View Message

How would you pronounce this name?
How would you pronounce the name Sol? I love this name when it is pronounced like “soul” but I dislike it when pronounced like “sahl”. What is your first instinct on pronounciation?
vote up1vote down

Replies

I would pronounce it "soul" because of its use in words like solar and sold. I've never heard the "sahl" pronunciation.
vote up1vote down
Like soul. Because that’s the Spanish word for sun, and soul is how you pronounce that.
vote up1vote down
I wouldn't even know how to pronounce it like 'sahl' but that is because I speak Spanish, so the first pron. comes natural to me. I also pronounce Solomon the 'soul' way.
vote up1vote down
Sole” like the word for sun in Spanish, which Sol as a given name is (literally a word name in Spanish).
vote up1vote down
sahl
vote up1vote down
Surely this is an Opinion, not a Fact? Wrong board!
vote up1vote down
Regarding the name Sol, I like it pronounced "SOL", the Spanish pronunciation.
vote up0vote down
I'd use the "soul" pronunciation too.
vote up1vote down
I've always pronounced like "soul" and I prefer that over "sahl".
~~~

This message was edited 6/5/2020, 5:24 PM

vote up1vote down
I would default to the "sahl" pronunciation, because Sol is short for Solomon, and this is how it is traditionally pronounced. I would assume that most English-speakers would do the same.

This message was edited 6/5/2020, 6:39 AM

vote up1vote down
That what I suspected. The “soul” pronunciation comes from a Roman god/the sun so it makes sense that it might be rare today.
vote up1vote down
There is a natural tendency to limit the pronounced length of names, so a long 3 syllable name like Solomon is rarely going to have a long first vowel, and this (usually) carries through to short forms like Sol. This is a general rule for names in the Germanic-language world, long first-syllable names will generally be only one or two syllables, 3 syllable names will have all short syllables, no matter what language the name is from (unless it is recognizably foreign or unfamiliar), even if the third syllable was originally long. If necessary one or more vowels will be unvoiced or skipped altogether. of course the real difference between SAHL and SOUL is not value or length, but in the tendency of English-speakers to "break" a long o into a diphthong, reflected in the spelling (soul, bowl, coal - although in some of these cases the diphthong arose from an /o/ or /a/ followed by a /w/ and another unvoiced vowel).
vote up1vote down
What is surprising to me is that so many people who have responded to this thread see the name "Sol" as a Spanish word and not as the short form of Solomon. Solomon is not so unusual as a first name, and as you say, in English it's pronounced with short vowels and not as Sole-omon.

This message was edited 6/17/2020, 7:41 PM

vote up1vote down