• root_beer
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    4
    arrow-down
    1
    ·
    3 months ago

    Not necessarily. Think Leigh and its relatives (e.g., Ashleigh, Kayleigh, Charleigh*)

    *made that one up but still,

    • wellee@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      6
      ·
      3 months ago

      Um, I had someone in my class named Kayleigh, and it was indeed pronounced Kay-lay. I pronounce all these like “lay”, I don’t understand the example.

      • root_beer
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        2
        ·
        3 months ago

        Hm. In my experience, -eigh has always been pronounced -ee. In most cases, Leigh is a homophone of Lee, as it comes from an English word meaning “meadow”, and you’ll find many pronunciation guides that confirm this. Not that I find it all that intuitive, I would have assumed it to be pronounced -lay myself, like sleigh or eight. English is dumb like that, and if you or anyone else wants to pronounce it -lay, nothing should stop you.