Message: "Anais" - Behind the Name

Anais

by clayishtwine

6/26/2006, 11:29 AM

I have a poll going where Anais is being chosen over Anna.

Do you think people (from English speaking countries) would horribly mispronounce this name? Like in the movie Henry & June when Henry calls her Annis...almost sounding like Anus?

I pronounce it Ahn-eye-EES. How do you pronounce it?

#Anais

Replies

- bschoer10

6/26/2006, 11:12 PM

I pronounce Anais the same as you - Ahn-eye-EES - because of the French trema above the i, but I've always seen it as Anus and I think a lot of people would pronounce it that way.

It's my Mum's favourite perfume and I just thank her every day that she wasn't caught up in the "name your kid after your favourite perfume" craze. Otherwise I would have been Anais Chanel, which is horrible, even though I love Anais.

Put it this way, if it didn't have the connection to anus, then I'd use it frequently. :D

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- Julia (JuliaF)

6/26/2006, 1:24 PM

I say ann-ah-EES, but it would be mispronounced constantly.

I much prefer Anna, though Anais is lovely.

- shangrila_la

6/26/2006, 12:22 PM

a-na-EES or a-NAY depending on my mood:S I really like the name though and the prn. problems wounldn't bother me.

- Cambria (Korrine)

6/26/2006, 12:12 PM

I used to prn it like uh-NAYS, but now it's more like a cross between uh-NAY-iss and uh-nye-EES b/c I can't quite get the stress on the last syllable. :o( So, yes, it will probably be mispronounced (although I'm not sure about "horribly," lol). And for the record, I prn Annis & anus very differently. The a in Annis is prn like the a's in black cat (I'm not even sure how to transliterate that!) while I prn anus as AY-nus. :o)

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- rainbow_Maya

6/26/2006, 12:05 PM

I know the French pron. is a-na-EES, but I live in Germany and the daughter of my neighbours is called Anaïs (she's French I think) and here everyone pron. it a-NA-is. It also sound quite nice.

- Sabrina

6/26/2006, 12:03 PM

I use a cross between an-eh-ees and an-ey-ees. it's hard to type out. I put the stress between the eh/ey and ees and it falls slightly more on the eh/ey, but that's just because I am not used to saying names with a strong accent on the last syllable.

people might horribly mispronounce the name, yes. unfortunately, because it's one of my favorites. if you are thinking about naming someone Anais, perhaps you could use Anais as the name and then call her Ana.

- Soul (guest)

6/26/2006, 12:02 PM

I love the name Anaïs (spelled like this). I pronounce it ahn-uh-EES. I don't live in an English speaking country, so I don't really have an opinion about how others would pronounce or mispronounce it.

- Ciarda

6/26/2006, 11:44 AM

I pronounce it awn-ah-EES. I have an old friend named Anais and this is how she pronounces it. I think that it is a very pretty name : )

- Silvie (Silversliver)

6/26/2006, 11:34 AM

People probably would mispronouce it a lot, and even with the proper accent mark (Anaïs) it's bound to confuse some people. I pronounce it a-na-EES myself because I tend to agree with the site, and I'm also learning French. But I don't think it's a problem; I have to correct people about the pronunciation of my surname all the time (virtually nobody can get it right) and I find it more amusing than annoying. If my name were Anaïs, I wouldn't mind correcting people at all.

However, it does bug me when native English-speaks mispronounce Hannah. How do they do that?

Hannah

I sold all my evil motives,
no icicles stuck in my hide.
I'm through with riddles, I know we're little,
just help me feel warm inside.

-Girl on the Wing, The Shins

This message was edited 6/26/2006, 11:35 AM

- elemmennope (guest)

6/26/2006, 11:33 AM

I say it same as you. But a lot of people insist it's uh-NYE-is. That annoyed me enough that I removed it from my favorites list.

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