How do you say calliope?

[Pitter Patter]

I was watching Auction Kings the other day when they came across a calliope to auction off...The staff of the auction house kept calling it a "cally-ope. What the hell? Is that a Georgia regional pronunciation, or what? I live in central NC and we always say "Ca-Lie-O-Pee". Dopers, chime in.

[Der Trihs]

"Cally-ope" - although I've never heard the word spoken by anyone else or bothered to look up the pronunciation, so I just went in my head with how it looks in print.

[Hilarity N. Suze]

Of course I thought it was "cally-ope" until I heard someone say it. Now I would say kuh-LYE-oh pee, if I said it. Which I don't think I have for years.

When my son and I went to the first Harry Potter movie we realized that we--mainly me, since I was the grownup--had been mispronouncing Hermione (and Hagrid, and probably more, but at least those two). Her-MY-oh-knee versus HER-me-OWN. Boy did I feel stoopit.

[pravnik]

Kə-LY-ə-pee

[Onomatopoeia]

Ka-LIE-uh-pee.

[foxymoron]

It's my daughter's name. We pronounce it cuh-lye-oh-pee.
Our goofy pronunciations are callie-Oh-pee and ca-lee-ope.

I've only ever heard people who are confident in their pronunciation of it say the 'right' way.

[pulykamell]

Originally Posted by pravnik

Kə-LY-ə-pee

Originally Posted by Onomatopoeia

Ka-LIE-uh-pee.

Assuming these are both describing the same pronunciation, that's the only way I've ever heard it.

[Pitter Patter]

Thanks guys. Maybe some Georgia folks will check in, but that just sounds wrong to me.

[Der Trihs]

Originally Posted by pravnik

Kə-LY-ə-pee

However, following the link on that page to the article on the instrument leads to this tidbit:

The pronunciation of the word 'calliope' has long been disputed. The Greek muse by the same name is pronounced /kəˈlaɪ.əpiː/ kə-LY-ə-pee, but the instrument was generally pronounced /ˈkæli.oʊp/ KAL-ee-ohp. A nineteenth century magazine, Reedy's Mirror, attempted to settle the dispute by publishing this rhyme:[4]

Proud folk stare after me,
Call me Calliope;
Tooting joy, tooting hope,
I am the calliope.

This, in turn, came from a poem by Vachel Lindsay, called "The Kallyope Yell," [sic][5] in which Lindsay uses both pronunciations.

[Kenm]

Originally Posted by Hilarity N. Suze

Her-MY-oh-knee versus HER-me-OWN.

Penel-ope and Pers-ephone know the problem too well.

[WhyNot]

Originally Posted by Hilarity N. Suze

When my son and I went to the first Harry Potter movie we realized that we--mainly me, since I was the grownup--had been mispronouncing Hermione (and Hagrid, and probably more, but at least those two). Her-MY-oh-knee versus HER-me-OWN. Boy did I feel stoopit.

Don't feel stoopit. That was such a common mistake, she eventually wrote it into one of the books! (Although it doesn't make much sense, plot wise...there's no indication that the character that calls her "Hermy-own" has ever seen her name in writing.) She was "Hermy-own" in my head for the first four books. It was a surprisingly difficult transition once I learned how the name is actually pronounced!


Oh, and kuh-LYE-oh-pee.

[OttoDaFe]

Originally Posted by pravnik

Kə-LY-ə-pee

If one is referring to the muse, that is indeed the pronunciation; however, my understanding is that circus people invariably use KAL-ee-ohp. Unsure whether the ditty quoted by Der Trihs is related, however.

[panache45]

Originally Posted by pravnik

Kə-LY-ə-pee

This . . . except when one is deliberately trying to sound ignorant.

[Kaio]

Not too long ago I met a woman named Calliope at a networking event. I'm very glad she introduced herself before I read off her name tag.

Yep. She's Callie-ohpee. I avoid actually saying her name when I run into her, because one day I will call her Ka-LYE-oh-pee to her face. Argh.

[appleciders]

I've heard that cally-ope is an old circus pronunciation, peculiar to American circusmen. God help if if I can recall where I heard that, though. Cah-LIE-Oh-Pee is the correct pronunciation.

[Little Nemo]

Cah-LIE-oh-pee.

If it's good enough for Bruce Springsteen it's good enough for me.

[twickster]

Moved MPSIMS --> IMHO, home of polls.

[tdn]

Ca-Lie-O-Pee.

Seriously? Cally-ope? I'll have to consider that while I sip on my frah-pay.

[Kiyoshi]

Originally Posted by tdn

Ca-Lie-O-Pee.

Seriously? Cally-ope? I'll have to consider that while I sip on my frah-pay.

Wait--that's not how to pronounce "frappe"? (I've never heard it out loud, but I assumed it must rhyme with "latte"...)

How is it pronounced?

[JoelUpchurch]

I pronounce it just like Manfred Mann.

Just say "The calliope crashed to the ground" and you will know how to pronounce it.

[Moonlitherial]

All these song references and we've missed the calliope crashing to the ground when Blinded by the light.

[Ludovic]

Hey, didn't Bruce Springsteen and Manfred Mann have a song that mentioned the calliope? If only I could remember what that was.

[Inner Stickler]

Originally Posted by Kiyoshi

How is it pronounced?

I imagine a lot of people just say frap. Me, I avoid the whole issue and just ask for the caramel blended coffee drink.

Also, I say cuh-lie-oh-pee.

[WhyNot]

Originally Posted by Kiyoshi

Wait--that's not how to pronounce "frappe"? (I've never heard it out loud, but I assumed it must rhyme with "latte"...)

How is it pronounced?

The chilled coffee drink called a frappé is pronounced fra-pay. The vowel in the first syllable is a short a, like in apple.

The regional milkshake drink called a frappe or a frappé is pronounced frap.

http://dictionary.infoplease.com/frappe

[etv78]

Originally Posted by Little Nemo

Cah-LIE-oh-pee.

If it's good enough for Bruce Springsteen it's good enough for me.

Same here.

[TruCelt]

My Mother is from deepest, darkest, Georgia, and she pronounces it "Call-aye-oh-pee". I think you just ran into a bit of ignorance. It's not exactly an everyday word.

[Spoke]

Native Georgian checking in. Raised out in the country and everything.

ca-LIE-o-pee

I don't think the pronunciation you heard has anything to do with the speaker being from Georgia. It's just an example of someone trying to pronounce a word they've perhaps only encountered in written form.

Like "victuals."

[RalfCoder]

I've always used "Cah - LYE - oh - pee" - pronounced with 4 syl - LA - buls.

On a related topic - back in the 70's, I once heard the Sunday morning radio guy (the time slot where they put the most inexperienced guy who probably pays the station to let him near the equipment) give the morning announcements of upcoming events. One item was about a class in macrame. For youse kids, this is that artform of tying knots in fuzzy yarns and stuff to hand plants, pots, decorative bottles, etc. It was da bomb back in the day of shag carpets, afros, and polyester disco shirts.

Only this guy pronounced it "mah - KRAME".

[Johnny L.A.]

As a small child I learned it as 'ca-LYE-o-pee'. Which threw me for a loop when I visited New Orleans and heard 'Cally-ope Street'. It was like hearing someone pronounce Hueneme as 'Hyoo-neem' or Sepulveda as 'Sepple-veeda' or La Jolla as 'La JOLL-a'.

[WhyNot]

Originally Posted by Johnny L.A.

As a small child I learned it as 'ca-LYE-o-pee'. Which threw me for a loop when I visited New Orleans and heard 'Cally-ope Street'. It was like hearing someone pronounce Hueneme as 'Hyoo-neem' or Sepulveda as 'Sepple-veeda' or La Jolla as 'La JOLL-a'.

Here in Chicago, we have streets named Devon (duh-VAHN), Paulina (paul-EYE-nuh) and Goethe (GO-thee). Makes out of towners twitchy.

[EmilyG]

"Many an infant that is screaming like a calliope
Could be soothed with a little attention to its diope."

--Ogden Nash

[stpauler]

I used to have a subscription to Calliope Magazine as a kid (and Cobblestone too) and would pronounce it Cally-ope. I don't remember any phonetics that told me differently and was in my 20s before consciously hearing it differently and pronouncing it as cah-lie-oh-pee.

[Fiddle Peghead]

Originally Posted by Kenm

Penel-ope and Pers-ephone know the problem too well.

I was thinking about Penelope, actually. I know very well how to pronounce it, but every time I see it in print, I always read it as PEN-uh-lope until mentally correcting myself.

[Skald the Rhymer]

I say kəˈlʌɪəpi, but I remember looking it up to be sure of the pronunciation. I don't remember ever mispronouncing it, but I'm still sure I must have at least once.

[Kevbo]

Always Kuh-lye-oh-pee for me.

But I had read the word cacophony many times, never having heard it pronounced. In my head it was kawk-oh-phoney.

[WhyNot]

Detritus is and always will be "DEH-trih-tuhs" (emphasis on first syllable, short i in the middle) in my head. Learning words from books does have its perils.

[BobLibDem]

kuh-LYE-oh-pee. I was going to suggest cal-lee-OH-pee to be facetious but I guess that's how some really say it that way. I suppose one could make the case for a silent e and come up with kuh-LYE-up.

[lost4life]

Originally Posted by Johnny L.A.

As a small child I learned it as 'ca-LYE-o-pee'. Which threw me for a loop when I visited New Orleans and heard 'Cally-ope Street'. It was like hearing someone pronounce Hueneme as 'Hyoo-neem' or Sepulveda as 'Sepple-veeda' or La Jolla as 'La JOLL-a'.

Yep, New Orleans has a way with street names. Tchoupitoulas, Burgundy, and of course, Calliope (kahl-ee-ope).

[drewtwo99]

I just showed this word to my boyfriend who hadn't ever seen it or heard it before, and asked him to pronounce it.

He came very close to the correct pronunciation sounding it out. He said something like cuh-lie-oh-pee.

[Johnny L.A.]

Originally Posted by lost4life

Yep, New Orleans has a way with street names. Tchoupitoulas, Burgundy, and of course, Calliope (kahl-ee-ope).

You meen 'CHOP-i-too-las' and 'Bur-GUN-dee'?

Actually, I had no problem with Tchoupitoulas since I'd never heard the word before going to New Orleans. Say, there's this shop I want to go to in the French Quarter. I think it's on Rue-something...

[TruCelt]

I had this problem once with superfluous. I pronounced it Soo-per-FLOO-us. In a college creative writing class, no less.

[Skammer]

Originally Posted by WhyNot

Detritus is and always will be "DEH-trih-tuhs" (emphasis on first syllable, short i in the middle) in my head. Learning words from books does have its perils.

[Inner Stickler]

I remember in 9th grade english, I pronounced ascertain uh-sirtin, like certain with a schwa in front and the teacher made a face and said, no it's a-sirTAIN with the emphasis on the last syllable. I was pretty embarrassed and made a mental note to never fuck that word up again. Well, I've heard a number of people pronounce it now and guess which variant is most popular in unguarded speech?

[Loach]

Originally Posted by pulykamell

Assuming these are both describing the same pronunciation, that's the only way I've ever heard it.

Yep me too.

[cwthree]

"ka LIE oh pee", with secondary accent on the last syllable.

[BigT]

Huh. I'd never heard the long I pronunciation. The Greek goddess is call-ee-OH-pee, and the instrument is a CAL-ee-ope. I still marvel at all these Greek goddesses that get the English long I sound in their name for some reason.

Heck, while I'm okay with pronouncing the Harry Potter character as hurr-MYE-oh-nee, I still insist on calling the Greek goddess HERR-mee-oh-nee. I can't understand why we have not had a large push to go back to something closer to the original Greek pronunciations, instead of pushing our Great Vowel Shift on every language.

I also note that this character in the best (and longest) webcomic of all time is definitely pronounced Callie Ohpee.

[Geek Mecha]

TV taught me this word. There was a animated show on USA called Calliope, and the title was spoken aloud during the promos and credits.

[Loach]

I can honestly say that the first time I had heard the word pronounced as Cally-ope was in this thread.

[excavating (for a mind)]

I just have to say I can't believe that it is almost 50 posts to this thread and nobody has mentioned "Mama Plays the Calliope" from John Hartford's Headin' Down Into the Mystery Below Album.

I won't say how he pronounced it, except to say he rhymed it with "...Brother throws the rope"


I'll admit that "Mama Plays the Calliope" didn't make it big, like "Gentle on My Mind" did, but I'd have expected at least a couple of Dopers to be familiar with it.

excavating (for a mind)

[Jake Jones]

Merriam-Webster lists "cally-ope" as an acceptable pronunciation for the musical instrument, and even has audio files for both pronunciations. Just sayin'