How do you pronounce Bronte?

I really like the way [name_f]Bronte[/name_f] looks, I just can’t figure out how to pronounce it.

I’m in the US and I’ve always heard and said brawn-tay. The first syllable rhymes with how I’d say [name_u]John[/name_u] and Don/Dawn (I could also write it like ‘braun’ ‘brahn’ or ‘bron’), and the second like the first part of [name_u]Taylor[/name_u].

However, I’ve also heard that in the UK they say brawn-tee?

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The only one I’ve ever known was a BRON-tee, rhymes with [name_m]Jonty[/name_m].

I’m sure @Greyblue will have the definitive answer on how to pronounce [name_f]Brontë[/name_f] as in the surname!

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I would say bron-tee!

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i would pronounce it bront-ay

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I second the US “brawn-tay” pronunciation.

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I agree that the typical US pronunciation I’ve heard is brohn (as in John) tay (as in Taylor). That is always how I have heard the [name_f]Brontë[/name_f] sisters pronounced.

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I go between Bron-tee like the sisters and Bron-tay

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I’ve always pronounced it ‘bron-TAY’! It’s a lovely name. :blush:

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Bron-tee is how I believe it should be said. When I visited the Brontë Parsonage, that’s how everyone there said it and it came from Brunty, so Bron-tee is how I’d say it.

Bronte (not in ref to the surname) could be bron-tay too though

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The Brontës (Anne, [name_f]Charlotte[/name_f], [name_f]Emily[/name_f] et al) pronounced it BRAHN-tee. Their father’s surname was originally Brunty, and he might have adopted the new spelling due to its similarity to the Greek word for “lighting” - βροντή - which is pronounced with an EE sound at the end as well.

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BRON-tay for me! I’m in the US

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From the US, like others have said, I say it Bron-TAY !!

That being said ë is usually said -ee, so I think there’s a case to be made for BRON-tee !!

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i swap between bron-tay and bron-tee - generally the tay pronunciation for brontë, bronté, or someone named in reference to the sisters, and the tee pronunciation for bronte as a greek name, in reference to the greek goddess of thunder.

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:point_up_2:

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Bron-tay.

[name_m]Bron[/name_m] - rhymes with [name_u]John[/name_u].

:slight_smile:

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As a [name_f]Bronte[/name_f] fan and [name_f]English[/name_f] Literature graduate who lives in [name_u]England[/name_u], the pronunciation is Bron-Tay. It has never been pronounced as Bron-tee. The e at the end has a … accent mark on it.

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I believe the diaeresis (ë) simply indicates that the letter is pronounced rather than silent, think [name_f]Chloë[/name_f] (vs Chloé)

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Still, here in the UK, the pronunciation has always been Bron-Tay, never Bron-tee. You’d have to ask someone with this surname which was right, but in every documentary, lecture and even on tours of Haworth where they lived it is pronounced as Bron-Tay. They can’t all be wrong!

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I pronounce it bron-tee; i am Australian.

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