I love this:
I mostly enjoy that I CANNOT assume whether the pronunciation were (phonetically) Eli(z)sha / [Elijsha] with a long "i" sound; or, whether the "i" has an "ee" sound - Eleesha (as in '
Lisa' or Shakisha (or) Shakeesha.
The same would be true for a male
Elizabeth. Would a male
Elizabeth be (better?) pronounced with the long "I" sound as in
Eliza (as in the old folk tune "there's a hole in the bucket dear
Liza, Dear
Liza"); or, better with the more common American (at least for us Nor'easters) pronunciation of
Elizabeth - with the short letter "i" sound as in hit, mitt, kid, or lid.
It is rather funny that
Elizabeth has such popularity through conventional female use; yet while many may struggle with this - can a male
Elizabeth be nicknamed "
Ethan" - as in the Elizabethan
Era? None would be the wiser but for those who know his formal name. Certainly the sovereign authority of her reign is greater importance than her gender.
This message was edited 3/16/2018, 1:31 AM