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HelpRe: Leila
in reply to a message by RoxStar
Sorry, though I suspect the majority of English speaking people under the age of 30 pronounce Leila the same as Layla, this is NOT the case among older generations. All of the women I knew as a child who were named Leila in the USA pronounced it as "LEE-luh" with the first syllable the same as Lee, and I still think "LEE-luh"" when I see that spelling.
If you want to be sure that almost everyone in an English speaking country will pronounce the name as "Lay-luh", the spelling Layla (or Laela) should be used.
If you want to be sure that almost everyone in an English speaking country will pronounce the name as "Lay-luh", the spelling Layla (or Laela) should be used.
This message was edited 7/5/2022, 8:39 AM
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My stepfather's grandmother was Lela, pronounced Lee-la. My grandmother had a friend named Leila, pronounced Layla. A patient at the optometrist's office where I used to work was Leila, but she pronounced it Lee-EYE-La. She was maybe seventy and I believe she was originally from Texas. I actually think Lee-Eye-La is rather pretty, but again, hard to spell so people would know how to pronounce it.
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Maybe you'd like Laelia? Lie-lee-ah
This message was edited 7/5/2022, 9:19 AM
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My Random House unabridged dictionary published in 1987 gives Lee-la as the first pronunciation and Lay-luh as the second for Leila.
I've never heard the 3 syllable pronunciation before but I'm not shocked by it. You say you used to work in that office -- if that patient was 70 then, how old would she be today? The women I new named Leila as a child would all have been at least 50 years older than me and so would be at least 120 if they were alive today, which of course none of them are.
I've never heard the 3 syllable pronunciation before but I'm not shocked by it. You say you used to work in that office -- if that patient was 70 then, how old would she be today? The women I new named Leila as a child would all have been at least 50 years older than me and so would be at least 120 if they were alive today, which of course none of them are.
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