how do you say and spell the name Bailey for a girl?

[lilyv]

Thank heaven The Merriam Webster online dictionary has a pronunciation button available with their listings!! It's a great resource for checking correct pronunciation.

http://www.merriam-webster.com/

And getting back to the OP's original question, they do have the correct definition and pronunciation of bailey. http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bailey

 

[Mrs.Toad]

I'm still wanting to hear where it is in the US that cat, mat, mail, and sail all have the same "a" sound.

Me three!



Is this thread reminding anyone else of that kindergarten song?

"A" has two sounds
"A" has two sounds
Ay and Aa
Ay and Aa
Ay as in Apron
Aa as in Apple
Ay and Aa
Ay and Aa



I tend to think A has three sounds, too, though. Like pozey said: Long as in Apron, Male (and tail and sail, IME), short as in Cat and Apple, and then the "aw" sound as in tall and want, which is really more of a short "O" sound, like octopus or opera.

 

[5lilfish]

If not a long A, what sound do you hear??? Where are you from?

Western NY.

When I say/hear tail, I do not say/hear tAle. I say/hear t AH l (not to be confused with t AW l (tall)....lol). Tail definately does not have the same 'A' as Day or May. In order for me to say tail with a long 'A' I'd have to be trying to sound southern.

Jess

 

[themarquis]

wow ... this entire thread blows my mind

I have no idea what the heck people are talking about with taylor/tailor being different! I think part of the problem is that people who are trying to explain it ALSO pronounce other words with some sort of weird regional thing going on, so when they try to explain it by saying a word sounds like or rhymes with something else (all of which invariably sound totally different to me), I STILL have no idea what they're talking about!

What we really need is someone to record themselves saying these words...

Who is up for it??

 

[5lilfish]

Let me ask:

Are Maid and Mail the same sound to you?

Not me...Maid has the long A but not Mail.

Jess

 

[Mrs.Toad]

Let me ask:

Are Maid and Mail the same sound to you?

Not me...Maid has the long A but not Mail.

Jess

Yes, they are the same to me.

 

[5lilfish]

Yes, they are the same to me.

Wow...cool and interesting. I don't hear it that way at all.

Jess

 

[NY Disney fan]

For instance, in Georgia, the town Marietta is sometimes pronounced MayRETTA... I remember asking someone, isn't it "MAR-EE-Etta" only to be told "you'll call it MayRETTA, too, after while..." Uh, NO I won't! People kill me thinking they can destroy the King's English (or French or Spanish, for that matter) just because EVERYONE says it that way.

There is a lady on QVC Channel named Laurie Greiner. They pronounce it GRE-NEER. I'm like, no its not: its GRAY-NER. They're trying to make it sound a la francais!

 

[Squirlz]

True. But then most names which are considered 'chavvy' here seem to be related to alcoholic drink: "Chardonnay", "Brandy", "Tequila" (yes, I've met people with all these names!!).

Or cars: "Mercedes", "Royce", "Lexus" (really), "Porsha" (not Portia )

Gotta love popular culture...there are always a disproportionate number of names relating to music or TV shows too so there are a lot of Rihannas, Jack and Kates toddling around these days!

The car manufacturer Mercedes was named after the founder's young daughter. In this case at least the proper name came first!

 

[pozey]

I guess, to me, it comes down to whether you pronounce the words 'ale' and 'ail' the same. To me, they are the same.

 

[Robinrs]

Western NY.

When I say/hear tail, I do not say/hear tAle. I say/hear t AH l (not to be confused with t AW l (tall)....lol). Tail definately does not have the same 'A' as Day or May. In order for me to say tail with a long 'A' I'd have to be trying to sound southern.

Jess

Trying to sound Southern???????

I'm from Brooklyn and live in Georgia now and tail rhymes with kale, mail, jail, stale... AI is pronounced ay... like in day. It may not be YOUR correct but it IS the correct pronunciation... I guess everywhere in the world besides Western NY... what town is in Western NY? Sorry, I'm a borough kind of girl!

I can't even imagine t AH l... my cat has a long t AH l....

 

[5lilfish]

Trying to sound Southern???????

I'm from Brooklyn and live in Georgia now and tail rhymes with kale, mail, jail, stale... AI is pronounced ay... like in day. It may not be YOUR correct but it IS the correct pronunciation... I guess everywhere in the world besides Western NY... what town is in Western NY? Sorry, I'm a borough kind of girl!

I can't even imagine t AH l... my cat has a long t AH l....

Telling me what it rhymes with doesn't help. I agree that tail rhymes with all of those words, BUT, I also pronounce all of those words differently than you...lol.

As for the sounding southern...just to clarify, I am not/was not trying to put down the southern drawl (I love it). I was just saying that, for me to say tail with a long 'A' (like May), I'd have to be trying to imitate a southern drawl.

Jess

 

[lilyv]

Telling me what it rhymes with doesn't help. I agree that tail rhymes with all of those words, BUT, I also pronounce all of those words differently than you...lol.

As for the sounding southern...just to clarify, I am not/was not trying to put down the southern drawl (I love it). I was just saying that, for me to say tail with a long 'A' (like May), I'd have to be trying to imitate a southern drawl.

Jess

You can always listen to hear the standard pronunciation at Merriam Webster's online site.

 

[corndog]

Yes, they are the same to me.

Me too!

 

[5lilfish]

You can always listen to hear the standard pronunciation at Merriam Webster's online site.

Very very cool...never knew that you could do that.

After listening to TAIL, I still don't hear a long A...LOL.

I do not hear TAYL, I hear TAHL.

Jess

 

[chisnpeke]

Attempting to make your hypothetical daughter (who's to say you won't have a son if you get pregnant again?) more unique by differentiating between "bay-lee" and "bale-lee" is absurd. I guarantee you no one will notice the difference and you will only give yourself a headache.

Count me in the group that doesn't understand what the difference is in pronounciation, anyway. "Bailey" rhymes with "daily" to my ears. Spelling it any differently doesn't change the name, btw. To me, Bailey will always make me think of irish cream liquor or Golden Retrievers. Personally, I just can't imagine an adult woman named Bailey -- in another generation, it's going to sound as dated as Sherry or Brandy (no offense to any Sherrys or Brandys who may be reading this -- I just never understood naming a baby girl after alcohol).

I totally agree! If I hear Sherry I think of a 50 year old. I hate names like that (sorry, no offense to anyone, just an opinion).

30 years from now everyone will know how old a girl named Katelyn is...because there are so many of them. Same thing with Madison...everyone is going to know how old that child is because of the popularity of the name.

 

[5lilfish]

I totally agree! If I hear Sherry I think of a 50 year old. I hate names like that (sorry, no offense to anyone, just an opinion).

30 years from now everyone will know how old a girl named Katelyn is...because there are so many of them. Same thing with Madison...everyone is going to know how old that child is because of the popularity of the name.

I know 3 Sheryy/Sheri/Sherri's....all of them are in their 30's. Sherry (your spelling) hit the top 100 in 1946. It was still in the top 100 in 1950, 1960, 1970. It left the top 100 in 1976. That's 30 years...how dated can it be?

Bailey has been in the top 100 since 1995 (maybe longer if you account for alternative spellings. Bailey from WKRP goes back to the late 1970's. Given that Bailey is still at #55, it will probably stay in the top 100 for atleast a couple more years (or longer). Regardless, it's already been there for 13 yrs.

Jess

 

[HoneyBee06]

Very very cool...never knew that you could do that.

After listening to TAIL, I still don't hear a long A...LOL.

I do not hear TAYL, I hear TAHL.

Jess

Are you serious? Or is this a joke?

You hear a short A in the word tail??

 

[5lilfish]

Are you serious? Or is this a joke?

You hear a short A in the word tail??

Absolutely serious... I do not hear tAYl (like May)

Jess

 

[HoneyBee06]

Absolutely serious... I do not hear tAYl (like May)

Jess

You may not hear it with a long A, but I'm assuming in school you were taught that words like that do, indeed, have the long A sound.


(p.s. why is the quoting feature all weird?!?)