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In Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice there is a female character named Maria. In film versions of the movie, they pronounce this characters name as one would pronounce Mariah. Is that a common pronunciation of Maria in the Regency Era? What about in other time periods? Can Maria still be pronounced Mariah today or has it gone to the wayside?
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This message was edited 1/10/2009, 10:29 PM
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Yes, this was the standard English pronunciation of Maria until the mid-19th century.
Cleveland Kent Evans talks about the language shifts behind it here:
http://www.behindthename.com/bb/arcview.php?id=3052716&board=gen
There's no reason why you couldn't pronounce Maria that way these days - it's still a perfectly legitimate interpretation of the letters in the name - but it'd be an uphill battle to get anyone else to pronounce it right. Mariah is a better bet.
Cleveland Kent Evans talks about the language shifts behind it here:
http://www.behindthename.com/bb/arcview.php?id=3052716&board=gen
There's no reason why you couldn't pronounce Maria that way these days - it's still a perfectly legitimate interpretation of the letters in the name - but it'd be an uphill battle to get anyone else to pronounce it right. Mariah is a better bet.
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Thanks!
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