Expected Pronounciation of "Cahill"

[on:]

Howdy:)
First of all, this might be an extremely nitpicky and unimportant question.
I'll ask it anyway :

I just watched "Bender's Big Score" again. The scene in which Dr. Goodensexy complained her name was "Cahill" made me wonder:
She pronounced it like "Cayhill", yet, when reading the written form of the name, I somehow expected the name to be pronounced more like "Cawhill" (like e.g. Caldwell).

So, a question to the native English speakers: Would the written name "Cahill" (without anyone saying to name aloud) be really be expected to be pronounced "Cayhill", or rather "Cawhill"

(Yep...I admit to it being a rather weird question )

[Reply #1 on:]

Kay-hill.

Hmm, I guess if you say it real fast it can sound a bit like Dr. Khill

It would have to be spelled Cawhill or Cauhill otherwise.

I think it is or Irish and/or English origin.

[Reply #2 on:]

As a name, I'd expect it to be Cay-hill. As a random made up word, I guess it could be car-hill but I'd doubt it. It's like that Friends episode where they talk about why it's pronounced Spider-Man and not Spidermun like a last name.

[Reply #3 on:]

I've met a few people with the surname "Cahill", and I've heard two different ways of pronouncing it: "Cay-hill" and "Cay-ell"

[Reply #4 on:]

Oh, is that how you pronounce it? I was reading it as 'Car hill'

Pffft, lol

[Reply #5 on:]

Her name is Good and sexy.

nuff said.

[Reply #6 on:]

Kay-hill is the pronunciation I'm familiar with.

Several words start with "ca" and utilize the "kay" sound. Cave, came, cape, cane, cage, for examples. And then you have other words like cat, caramel, cart, caltrop, cap, cast, and car, which don't. English is a wacky language.

[Reply #7 on:]

Just watch the beginning of "All the Presidents' Heads". You'll hear The Professor say her name early in the opalescence discussion.

[Reply #8 on:]

Kay-hill is the pronunciation I'm familiar with.

Several words start with "ca" and utilize the "kay" sound. Cave, came, cape, cane, cage, for examples. And then you have other words like cat, caramel, cart, caltrop, cap, cast, and car, which don't. English is a wacky language.

That's because the "e" at the end modifies the sound of the "a". Not really that wacky.

[Reply #9 on:]

Cadge, capitulate, cause, cabbie.

[Reply #10 on:]

Okay, you win. It's like the "I before E except after C" rule in that there's an uncountable number of exceptions.

[Reply #11 on:]

I before E except after C, disproved by Science.

I don't know of any others, care to share?

[Reply #12 on:]

Weird.

[Reply #13 on:]

Nah, you were right Unreal for a single syllable word. The ending "e" gives the "a" a long noun pronunciation.

cap    cape
pet    Pete
kit     kite
cop   cope
cut    cute

[Reply #14 on:]

Your addendum is correct, futz. When the word is monosyllabic, it looks like the rule is it's that long A sound.

Re: the first post in this thread Hein, you mentioned the name Caldwell as an example of a surname with a different pronunciation from Cahill. Caldwell is a Scottish name, Cahill an Irish one, and both are sufficiently old to defy modern spelling/pronunciation conventions.

Kind of like people whose last name is Cockburn: they pronounce it "Co-burn". And then you get into the headaches of people who have the same last name but pronounce it differently. Some will use a faithful original language pronunciation and others a more standard English pronunciation.

Long story short - don't assume it's going to make any sense.

[Reply #15 on:]

My last name is Cahill and it is pronounced "kay-hill"

[Reply #16 on:]

My last name is Cahill and it is pronounced "kay-hill"

Your last name is seriously Cahill? that's sweet!