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According to Wiktionary, Emma is pronounced as /ˈɛmə/ but I tend to hear it sounding more like /ˈɛmɑː/. However, when it comes to pronouncing Emma's, I hear it like /ˈɛməz/ and I hear a clear schwa there.

Here are the samples for /ˈɛmɑː/ (Watch them at 0.25x playback speed):

British: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

American: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8

Australian: 1, 2, 3, 4

If you listen to the samples at 0.25x speed, you'll notice that the letter a in /ˈɛmɑː/ sounds longish compared to letter a in in /ˈɛməz/.

Here are the samples for /ˈɛməz/ (Watch them with 0.25x playback speed): 1 , 2 , 3

I must say the length of the letter a in the Aussie accent is somewhat longer compared to other samples.

Assuming Wiktionary is incorrect, why is it that Emma's pronounced as /ˈɛməz/ instead of /ˈɛmɑːz/?

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    Wiktionary is not incorrect. I at least have never heard anyone pronounce the name Emma as /ˈemɑː/ in English. There is a somewhat similar word that does have this option: the word cinema is most commonly pronounced /ˈsɪnəmə/ everywhere nowadays, but in the UK, it used to be (and among some older speakers still is) the norm to pronounce it /ˈsɪnəmɑː/. But that doesn’t apply to Emma, which has only ever been /ˈemə/ in recent history. Commented Mar 20, 2023 at 13:02
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    This may be a regional thing, or even a particular person's preference. Where do you hear /ˈɛmɑː/?
    – Colin Fine
    Commented Mar 20, 2023 at 13:11
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    @FinAnalyst: Of course you hear it in your ears. We hear everything in our ears. I meant, what part of the English-speaking world do you hear it in? But actually, now you say that, I think there is a (perhaps stereotypical) London teen accent that has /-ɑː/ in a lot of words.
    – Colin Fine
    Commented Mar 20, 2023 at 13:22
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    @JanusBahsJacquet I definitely wouldn't go that far about the pronunciation of cinema. I've only 28 and pronouncing it with a full vowel sounds entirely natural to me
    – Tristan
    Commented Mar 20, 2023 at 13:57
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    @FinAnalyst: The word Emma has a longer vowel than Emma's, but it's still an /ə/ and not an /ɑː/. Compare the word Emma with the word enchanting in your first link youtu.be/LIYiThAyY8s?t=288. They are clearly different vowels to my ears. The length of the vowel is not the only difference between /ə/ and /ɑː/. Commented Mar 21, 2023 at 12:34

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