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Help[Opinions] pronunciation of Caroline
It seems that no one can get this name right. I'm constantly called Carolyn, even though to me this is a different name, or a variant at least.
Last night my professor, who is trying to remember not to call me Carolyn, said that when she says "Caroline" it makes her feel like she's back home in Appalachia. Are people saying Carolyn because they don't want to sound like Hicks?
Last night my professor, who is trying to remember not to call me Carolyn, said that when she says "Caroline" it makes her feel like she's back home in Appalachia. Are people saying Carolyn because they don't want to sound like Hicks?
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For decades I thought Carolyn and Caroline had the same pronunciation. Now I know about the "line" in Caroline. I've never lived in Appalachia, btw. I've lived in Illinois, Colorado, New York, Arizona and Texas.
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I don't think that it is true that they are saying Carolyn as to not sound like Hicks. I think its because they are more use to seeing and saying Carolyn than Caroline. It might also have to do with what accent they have, though I don't think any traditional name including your name could ever sound Hick.
I have two friends one named Carolyn and the other is Caroline and they hate it when people mess up their names. Carolyn gets called Caroline all the time and vice versa for Caroline.
I have two friends one named Carolyn and the other is Caroline and they hate it when people mess up their names. Carolyn gets called Caroline all the time and vice versa for Caroline.
This message was edited 3/5/2014, 5:40 PM
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I'm not from America (presuming you are since I've no idea what Hicks are, or where Appalachia is because I'm shocking at geography) so I don't think saying Caroline - the way it's meant to be said - makes me sound like a "Hick".
In fact I love Caroline, it's on my list, and I think it's really pretty. I don't like Carolyn, to me this is a much uglier sounding and looking name.
In fact I love Caroline, it's on my list, and I think it's really pretty. I don't like Carolyn, to me this is a much uglier sounding and looking name.
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I do believe Caroline is more popular in the Southeast than Carolyn ever was or is presently. I figured because of the Carolinas. But of course not all Southeners are Hicks.... there's a fairly good amount but not all
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When I see it, I want to say Carolyn. No reason for it though. I think CARO-lyne almost sounds like an affectation to my ears. I guess I just haven't met enough people who pronounce it your way. It sounds too proper or something.
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Yeah, I don't think of them as at all the same. Caroline doesn't sound hickish to me. Honestly, Carolyn sounds more hickish (or at least more "dumbed down") because it's taking a perfectly legitimate vowel sound ("EYE") and replacing it with a halfhearted schwa. I don't like when people do that to words! lol
I do know a Madeleine who pronounces it like Madelyn. Her parents have a British accent, so maybe that's why? Even so, "eine" is definitely not the same as "inn"!
If something has an e at the end, I'm pretty sure the vowel has to make a "real" sound. Like, "line" could be "l-eye-n" or maybe "l-ee-n", and "leine" can be "l-eye-n" but either way it's a distinctive sound and not an "ih" or an "uh".
I do know a Madeleine who pronounces it like Madelyn. Her parents have a British accent, so maybe that's why? Even so, "eine" is definitely not the same as "inn"!
If something has an e at the end, I'm pretty sure the vowel has to make a "real" sound. Like, "line" could be "l-eye-n" or maybe "l-ee-n", and "leine" can be "l-eye-n" but either way it's a distinctive sound and not an "ih" or an "uh".
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Caroline is definitely pronounced with a long I and I don't think it's hick-ish at all. That's how my sister pronounces her name (she gets Carolyn a lot too and hates it). Every other Caroline I know also pronounces it like you. I knew a guy from Washington state who had a sister who pronounced it like Carolyn, but otherwise I've never heard of it being pronounced that way. They are 2 different names to me (related, obviously, but still different).
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Interesting that so many seem to think the Carolyn pronunciation doesn't make sense, when to me it makes a lot more sense than -line does. :P I'm Swedish and we say ca-ro-LEEN ...
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caroLEEN is very pretty. That's what I was always called in French class and I loved it. I think it's probably the prettiest of the pronunciations.
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I've never heard anybody say Caroline as Carolyn in my life. But this is not the first time the question has come up on BTN, so I'm wondering what is going on?
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In the US I've noticed people in the northeast say Carolyn and people in the south say Caroline (because of South and North Carolina I assumed). This is not 100% of the time of course
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People pronounce Madeline as Madelyn all the time...
So it's a trend that people have picked up on to pronounce -line as -lyn. Plus Carolyn seems more popular, at least where I live, so a lot of people just think Caroline is a different way to spell it. And for many Caroline's, I'm sure their name is pronounced as "Carolyn" because their parents didn't think about the distinction between the two names.
So it's a trend that people have picked up on to pronounce -line as -lyn. Plus Carolyn seems more popular, at least where I live, so a lot of people just think Caroline is a different way to spell it. And for many Caroline's, I'm sure their name is pronounced as "Carolyn" because their parents didn't think about the distinction between the two names.
This message was edited 3/4/2014, 8:06 PM
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In the 70s TV show "Little House on the Prairie", the character Charles Ingalls, as played by Michael Landon, pronounced his wife Caroline's name as "Carolyn." Why, I don't know. I don't know if it was decided the character would do that because that's the way Caroline would be pronounced in the Midwest in the nineteenth century, or if it was because that's the way the actor pronounced it. That's the only time I've heard Caroline pronounced that way.
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there's some comedian who does a comedy routine about it - never call a Caroline "Carolyn" ha.
can't remember who it is.
can't remember who it is.
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It definitely happens to my sister Caroline too, so obviously there are plenty of people out there who have trouble with this!
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I wonder ...
If most of this is due to misremembering rather than mispronunciation? Like I have a friend named Jean who frequently gets called Jane by mistake.
If most of this is due to misremembering rather than mispronunciation? Like I have a friend named Jean who frequently gets called Jane by mistake.
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Caroline pronounced as Carolyn is silly to me...it doesn't make sense! I pronounce them differently and I think Caroline is much more 'high brow' than the cheaper sounding Carolyn.
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I prn it care-oh-line
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Uuuummmmm.....no. I completely fail to see how pronouncing Caroline with a long I in the last syllable makes one sounds like a hick. That's how I pronounce it and I am not a hick in the least. I'm from New Jersey. Not Appalachia.
It bothers me to hear it pronounced like Carolyn and I think if I had to choose between one sounding hickish and one not, I'd say Carolyn for Caroline sounds more hickish. But in reality, that wouldn't even strike me as hickish, just incorrect.
It bothers me to hear it pronounced like Carolyn and I think if I had to choose between one sounding hickish and one not, I'd say Carolyn for Caroline sounds more hickish. But in reality, that wouldn't even strike me as hickish, just incorrect.
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I'm not sure if my answer should even count because I'm from Canada but...
I say Caroline like Carol + the "ine" from "shine". It's very distinct from Carolyn, which is like...Christmas Carolin'. It's interesting that Caroline is seen as more "hickish" with the people you talk to, because I'd say that it's the opposite up here. Carolyn is more downmarket and common, while Caroline is self-consciously sophisticated, even a snobby upper-echelon name.
Does your professor have a pronounced accent? The 'line' ending of Caroline does offer more of an opportunity for a stereotypical southern accent to affect pronunciation I bet. Carolaahne.
I say Caroline like Carol + the "ine" from "shine". It's very distinct from Carolyn, which is like...Christmas Carolin'. It's interesting that Caroline is seen as more "hickish" with the people you talk to, because I'd say that it's the opposite up here. Carolyn is more downmarket and common, while Caroline is self-consciously sophisticated, even a snobby upper-echelon name.
Does your professor have a pronounced accent? The 'line' ending of Caroline does offer more of an opportunity for a stereotypical southern accent to affect pronunciation I bet. Carolaahne.
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well I'd never associated it with hickness before, was just wondering after that comment.
:)
the professor has a bit of an accent, more so than I do, but not strong.
:)
the professor has a bit of an accent, more so than I do, but not strong.
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If I'm left to my own devices, I will pronounce Caroline as "Carolyn." I prefer the sound of Carolyn but the look of Caroline. However, out loud, I typically use the long I because I realize that to many "Carolyn" is "wrong."
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Hrm
I don't get that. I don't get why anyone would pronounce Caroline as Carolyn. Those are two different names to me too. I definitely say Car-o-line, like the states but without the -a. And have only ever heard it said that way.
I don't get that. I don't get why anyone would pronounce Caroline as Carolyn. Those are two different names to me too. I definitely say Car-o-line, like the states but without the -a. And have only ever heard it said that way.
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Many dialects in the Appalachian regions are closely related to middle English accents. They haven't changed since the earliest settlers in the "new world." For linguists, the Appalachians are a rich source of evidence and a genuine pleasure to listen to. So I would take the Appalachian comment as a compliment if I were you.
That said, I pronounce Caroline and Carolyn differently. I live in the U.S. / Pacific Northwest, if that makes a difference. I have never heard them pronounced the same way. Personally, I prefer the formality of the Caroline (= line) pronunciation.
In the end, I think there are regional differences in how names / words are pronounced. People in the general population aren't putting in that much thought to a name. We namenerds are the ones who tend to over-think them. :0)
That said, I pronounce Caroline and Carolyn differently. I live in the U.S. / Pacific Northwest, if that makes a difference. I have never heard them pronounced the same way. Personally, I prefer the formality of the Caroline (= line) pronunciation.
In the end, I think there are regional differences in how names / words are pronounced. People in the general population aren't putting in that much thought to a name. We namenerds are the ones who tend to over-think them. :0)
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fascinating! I am going to have to read more about appalachian dialects. Thanks!
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I got my information from listening to a series of lectures on the History of English Language by Prof. Seth Lerer. If you've got the time, it's fascinating. He goes back as far as Anglo-Saxon, which are some of my favorites. Did you know the former English word for the body was "bone locker?" And the ocean was known as the "whale road?" So poetic. The Great Vowel Shift was new to me. Anyway, I highly recommend the tapes / downloads. You can skip whole lectures if they look boring and still have plenty to listen to.
http://www.thegreatcourses.com/tgc/courses/course-detail.aspx?cid=2250
They've got scads of other areas like science, health, arts, etc.
:0)
http://www.thegreatcourses.com/tgc/courses/course-detail.aspx?cid=2250
They've got scads of other areas like science, health, arts, etc.
:0)
This message was edited 3/4/2014, 4:11 PM
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I pronounce it with a "-line" ending rather than a "-lyn" ending. It's my mother's name and she's constantly called Carolyn too (which she hates). We're from the UK so I don't think it's anything to do with not wanting to sound like hicks (here anyway). I agree with mirfak that it's often likely to just be a careless error in pronunciation.
I love the name by the way, I hope to use it as a middle name someday. :)
I love the name by the way, I hope to use it as a middle name someday. :)
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Maybe that's a reason why they might do it "back East" ...? but I, having never lived east of the Mississippi, wouldn't ever have thought of that. It seems to me more likely to be just a careless error, maybe due to exposure to names like Carolina-prn-caroleena and words like crinoline and alkaline. In my experience Caroline is only pronounced one way, -LINE, with a long I like in North Carolina. Just like Madeline is pronounced Madelyn. Pronouncing Caroline as Carolyn is like pronouncing Madeline with -LINE, or like pronouncing Leah as LAY-a - it'd be OK, but really quirky.
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my question is: how do you I pronounce it?
Sorry nsi so cant edit
Sorry nsi so cant edit
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