pariah pronunciation

[isabelcruz]

I need help with the pronunciation of the word "pariah". In some dictionaries the phonetics says: /pəˈraɪə/ and in others /pəˈrɪə/. The problem is with the letter "I": I don´t know if I must pronounce it as /i/ or /ai/.
Thank you

 

[audiolaik]

I need help with the pronunciation of the word "pariah". In some dictionaries the phonetics says: /pəˈraɪə/ and in others /p

ri

/. The problem is with the letter "I": I don´t know if I must pronounce it as /i/ or /ai/.
Thank you

Hi,

I'd pronounce it like /pəˈraɪə/ or /'pæriə/.

Audiolaik

 

[colcan]

I need help with the pronunciation of the word "pariah". In some dictionaries the phonetics says: /pəˈraɪə/ and in others /pəˈrɪə/. The problem is with the letter "I": I don´t know if I must pronounce it as /i/ or /ai/.
Thank you

/pəˈraɪə/ in my part of the world.
The i sounds like 'eye'

 

[AmEStudent]

pariah |pəˈraɪə|, fill |fɪl|, bill |bɪl|

 

[mplsray]

Webster's New World College Dictionary says of pariah that it is pronounced "/pə'raɪə/; Brit also /pɑ'riə/." That is, the varant with /i/ is found in British but not American English, while the variant with /aɪ/ is found in both of these branches of the language. As noted earlier in this thread /ɪ/ is the sound in hit and bit while /i/ is the sound in heat and beet.

Note, however, that in some dictionaries using a version of IPA, /i/ is used for the vowel in hit and bit while /iː/ is used for the vowel in heat and beet. So be sure to identify which system your dictionary is using to see what pronunciation it is suggesting for pariah.

 

[Loob]

It's /pəˈraɪə/ (with the vowel sound of 'eye') for me too.

I don't think I've ever heard the other pronunciation.

 

[ewie]

It's /pəˈraɪə/ (with the vowel sound of 'eye') for me too.

I don't think I've ever heard the other pronunciation.

Ditto. I'd probably have to think about it for a while if I heard /'pæriə/.

 

[Rover_KE]

Ditto. I'd probably have to think about it for a while if I heard /'pæriə/.

Ditto from me, too.

Rover

 

[natkretep]

The word is a borrowing from from Tamil, a South Indian language which is spoken where I am, and might have come in through Portuguese or Dutch. I have heard /'pɑːrɪə/, which I thought might reflect the Tamil pronunciation (but I can't be sure because I don't speak Tamil). I use /pə'raɪə/.

Mind you, there are Tamil surnames like Thambiah and Kandiah that are to be pronounced to rhyme with the names of Hebrew prophets Jeremiah and Nehemiah (at least, as they are pronounced in English).

 

[nzfauna]

Most usual NZ pronunciation: p'-RYE-ah.

 

[starsiege]

I would say that "pa rhye(or Rye) ah" sounds closest to the native pronunciation.

 

[Alxmrphi]

Continuing with the dittos, never heard of the other pronunciation.
The version with the triphthong [aɪə] is the most common.

I, (like ewie), would not understand (at least for a little while) what was being talked about unless it was blatantly obvious by the context.
Even if linked a bit, it would not immediately make the correction.