3

I'd like to know why 'naive' is pronounced ny-eve but is spelt naive. Where is the ny part coming from? 'na-' isn't pronounced ny, and if the ny part is nai-, then there is only -ve left. This is about pronunciation

Improve this question
8
  • 2
    The pronunciation of a word isn't dictated by its spelling. In English, it's better to think of spelling as a clue about the word's pronunciation, rather than as a hard-and-fast rule.
    – Mark Beadles
    Dec 20, 2018 at 15:49
  • 2
    @Lordology Nah. Cholmondeley is odd. Taliaferro is odd. Trottiscliffe is odd. Naive is pretty regular.
    – choster
    Dec 20, 2018 at 15:59
  • 3
    @Lordology Choster was giving you examples where spelling and pronunciation differ far more widely than in 'naive'. Cholmondeley - Chumley, Taliaferro - Toliver and Trottiscliffe - Trosley. However, they are all either surnames or Placenames and so can perhaps be expected to be on the eccentric side.
    – Spagirl
    Dec 20, 2018 at 16:21
  • 2
    Does anyone else pronounce it nah-EVE?
    – KarlG
    Dec 20, 2018 at 19:11
  • 3
    Say nah-eve slowly. Then start saying it faster and faster.
    – Kevin
    Dec 20, 2018 at 19:52

3 Answers 3

Reset to default
9

French naïf/naïve does not have a falling diphthong, so its pronunciation wouldn't explain the use of /aɪ/ in English.

English doesn't have that many words where /ɑ/ comes directly before another vowel, especially not when the /ɑ/ is in a "weak" position (unstressed, or at least directly before another vowel with a higher level of stress). Words with /aɪ/ before a stressed vowel are a bit more common; e.g. biography, diameter.

The replacement of /ɑ/ with /aɪ/ is presumably an assimilation to the /i/ in the next syllable. In other contexts, other vowels may turn into diphthongs before a palatal glide /j/ in the following syllable: for example, lawyer has come to be pronounced with the /ɔɪ/ diphthong in the first syllable for many people, and words like arroyo, Loyola, Toyota likewise have /ɔɪ/ instead of /o/ as a syllable nucleus.

Something else that might be relevant is that apparently, people once used the pronunciation "/neɪˈiːv/", with an anglicized "long a" value for the first vowel. This might have made it easier for the diphthong /aɪ/ to eventually become established. Other words spelled with "a" that had variants with /eɪ/ and that are now often pronounced with /aɪ/ (rather than ɑ) in its place are Naomi and Israel. Dais also can have either /eɪ/ or /aɪ/ in the first syllable (the French source word was a monosyllable, but the English pronunciation has deviated in syllable count).

Improve this answer
3

It's of French origin, if that helps. I don't speak French myself.

Word Origin for naive

C7: from French, feminine of naïf, from Old French naif native, spontaneous, from Latin nātīvus native , from nasci to be born

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins

Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for naive

adj.

1650s, "natural, simple, artless," from French naïve , fem. of naïf , from Old French naif "naive, natural, genuine; just born; foolish, innocent; unspoiled, unworked" (13c.),

from Latin nativus "not artificial," also "native, rustic," literally "born, innate, natural" (see native (adj.)). Related: Naively .

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper

So I'm surprised it doesn't end with -eoux :)

Improve this answer
4
  • 2
    It is also noteworthy that the word is often - in English, not French - written with a dieresis over the i (naïve) to indicate that the two vowels are to be pronounced separately, not as a diphthong.
    – Jeff Zeitlin
    Dec 20, 2018 at 16:16
  • Is there a way to do that on a standard keyboard?
    – CrossRoads
    Dec 20, 2018 at 16:32
  • Not on an EN-US or EN-UK standard keyboard, but I believe EN-CA can do it, most European language keyboards can, and US-International can. I use US-International routinely because I need to do multilingual word processing.
    – Jeff Zeitlin
    Dec 20, 2018 at 16:39
  • 1
    @CrossRoads See at SU How do I type accented character in Windows? and on a Mac.
    – choster
    Dec 20, 2018 at 18:01
-2

That's why the word is really naïve. So there are in effect two i's.

Improve this answer
4
  • 1
    Could you back this up with any cited sources?
    – Lordology
    Dec 20, 2018 at 16:42
  • 9
    The diaeresis (two dots) over the ï doesn't indicate two i's; it indicates that the i should be pronounced as a separate vowel, and not as an "ai" diphthong. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diaeresis_(diacritic). So it's na-ive, and not naive.
    – Juhasz
    Dec 20, 2018 at 17:21
  • 3
    As another example, the word "reentry" is properly spelled as "reëntry." That doesn't indicate that there's "three e's" in the word, it indicates that you pronounce it re-en-try rather than reen-try.
    – John Montgomery
    Dec 20, 2018 at 19:46
  • 1
    I think the typographical convention (of using a diaeresis to indicate a vowel pronounced separately) is and old one, and rarely used these days; ‘naïve’ is one of the few words you still see that use it (along with ‘Noël’). It's much more common to use a hyphen (e.g. ‘co-operate’), or nothing at all (e.g. ‘cooperate’).
    – gidds
    Dec 20, 2018 at 23:41

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge that you have read and understand our privacy policy and code of conduct.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.