and Zare-uh. Oh and Clara too. The Clair-uh prn. seems very odd to me, but I've heard quite a few people in the US prn. it this way. Also, in Australia Haley, Halley would be pronounced Hah-lee, not Hayley as it seems to get in the US.

I'm pretty sure it's just a regional thing. Ella has a Sara at her school, prn. same as Sarah, but Sara's mum is American.

- Chrisell

1/3/2009, 1:25 AM

Yes, exactly.

- Sofia

1/2/2009, 4:07 PM

I agree with this. Tara, Zara, Cara and Sara are all pronounced in the same pattern in Croatia also, while Sarah gets the English pr.

- Serel Channah (floppery) +1

1/2/2009, 12:52 PM

I say Sara as SAIR-uh, but I've heard SA-ruh and SAH-ruh a good amount. SAIR-uh is the most common prn though.

And Cara isn't always CARE-uh. It's my middle name and I say CA-ruh (CA as in cat), but I know a CARE-uh and I've heard CAH-ruh.

- jennifer

1/2/2009, 4:05 PM

In Spanish, it's SA-ra, so if they know the person is Hispanic, they might say SA-ra, although I usually say SAIR-uh.

- Aileen (aileenbean)

1/2/2009, 11:55 AM

From what I've heard, it's always SARE-uh in America.

- number1212 (not logged in) (guest)

1/2/2009, 10:44 AM

I pronounce them the same

- Emilie007 +1

1/2/2009, 10:10 AM

Here inn Czech Republic and Slovakia Sara is pronounced SAH-ra (Sara). Sarah pronounced SAH-RAH - the H in the end sounds like ch (viz Bach).
Hana is pronounced HAH-na.

- Emilie007

1/4/2009, 12:42 AM

- Chanel +1

1/2/2009, 9:04 AM

Because different countries have different accents and phonetic rules

I'm from the middle of the U.S. and I pronounce Sara and Sarah exactly the same, but they are both SAIR-uh.

Norah/Nora and Susannah/Susanna are a different case, because the rules really only apply when you have the letter set "ara" in a name (Tara, Cara, etc).

Oh, I pronounce Hanna and Hannah as HAN-uh, though Hana is HAH-nuh.

- Gia (gio2475)

1/2/2009, 9:32 AM

I agree with all of that

- Andromache (Hannah Ruth)

1/2/2009, 8:58 AM

In the UK, generally, they are pronounced:

Sara = 'SAR-uh' (like Zara)
Sarah = 'SAIR-uh'

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