[name]How[/name] do you pronounce [name]William[/name]? I live in [name]Texas[/name], where the daily language is a bit more laid back. Here, many people say it like [name]WILL[/name]-yum. I’ve also heard it as [name]WILL[/name]-yim, and [name]WILL[/name]-lee-am and [name]WILL[/name]-lee-yum and [name]WILL[/name]-lee-yim. There’s also this weird way of saying it that is really hard to type out or explain, but I’ll try my best. Its like [name]WILL[/name]-yum/[name]WILL[/name]-yum, but right before the -yum/-yim part a tiny bit of the -lee gets out. So its a bit like [name]WILL[/name]-leh-yum, but the -leh would be in super tiny letters and would be barely pronounced but still there. So the final question is, how do YOU pronounced [name]William[/name], how do people say it in your area, and which is the correct pronunciation? Also, is [name]William[/name] really 2 syllables or 3 syllables…or 2 and a half?
This is like [name]Katherine[/name] as well. Maybe thats why [name]Kathryn[/name] was invented…sorry, got a bit off topic there. Not pregnant, just pondering this question.
PS: I live in the US. Its probably a whole different story in the UK and other countries, if you live somewhere else, please share how you would pronounced [name]William[/name] and how others in your country say it.
My mother and her kin are from Oklahoma. This is how they would say [name]William[/name]: Wheeee-elll- yuhhhhhuhhhhmmm. But if [name]William[/name] had done something bad, they would say, OH! Weeee-elll-YUMMM! If [name]William[/name] had done something good, they would say, OHH-ohhh, Wheee-yell-yummmmmm, oh, goooowood!
I’ve traveled to quite a few places in the world and I’ve only ever heard it pronounced [name]Will[/name]-yum. I didn’t know you could pronounce it any other way. Interesting.
I’ve been thinking about this as well!!
[name]William[/name] has more than two syllables to me! two and a half, almost three I’d say! [name]WILL[/name]-ee-am, with the -ee- part very blended with the -am part…
I can’t really tell the difference between [name]Will[/name]-yum and [name]Will[/name]-ee-um. Same with Jul-ya and Jul-ee-a. I guess I pronounce it with three syllables… I don’t think there are different pronunciations, just different accents.
Although [name]WILL[/name]-yum seems to be the more common pronunciation among most people, it seems like that pronunciation is more common if [name]William[/name] is the first name. Then again, it might be different depending on what the middle name is. If it was, say, [name]Joseph[/name], I might say it as 3 syllables so it would sound better. If it was a one syllable like [name]Grant[/name], then I would say [name]WILL[/name]-yum.
If [name]William[/name] is being used as a middle name, would it also be different? If the first name was [name]Anthony[/name], then I might say [name]WILL[/name]-yum. If it was [name]Blake[/name], I would say [name]WILL[/name]-lee-yum.
Then, if [name]William[/name] or [name]Williams[/name] was the last name, then I would most definitely say [name]WILL[/name]-lee-yum.
Is this true for everybody else, or is it just me? At first this was more of just an errant thought for me, but now I’ve become very interested in the whole [name]William[/name] thing.
One last comment:
[name]Liam[/name]. It is a nickname for [name]William[/name], yet it has 2 syllables. I’ve heard it as lee-AM, lee-AHM, [name]LEE[/name]-am, and [name]LEE[/name]-um. But I’ve never heard as simply “yum”. So in that instance, [name]William[/name] as [name]WILL[/name]-yum doesn’t work.
As for me, I’m leaning towards the [name]WILL[/name]-lee-am side. It makes sense to me, more than [name]WILL[/name]-yum does. So, tell me what all of you think, and/or if you agree.
I read another post that said something about this, so I looked this thread up. I think the whole [name]William[/name] thing is really quite interesting, and I normally pronounce [name]William[/name] as 2 and a half syllables. But I’m sure in say, [name]Britain[/name], it may be different.
I pronounce it the way you had a hard time describing. I live in [name]Texas[/name] although I am originally from Germany. So I suppose it has 2.5 syllables.
I’ve only ever heard two syllables. I can easily make the distinction between the two- and three-syllable versions; I’ve just never heard the latter.
Yes, [name]Liam[/name] is obviously associated with a three-syllable [name]William[/name]. I gather that’s the usual pronunciation in [name]Ireland[/name]?
This is like [name]Katherine[/name] as well. Maybe thats why [name]Kathryn[/name] was invented
Likewise C/[name]KathArine[/name]. I really don’t like that, because that forces three syllables, and I only say [name]Catherine[/name] with two. That’s what I usually hear, though the spelling would make more sense with three.
The [name]Julia[/name] dispute is more relevant. I say [name]Julia[/name] (and [name]Celia[/name]) with three syllables. In general, I say -ia at the end as ee-uh, not yuh. Actually, how do I say [name]Anastasia[/name]? Some say five syllables, some say four. I thought I said five, but both sound right here.
Likewise, I’ve never understood why [name]Michael[/name] has two syllables but [name]Gabriel[/name] and [name]Raphael[/name] have three. Not that I try to force them to be alike.
I say [name]Will[/name]-yum. It has 2 syllables to me. I see where you get three syllables from but I’ve never heard anyone actually pronounce it [name]Will[/name]-ee-um, at least not in the US. I’m from [name]Colorado[/name] btw.
Haha, I am also from the South (US) so I got a kick out of [name]Susan[/name]'s comments! I have definitely heard it with those exaggerated vowels.
But I have also heard a pronunciation that hasn’t been mentioned yet. It’s pretty crazy, get ready: WEE-yum! Not really even a hint of an L sound! Almost like [name]Liam[/name], but the vowel sound is more drawn out. It’s mostly older (southern) people who I’ve heard say it that way.
I say [name]WILL[/name]-yum, though sometimes there’s an extra half syllable in there. Definitely not 3, though. Kind of the same as with [name]Daniel[/name], which I say half way between [name]DAN[/name]-yuhl and [name]DAN[/name]-ee-uhl.
Here in New [name]York[/name] (and the Northeast in general) I’ve only met [name]Will[/name]-ee-ums. I’ve never met a man name [name]Will[/name]-yum. I also pronounce ‘ia’ as ee-ah (Ju-lee-ah, Cee-lee-ah, [name]Cor[/name]-dee-lee-ah, etc). I much prefer the three syllable pronunciations two the two syllable ones.
