# Aaliyah - what IS the correct pronunciation? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 6, 2002, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aaliyah-what-is-the-correct-pronunciation/131070 "2002-10-06T14:41:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![psychotropic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/57b2e6/32.png) [@psychotropic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychotropic)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2002, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aaliyah-what-is-the-correct-pronunciation/131070/1 "2002-10-06T14:41:58Z")
Aaliyah: I’ve heard her name pronounced different SO many times I really don’t know now who to believe. Is it UH-LIE-UH or AR-LEE-AR or AR-LIE-AR? Well, its kinda hard to “phoneticize” it, but you get my drift! For eg. do you say Ali (as in Mohammed) then “yah” or Arli as in “gnarly” & uh as in “uh-huh”… ---
**Author:** ![zweisamkeit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zweisamkeit/32/4360_2.png) [@zweisamkeit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zweisamkeit)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2002, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aaliyah-what-is-the-correct-pronunciation/131070/2 "2002-10-06T15:22:33Z")
I have no idea what the “correct” pronunciation is, but I’ve always thought it was “eye-LEE-yah” or “ah-LEE-yah” ---
**Author:** ![Alphagene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Alphagene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alphagene)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2002, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aaliyah-what-is-the-correct-pronunciation/131070/3 "2002-10-06T15:41:19Z")
I’ve never heard anything but ah-LEE-yah. ---
**Author:** ![Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troy_mcclure_sf/32/4150_2.png) [@Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Troy_McClure_SF)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2002, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aaliyah-what-is-the-correct-pronunciation/131070/4 "2002-10-06T18:11:14Z")
ah-LEE-yah or if you’re lazy uh-LEE-yuh If you’re not familiar with her music, I heartily recommend it; she has an amazing voice. ---
**Author:** ![drm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a88e57/32.png) [@drm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drm)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2002, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aaliyah-what-is-the-correct-pronunciation/131070/5 "2002-10-06T21:26:44Z")
I’ve always pronounced it AH-LIE-YAH ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2002, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aaliyah-what-is-the-correct-pronunciation/131070/6 "2002-10-06T21:45:22Z")
I think that there’s a problem with us trying to write out the pronunciation if you speak an r-less dialect, psychotropic, while the others of us posting here speak an r-full dialect. /ar-lee-ar/ might actually be an approximately correct pronunciation in your dialect if (as I suspect) you drop the /r/ sound within or at the end of a syllable. Note: “Dropping an /r/” actually means you pronounce the vowel sound in the syllable slightly differently. It doesn’t mean that you just ignore the /r/ sound. ---
**Author:** ![Geek\_Mecha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ecae2f/32.png) [@Geek\_Mecha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Geek_Mecha)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2002, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aaliyah-what-is-the-correct-pronunciation/131070/7 "2002-10-06T22:06:49Z")
Radio DJs and the guys on MTV have always called her ah-lee-yah, so that’s what I call her. ---
**Author:** ![Manduck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/manduck/32/256_2.png) [@Manduck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Manduck)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2002, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aaliyah-what-is-the-correct-pronunciation/131070/8 "2002-10-06T22:36:21Z")
She starred in the movie _Romeo Must Die_. There’s a scene where one of the characters mentions that her character looks like Aaliyah. I think he said “get your Aaliyah-lookin’ ass down here!” Aaaaaanyway, he pronounced it “ah-LEE-ah”. ---
**Author:** ![LifeOnWry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/96bed5/32.png) [@LifeOnWry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LifeOnWry)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2002, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aaliyah-what-is-the-correct-pronunciation/131070/9 "2002-10-07T01:31:51Z")
Whitney Houston, who I believe is Aaliyah’s aunt, pronounces it “ah-LIE-a” ---
**Author:** ![Alphagene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Alphagene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alphagene)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2002, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aaliyah-what-is-the-correct-pronunciation/131070/10 "2002-10-07T02:34:09Z")
From [MTV.com](http://www.mtv.com/bands/az/aaliyah/artist.jhtml): “…Aaliyah pronounced Ah-Lee-Yah (“highest, most exalted one” in Swahili)…” Anyone fluent enough in Swahili to confirm? ---
**Author:** ![stylize](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c67d28/32.png) [@stylize](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stylize)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2002, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aaliyah-what-is-the-correct-pronunciation/131070/11 "2002-10-07T04:13:32Z")
I have seen interviews with her where she said that it supposed to be pronouned with the first part sounding like “Ali” as in Muhammed Ali. the “uh” sound after is short.