Pronunciation Question

missmarvelous · August 16, 2015, 9:18am

See the results of this poll: Which spelling to get the the pronunciation Lee-ah-nuh?

Respondents: 38 (This poll is closed)

Leanna : 15 (38%)
Leana : 22 (56%)
Other (posted below): 2 (5%)

natalie6 · August 16, 2015, 9:25am

I think you are good with either because [name_u]Lee[/name_u]-nah pronunciation would be [name_f]Lina[/name_f].

jenni_lynn91 · August 16, 2015, 10:01am

I would use [name_f]Liana[/name_f], but if not I guess [name_f]Leana[/name_f].

potofgold · August 16, 2015, 10:23am

I would pronounce [name_f]Leanna[/name_f] [name_u]Lee[/name_u]-[name_f]ANN[/name_f]-uh, but maybe I’m just weird

missmarvelous · August 16, 2015, 10:35am

I had always thought that -anna was [name_f]ANNE[/name_f]-uh and -ana was [name_m]AH[/name_m]-nuh, but I’m seeing mixed reactions when I ask around. It seemed logical, to me, to go with [name_f]Leana[/name_f] because of the -ana thing until somebody pointed out that it could be pronounced LEAN-uh. And even the poll seems incredibly 50/50, with a slight lean, it would seem, toward [name_f]Leana[/name_f].

system · August 16, 2015, 10:40am

No matter what, it’s going to be pronounce [name_u]Lee[/name_u]-an-uh in [name_u]America[/name_u]. You will have to correct people. I hear people say [name_f]Anna[/name_f] all the time when talking about Frozen, despite the pronunciation in the movie being [name_m]Ah[/name_m]-nuh. It’s just not natural to us.

I voted [name_f]Leana[/name_f], because the 1 n might make people think ah-nuh, but in the end it probably won’t make much difference.

squidly · August 16, 2015, 11:09am

[name_f]Leana[/name_f] is the best of your options if you don’t want to use [name_f]Liana[/name_f], but it will still be mispronounced on occasion. It’s just one of those names.