Juliet - Which syllable do you stress?

Girl Names
1

This is something I’ve been mildly curious about since I was in [name]Romeo[/name] and [name]Juliet[/name] two years ago.

Most of the people I grew up around [in the DC metro area] stress the third syllable of [name]Juliet[/name], so it’s joo-lee-ET.

But in [name]Shakespeare[/name]'s play, if you stick to the iambic pentameter, the first syllable (JOO-lee-et) is stressed about 80% of the time. And sometimes the “lee-et” becomes one syllable (sort of a “lyet,” or I guess you could also say it’s “Jool-yet.”)

Example (bold= stressed):

It is the east, and Juliet is the sun.

I met a [name]Juliet[/name] last weekend who stresses the first syllable. I think that’s how I prefer it-- unless it’s spelled “[name]Juliette[/name].”

[name]How[/name] would you say it? Which way do you prefer? [name]Do[/name] you know any Juliets?

2

Joo-lee-ET is my pronunciation.

3

I pronounce it Joo-lee-ET.

I prefer Joo-lee-ET with either spelling, although I tend to favor [name]Juliet[/name] because [name]Juliette[/name] just seems so excessive.

4

[name]Juliet[/name] = JOO-lee-et
[name]Juliette[/name] = Joo-lee-ET

5

Joo-lee-ET.

6

This is the correct one. The English name has emphasis on the first syllable, the French the last one. Easy as pie.

7

I stress the first syllable in [name]Juliet[/name], and the last in [name]Juliette[/name]. {sort of like JOO-lee-et and joo-lee-ETT}

8

I pn it Joo-lee-ET

9

^this exactly

10

I guess I have been saying it wrong, but I always say Joo-lee-ET.

11

For [name]Juliet[/name], I say JOO-lee-yet. [name]Juliette[/name] I pronounce as joo-lee-ETT.

12

To me [name]Juliet[/name] is JOO-lee-et, and [name]Juliette[/name] is Joo-lee-ET

13

The only [name]Juliet[/name] I’ve ever met stressed the first syllable. I think it’s lovely both ways and I don’t think it changes the name significantly enough to worry about it.

14

Joo-lee-ET is how I pronounce [name]Juliet[/name] (which I like better than [name]Juliette[/name]).

15

I feel like I stress both Joo- & -et equally, but maybe I’m missing something.

16

JOOL-yet for me.

17

Ditto. I prefer it without the -te at the end.

18

I think I say all the syllables equally…hmmm.

19

Interesting! I guess I’m with everyone on the [name]Juliet[/name]=JOO-lee-et/[name]Juliette[/name]=joo-lee-ET thing. I suspect most people in the US stress the last syllable regardless of spelling, though.

20

I was in [name]Romeo[/name] & [name]Juliet[/name] in ninth grade. The boy who played [name]Romeo[/name] was always saying joo-lee-ETT, and it bothered me because he was always throwing the iambic pentameter off. :stuck_out_tongue: But hey, I’ve always pronounced it the same way, so I guess I can’t complain too much. I think it sounds absolutely gorgeous either way, but if I were to use it, I’d probably lean towards the joo-lee-ETT route. But I’ve been sitting here whispering both to myself for the past few minutes and I think they’re both wonderful. :slight_smile: