Cordelia - but pronounced like

I think “correct” pronunciation of [name_f]Cordelia[/name_f] is COR-dee-leah, but I also find it pretty with [name_m]Cor[/name_m]-DELL-ia, by DELL, I mean like D-ELLE.
how wrong would be to slightly change pronunciation and IS pronunciation with DELL as valid as with dee-leah?

[name_f]Hope[/name_f] pronunciation I provided is simple enough and people won’t post confusing pronunciation guides.

1 Like

Hmm. I’m not sure I’ve heard the name IRL that many times, but I’ve usually thought of the emphasis being on the middle syllable, with the pronunciation being something in between “DELL” and “DEAL.” So I think your pronunciation is fine, but I don’t think I’d want to argue about the exact middle vowel sound, if that makes sense.

I 100% believe in cor-DEAL-ee-a, not COR-dee-leah.

Therefore, I think if you REALLY wanted the dell you could do it with no change in emphasis. But… why? The original is gorgeous!

3 Likes

It’s definitely cor-deel-yah unfortunately. But I feel the same about [name_f]Ophelia[/name_f]! Oh-FELL-ia just seems better. Funny I posted something like this in the hot takes thread :joy:

You could try. I often have to correct people on the pronunciation of my name and it’s not the end of the world.

As others have said, it’s generally pronounced cor-DEE-lee-ah (or cor-DEEL-ya) in [name_f]English[/name_f]. If you wanted the DELL pronunciation, I think you’d need a DELL in the spelling: Cordellia.

I 100% agree… but it’s my own language that make me instinctively say CorDELLia, and I don’t want to look like idiot if I occasionally pronounce it wrong.
[name_f]Cornelia[/name_f]/Kornelija is common here.

I think I would never do that. But thank you for your input, it’s informative.

Thank you, haven’t seen this, but I agree with you. Some names better sound in my head than in RL ([name_f]Fleur[/name_f])

I really love it pronounced both ways!

Before hearing the name in [name_f]Buffy[/name_f] the Vampire Slayer, I probably would have been oblivious to the ‘correct’ pronunciation and possibly assumed a different pronunciation to [name_m]Cor[/name_m]-dee-leah. So I don’t see why you can’t change the pronunciation if that’s easier, especially if you’re not in an [name_f]English[/name_f]-speaking country or from an [name_f]English[/name_f]-speaking background. Although be prepared for mispronunciations

Always!

Cornelia can be pronounced both ways so perhaps [name_f]Cordelia[/name_f] can too

The pronunciation [name_m]Cor[/name_m]-[name_u]Dell[/name_u]-ia is valid in other languages, but I’m not sure if it works in [name_f]English[/name_f], it could cause some confusions. Perhaps it would work if you were honoring your heritage? That would be the best reason to change the pronunciation.

1 Like