JjCoDeX75

Hi people

I have been asked to clarify whether the name 'Ian' is monosyllabic or not.

I think that it is only one Syllable, but I am not sure.

is it 'Ian', or 'I-an'

Help!?!?!?

JJ

TIFF

Ian

Miller 3

iTrader: (4)

I would say Ian

fraser9764

iTrader: (3)

i would say i-an

JjCoDeX75

Not as obvious a question as it appears, is it!?! I also think Ian, but I am not sure.

JJ

Maria.

hmmmmm i think i would say its two sylables!

Miller 3

iTrader: (4)

Why dose it matter anyway

Red16

Some people pronounce it 'eeen' whereas some pronounce it 'eee-un' so i'd say it could be 1 or 2 syllables.

matts1

i-an, try to not think of it as a short word, compare it to say ba - rry for example

RickyLee53

Matters a lot if people ask your name and you say it wrong haha.

On saying that i don't think you can really say your anme wrong, a lot of people pronounce there names in some wierd ways.

Personally i say it a bit half way house, kind of like E-N but as 1 syllable, say to say but not type.

Dangerous Malcolm..

I think it's two. Could even be three if you're Welsh.

Si B

iTrader: (59)

- JJ - When are you off to the Ring matey? Or have you been? Got that 4 lap ticket clogging up my wallet still!

Also, to add to the confusion on the Ian or I-an topic, what about peeps who spell their name Iain (which I find odd to say the least)

I vote for single sylable. Ian.

Si

fraser9764

iTrader: (3)

thats how my dad spells his name, he says ee-an

dojj

iTrader: (3)

2 sylaballs

ee-an

JTECH James

iTrader: (13)

i-an

or i-ain

JjCoDeX75

Hi Si - Ref Nurgy - sadly was there a fortnight ago - had assumed that you had been rid of that ticket some time ago. Sorry chap - managed to get 20 laps in mind in two days - a feat never yet matched by Cosworths! LOL

Also - isnt it time we had a chat about the you-know-what?.....

Back on topic

It would seem that people are rather divided on it. Hmmmm - we need an english scholar to set us right on the technicality.

JJ

Paddy

If you basically think of a syllable as a beat it can be one or two depending on how you pronounce it:

1 - Ear-n or Yan - Not at silly as you first think after saying that something/someone from Hawaii is Hawaiian

2 - EE-Yan - I suppose most people say it like that?

Try and make two syllables out of the word "strength" ..... did you sound like Tony from the Frosties advert..... or add a big "THUR" on the end??? either way, strength is one of those monosyllabic words that don't look right when you think about it.

Like felch.

JjCoDeX75

So in your opinion Paddy, one syllable or two for Ian?

JJ

Paddy

It really does depend on how you pronounce it!

I'm very, very, very posh [] and would tend to pronounce it "Ear-n" in normal dialogue, so just the one for me.

If I was chanting your name whilst you were taking part in a sporting event, X-Factor or gang rape, I would probably shout "EE-YAN" et repetez

It's a difficult one to call mate and what makes the English language such a cunt for people to learn!

Big Will_

To me it's two.

"EEEEE" "an"

Big Will_

AFPMSL!!!!!

JjCoDeX75

Hmmmm - an intereting debate overall this one!

I still think one, but I am leaning towards two.

JJ

pee vee

if you are welsh you would definitely say i-an

but if from essex you'd probably just say

OI or eee lol

dojj

iTrader: (3)

forget that shit

it's 2 sylabbals ebcause if he's a cunt you shout out "oi, cunt!" and if he's not you shout out "oi mate!"

pee vee

a fair point, Dojj. lol

Paddy

It's definitely a contentious one and I think down to accent and how you pronounce it!

I noticed a brummie above said they'd just use one to pronounce it but I find that hard to believe as their accent makes it sound like a normal person would pronounce "iron".

Arl-roit iron woooor lad. bovril!



Seriously though, the way I pronounce it "Ear-n" with a single, flowing vowel sound is a bit like what is known as a diphthong [think of the OOH sound you make for "glue" or "shoe"].

I've been sat here racking my brains to find another single example in the English language of a word with "i" preceding "a" that makes an "Ear" sound! All the ones I've thought of lend themselves to the 2 syllable "EE-YA" for Ian......

Maniac - Main-Ee-Yak
Piano - Pee-Yan-Oh
Alias - Ail-Ee-Yas

So I'd say it SHOULD be 2 syllables, but not with my accent

foreigneRS

fuck you crack me up paddy

Coldo

2 Syllables i'd say.

"ee-yan"

wackie1

Ian is a seqence of two phonemes; the sound 'I' followed by the digraph 'an' - therefore is two syllables oooh do i sound intelligent??! pmsl

XRT_si

iTrader: (2)

2 surely

dojj

iTrader: (3)

i attempted to say the word the way you've written it paddy, and i come up with some sort of pottery

and if anyone saw one of them programs that was on the telly on saturday night, there was some young irish fella singing who i think was called ian, but it was spelt with an o and a g in there somewhere

tell him to change his name to joe if he wants a single sylaball first name and stop confusing people

and the word you were looking for paddy might be "piano" but that has 3 sylaballs

Paddy

Yes you are!!!... but "an" can't be a digraph as that's 2 letters making one sound like "o" [oh] and "o" making "ooh"... or "p" and "h" making the "f" in "phono"...

I pretty sure it's a diphthong [ia] followed by a consonant phoneme [n]!

Anyone on here an English teacher? Although in fairness, if there was one it would be like asking a policeman about the law

dojj

iTrader: (3)

let me find the thing that explains how you can write something silly like "go gough" which means "go fish" based on how you pronnounce the letters in the words

it's on one of the computers at home but it's also on the internet but i can't find it ebcause the wroks pc blocks me from accessing where it is most likeyl to be

Rod-Tarry

A syllable has one vowel-made sound, and maybe one other sound, or even one sound before and one after the vowel-made sound. It is the smallest part of a word with a vowel sound in it.
Examples of 2 syllable 3 letter names Ian, Eli, Ari.

JjCoDeX75

Interesting - you see of the three examples, the Eli and the Ari I woudl completely agree immediately that they are definately two syllables.

On that logic, it would seem that Ian is more likely to be two rather than one, but it is nonetheless much less obvious!


JJ

Rod-Tarry

Hi
take it from me my 1950's English education wont be wrong. I realise the goverment tells you that education improves year on year, well it dont be assured.

Lee_R21Turbo

iTrader: (1)

2 syllables without a doubt!

JjCoDeX75

50's English education better than the current, eh? LOL

(Only kidding!)

JJ

ballin

iTrader: (1)

How has this become such a discussion?! It's 2 syllables.

Just because some northern monkey might use one syllable when they slur it out, doesn't make it correct.

St3V3_C

Deffo two. It only sounds like one when you say it quickly - you are almost shortening the word...