Plague Angel ([info]6sic6maggot6) wrote in [info]linguaphiles,
@ 2008-05-06 10:19:00
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Current music:Alamaailman Vasarat's "Huikeuden Lieriö"

Kai, Kia, Ky, Kay, or.......Kaj....?
 So my girlfriend and I had a "discussion" about how to spell and subsequently pronounce a certain boy's name. The name in question is: "Kai". I think that this spelling should be said like "k-eye". My girlfriend's teling me that this spelling might as well be "Kay". She is saying that to get the desired pronunciation, it should be spelled "Kia". She says this because "when two vowels are together, the first one says its name". And the only other way, she says, to spell it and get the right sound, is "Ky". I really hope I'm not the only who thinks it's rediculous that "Kai" can't be right. I've never seen the name spelled "Kia". Also, just a random bonus question, has anyone seen it spelled "Kaj"?

A little help, here? If I'm wrong, feel free to tell me.


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[info]rfk
2008-05-06 03:33 pm UTC (link)
I know of two Kais who pronounce it "k-eye" as you said.

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[info]muskry
2008-05-06 03:33 pm UTC (link)
That's my son's middle name and I also babysat a Kai.

The name is used in several regions, so it can vary. I think it's Kah-ee if you're in Hawaii and usually it's Kye otherwise.

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[info]marnanel
2008-05-06 03:33 pm UTC (link)
Perhaps you should ask the boy whose name it is.

(Reply to this)(Thread)
(no subject) - [info]mactavish, 2008-05-06 03:38 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]6sic6maggot6, 2008-05-06 04:51 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]marnanel, 2008-05-06 04:55 pm UTC

[info]mactavish
2008-05-06 03:34 pm UTC (link)
I'd say "Ky." I can see some people saying "Kay." There is no hard and fast rule for "the first vowel says its name." It depends. For instance, "either" can be "ee-ther" or "eye-ther" and be correct. With some words, it depends on the language source of the word. With some vowel combinations, a new sound is made. (Look at "language" for instance." There is no rule. With names, it's usually common usage that guides it, and names vary a lot.

(Reply to this)(Thread)
(no subject) - [info]geekosaur, 2008-05-06 05:59 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]callunav, 2008-05-06 06:42 pm UTC

[info]sunbursts
2008-05-06 03:36 pm UTC (link)
I've always pronounced "Kai" as "K-eye." But you know, you really should just ask that guy how to spell and pronounce his name.

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[info]allah_sulu
2008-05-06 03:41 pm UTC (link)
She says this because "when two vowels are together, the first one says its name"

Even if that were true in English (and it isn't!) it wouldn't apply to other languages which have their own rules. If that's an Asian name, then it's almost certainly "k-eye" (in Japan, "ke" is pronounced "kay").

Ask your girlfriend how she pronounces the double vowels in "field", "feign", or "through"...

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(no subject) - [info]allmyshoes, 2008-05-06 03:57 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]allah_sulu, 2008-05-06 03:59 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]aswanargent, 2008-05-06 04:40 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]green_knight, 2008-05-06 06:45 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]allmyshoes, 2008-05-06 07:33 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]6sic6maggot6, 2008-05-06 04:54 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]allah_sulu, 2008-05-06 05:16 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]xchristinax, 2008-05-07 01:36 pm UTC

[info]targaff
2008-05-06 03:42 pm UTC (link)
There have been numerous clients at the firm I work with who have children called Kai, all of whom pronounced it like you do (often as in Malakai). Tell her she's living in cloud cuckoo land - what's the worst that can happen?

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[info]muskry
2008-05-06 03:43 pm UTC (link)
The boy's and girl's name Kai \kai\ is pronounced kye. It is of Welsh, Scandinavian and Greek origin, and its meaning is "keeper of the keys; earth". Variant of Kay. Also possibly (South African) "beautiful". Kai is also a Hawaiian name meaning "the sea".

Kai has 2 variant forms: Keh and Kye.

Source: http://www.thinkbabynames.com/meaning/1/Kai

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(no subject) - [info]marnanel, 2008-05-06 03:46 pm UTC

[info]marnanel
2008-05-06 03:45 pm UTC (link)
If your girlfriend ever says "via", as in "I'm going to Chicago via Peoria", does she apply her rule about the first vowel saying its name?

(Reply to this)(Thread)
(no subject) - [info]apollotiger, 2008-05-06 03:49 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]lovesasa, 2008-05-06 04:02 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]bakednudel, 2008-05-06 03:50 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]marnanel, 2008-05-06 03:53 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]ochahime, 2008-05-06 04:18 pm UTC

[info]wuglet
2008-05-06 03:50 pm UTC (link)
In German you can write the name "Kai" and "Kay", and both are pronounced "K-eye".
I haven't seen "Kaj" so far. Just my two cents. ;)

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[info]puppyt035
2008-05-06 03:51 pm UTC (link)
I've always heard Kai pronounced as "k-eye". Also, I've not seen it spelled Kaj but I do know one boy who spells it Kye.

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[info]akibare
2008-05-06 03:52 pm UTC (link)
I agree with the other people that you should ask the guy.

But, my first instinct is to read "Kai" as "K-eye" as you say. My own name has "ai" in it and it's said that way (it's a Japanese name).

It seems most American people say my name so that the "ai" is as in "train," which is wrong. When they do I remind them of "Thailand."

However I know a guy with the last name "Kubaitis" who has the same problem as I do (it's "eye" but everyone says the sound from "train") and he always tells them "it's ai like the ai in 'aisle').

The only people named "Ky" I've ever known said "Key" but they were Vietnamese so it's another ruleset.

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[info]fruit_blender
2008-05-06 03:54 pm UTC (link)
I think "Kai" and "Kia" are two both very different things.

One being "Kee-ya", like the auto maker, and the other being "Kai"... kind of like that guy from Digimon...

(Reply to this)(Thread)
(no subject) - [info]6sic6maggot6, 2008-05-06 04:46 pm UTC

[info]redatdawn
2008-05-06 03:57 pm UTC (link)
Kai is definitely "k-eye" as you say; I have a friend with that name. The rule about the first vowel saying its name only applies with German, so far as I know—in English, Kia would be pronounced "Key-ah" or "k-eye-ah".

(Reply to this)(Thread)
(no subject) - [info]lovesasa, 2008-05-06 04:05 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]redatdawn, 2008-05-06 08:13 pm UTC

(Anonymous)
2008-05-06 03:57 pm UTC (link)
Are there really any strict rules for this? Do you want to know how average person would pronounce it if they read the name? Or what is the traditional way?

First of all I don't think "Kia" is very intuitive, and I think the rule your girlfriend is referring to is possibly one that's meant to help you choose between ie and ei, not any and all combinations of two vowels. Do you pronounce Mia the same as "my"? I don't.

I don't see anything wrong with Kai, but I'm Norwegian so I'm used to seeing it spelled like that. I would think of Kaj as the Danish version, definitely seen there.

On sight, in English I would pronounce Ky the way you want it, but Kay to rhyme with May.

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[info]goodbyesoberday
2008-05-06 04:03 pm UTC (link)
You're correct, the spelling for this name is "kai" and the pronunciation is most definitely an eye with a k on the front. The exact spelling of the word and the name both have good foundations in germany, hawaii, new zealand, papua new guinea, aboriginal south australia and probably a host of other regions outside of my experience.

It's a good name, any child should wear it proudly.

cheers,

Kai

(Reply to this)

[info]caprinus
2008-05-06 04:11 pm UTC (link)
k+eye = "Kia"? That's kuhraaaaazeeeee! o_O

Make sure she's not in fact a succubus, or poisoning you slowly.

Oh wait, I just looked at your name -- that's probably desirable :)

(Reply to this)

[info]kai
2008-05-06 04:27 pm UTC (link)
Man, you guys really should've let me handle this one.

(Reply to this)(Thread)
(no subject) - [info]threefourtime, 2008-05-06 04:30 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]kai, 2008-05-06 04:33 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]thekumquat, 2008-05-06 06:42 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]kai, 2008-05-06 06:48 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]bugtilaheh, 2008-05-07 05:31 am UTC

[info]allegrox
2008-05-06 04:51 pm UTC (link)
Your girlfriend ... just dump her. You don't need that baggage anyway.

As far as the first vowel saying it's name, it really only works consistently if the second is e, so maybe she would prefer the spelling Kie.

Also, when not next to another vowel, y and i are identical in English orthography. So Ky might as well be Ki. That said, I have heard of people named Ky, and it's said just like Kai, except I think it's short for Kyle or something.

(Reply to this)(Thread)
(no subject) - [info]kai, 2008-05-06 05:16 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]caprinus, 2008-05-06 05:55 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]6sic6maggot6, 2008-05-07 03:53 pm UTC

[info]contentlove
2008-05-06 04:52 pm UTC (link)
There is no static right and wrong that applies to everyone when it comes to the pronunciation of names. If you want to know how to pronounce a name, ask the person whose name it is or the person who bestowed the name. They would be the final authority.

(Reply to this)(Thread)
(no subject) - [info]someidiot, 2008-05-06 09:52 pm UTC

[info]dukesnorre
2008-05-06 05:03 pm UTC (link)
All those english-style pronunciation guides look rediculous to me. Does "k-eye" mean "key-ai" or just "kai"? :P

And ... ky? As in kykeliky (the norwegian onomatopoeia for the rooster's call)? That just seems silly. :P

Kai sounds like kai. Danes (and probably a few Norwegians) spell it Kaj.

(Reply to this)(Thread)
(no subject) - [info]elsewhence, 2008-05-07 01:59 am UTC

[info]apple_sap
2008-05-06 05:56 pm UTC (link)
The first and only time I've heard that name, it was spelled Kaj (the school I went to was named after the Danish Kaj Munk). I'd say K-eye as well.

(Reply to this)

[info]anapology
2008-05-06 06:07 pm UTC (link)
The only ever Kia I've met spells it 'Kia' - I don't know where his parents got it from.

'ai' does make the sound 'ay'.. but the name with the sound your looking for is German and is indeed spelt Kai.

(Reply to this)

[info]theevil_chie
2008-05-06 06:21 pm UTC (link)
I definitely see it as "Kye" (sounds sort of like "rye", as in the bread), but that might just be my tendency to pronounce things like that in the Japanese way.

(Reply to this)

[info]zuisa
2008-05-06 06:41 pm UTC (link)
If I were to name someone "k-eye", I'd probably spell it Kai - but the only actual person with this name I know spells it Kjai - although this spelling has never made much sense to me.

(Reply to this)(Thread)
(no subject) - [info]galingale, 2008-05-06 07:27 pm UTC

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