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HelpRe: Madeleine
in reply to a message by Renee213
I think it will never be pronounced the French way in an English speaking country. Yes, she could correct people but it would be annoying because the English pronunciation is so common. It would be like naming her Hannah and pronouncing it HAHNN-na. I think it wouldn't work.
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I don't know about that
I know lots of Hannahs where it's pronounced HAHN-nah, though I grew up in a very Orthodox Jewish area. I remember teachers asking the first day of class whether it was HAHN-nah or HAN-nah, it's actually the pronunciation I think of first, especially on a Jewish family. Actually, a lot of the time the problem was the Ch pronunciation for Channah / Chana that people just can't say. It just depends where you are, in some stereotypical suburb out in the midwest, probably not going to work. But if you're from a place where pronunciation variants are common, not as much of a problem. That said, people are still going to do it, especially just reading it off a piece of paper. I don't know anything about the OP, but if they have a French last name or live in a very French-Canadian area, I feel like they can pull it off.
But I'm confused, what exactly is the correct pronunciation? Whenever I've seen Madeleine, it has been pronounced like ma-də-LEN or MAD-ə-len so I think the first is probably doable. Mad-LEN probably not.
I know lots of Hannahs where it's pronounced HAHN-nah, though I grew up in a very Orthodox Jewish area. I remember teachers asking the first day of class whether it was HAHN-nah or HAN-nah, it's actually the pronunciation I think of first, especially on a Jewish family. Actually, a lot of the time the problem was the Ch pronunciation for Channah / Chana that people just can't say. It just depends where you are, in some stereotypical suburb out in the midwest, probably not going to work. But if you're from a place where pronunciation variants are common, not as much of a problem. That said, people are still going to do it, especially just reading it off a piece of paper. I don't know anything about the OP, but if they have a French last name or live in a very French-Canadian area, I feel like they can pull it off.
But I'm confused, what exactly is the correct pronunciation? Whenever I've seen Madeleine, it has been pronounced like ma-də-LEN or MAD-ə-len so I think the first is probably doable. Mad-LEN probably not.
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Yeah but I think that's because you grew up in an Orthodox Jewish area. I don't see that happening anywhere else. Especially not with Hannah, I would say it's HANN-a to at least 90 percent of the population. My dad is German and it's pronounced HAHN-na in German but even he would pronounce it HANN-a if he met one in the US.
My mom is French. The most common pronunciation is definitely mahd-eh-LENN. The eh is extremely short. Some people say mad-LEN but that is less common. It depends on your accent.
I pronounce Madeleine mahd-eh-LENN when I'm in France. If I met on in the US I would pronounce it MAD-eh-linn.
If I met a Madeline in France I would say mah-deh-LEEN. In English MAD-eh-linn.
Madeleine, Madeline, Madelyn: I'd pronounce them ALL MAD-eh-linn in an English speaking country. And I'm bilingual. So I just can't see it working unless you live in an area where many people speak French. And then it would probably be considered very dated, it was used a lot a couple of decades ago and hasn't made a comeback. Madeline would definitely be the more modern option (in France).
I love Madeline. I like Madeleine as well. Can't stand Madelyn.
My mom is French. The most common pronunciation is definitely mahd-eh-LENN. The eh is extremely short. Some people say mad-LEN but that is less common. It depends on your accent.
I pronounce Madeleine mahd-eh-LENN when I'm in France. If I met on in the US I would pronounce it MAD-eh-linn.
If I met a Madeline in France I would say mah-deh-LEEN. In English MAD-eh-linn.
Madeleine, Madeline, Madelyn: I'd pronounce them ALL MAD-eh-linn in an English speaking country. And I'm bilingual. So I just can't see it working unless you live in an area where many people speak French. And then it would probably be considered very dated, it was used a lot a couple of decades ago and hasn't made a comeback. Madeline would definitely be the more modern option (in France).
I love Madeline. I like Madeleine as well. Can't stand Madelyn.
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I live in Boulder, Colorado. We rarely see phonically altered or creative names here. We rarely see names that are loved in the midwest. There's lots of cool antique names like Imogene and Atticus. Though we aren't very diverse. Lots of well-to-do hipsters.
This message was edited 3/30/2012, 7:38 AM
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