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The English article for Paraguay in Wikipedia mentions that Paraguay is pronounced as /ˈpɛərəɡweɪ/, which matches the pronunciation recommended by Merriam-Webster. However, inogolo recommends /paɾaˈɣwai/ which is similar to the Spanish and Guarani pronunciations. I have heard both pronunciations in the U.S. but I could not find the preferred pronunciation in other places.

Although I am a native Spanish speaker, I prefer /ˈpɛərəɡweɪ/ since it seems more natural in U.S. English. This is analogous to pronouncing Florida as /ˈflɒrɪdə/ instead of the Spanish-based /flo.ˈri.da/.

Does one region prefer one pronunciation over the other? Is there a pronunciation that is preferred overall?

This question also applies to the pronunciation of Uruguay.

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  • Wiktionary shows that Paraguay is pronounced as /ˈpæɹ.ə.ɡwaɪ/ and /ˈpæɹ.ə.ɡweɪ/ in the UK and /ˈpɛɹ.ə.ɡweɪ/, /ˈpæɹ.ə.ɡweɪ/, and /ˈpɛɹ.ə.ɡwaɪ/ in the US. I still want to know if there is a preferred pronunciation per region.
    – Jaime Soto
    Commented Nov 12, 2010 at 21:03
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    I pronounce it as the former, /ˈpɛərəɡweɪ/, with Urugway "You - rue - gway" (you the word, rue the word, and gway rhyming).
    – Claudiu
    Commented Nov 12, 2010 at 21:05
  • I've only heard the pronunciation /ˈflɒrɪdə/ from people from New York. The rest of the U.S. says /ˈflɔrɪdə/, which is (marginally) closer to the Spanish.
    – Peter Shor
    Commented Dec 16, 2015 at 15:30

4 Answers 4

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It's to do with American English spelling and pronunciation conventions getting mixed up with foreign words and their different conventions. The standard spelling and pronunciation of vowels in American English conflicts with Spanish spelling and pronunciation. The a's in "paragraph" look like the ones in Paraguay, similar spelling means similar pronunciation, unless you have taken Spanish or are exposed to it.

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    similar spelling means similar pronunciation ? everywhere but in english
    – Petruza
    Commented Feb 5, 2011 at 3:48
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    Maybe there are more exceptions than actual rules, but it's still a good guide when pronouncing a word you've never heard!
    – Ruan Mendes
    Commented Feb 18, 2011 at 18:03
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I don't know if it answers your question, but there is a good page where people upload the pronunciation of words in their respective languages. You can try it. Maybe you'll find something useful.

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Because "paraguay" is an indigenous name it is pronounced with the dropped "g" as "pAra we". The spelling of "Paraguay" is Spanish but the name itself is "para'we".

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  • Where is it pronounced like this? I can find pronunciations in Spanish both with and without the /g/, but I can't tell whether that's just because some dialects of Spanish drop /g/s.
    – Peter Shor
    Commented Apr 20, 2019 at 16:41
  • @PeterShor I travelled through Paraguay and I can attest that the /g/ is barely pronounced by locals, it's somewhere between a slight aspiration and the mildest of glottal stops. This is common throughout the Andean countries where I lived for nearly a year; agua (water) is pronounced the same way, more like a'wa.
    – Chappo Hasn't Forgotten
    Commented Apr 20, 2019 at 16:52
  • @Garry, I'm not sure how you pronounce "pAra we" but the Paraguayan pronunciation roughly rhymes with the English word eye and a typical English pronunciation would be more like para+gw+eye.
    – Chappo Hasn't Forgotten
    Commented Apr 20, 2019 at 17:05
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I invariably pronounce it /paɾaˈgwai/. It is indeed much closer to the actual Spanish pronunciation. This seems to be the standard pronunciation in Britain English in general, from my experience.

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    I have serious doubts that pronouncing [ɣ] is standard in any British English word.
    – Kosmonaut
    Commented Nov 12, 2010 at 23:20
  • @Kosmonaut: Well it is standard (though not ubiquitous) - I'm telling you! As a Brit, I'm pretty well qualified to say so. Note that it may not be a common pronunciation for the gu sequence, but this is an exception since the word is Spanish in origin.
    – Noldorin
    Commented Nov 12, 2010 at 23:24
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    If it is standard to pronounce Paraguay or Uruguay with [ɣ], I wonder why it is not listed as a UK or US variant in any dictionary.
    – Kosmonaut
    Commented Nov 12, 2010 at 23:40
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    I am British and would not pronounce any English words with [ɣ], Spanish origin notwithstanding - it gets naturalised to [ɡ], including in Paraguay and Uruguay.
    – psmears
    Commented Feb 5, 2011 at 8:16
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    No, you didn't indicate "gw", you indicated the voiced velar fricative, a sound which doesn't exist in modern English and which is rather nasty to try and pronounce. :-)
    – Jez
    Commented Apr 9, 2012 at 7:22

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