# Correct pronunciation of "shaman" **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 20, 2017, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/correct-pronunciation-of-shaman/784842 "2017-04-20T14:08:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Nippless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/df788c/32.png) [@Nippless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nippless)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2017, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/correct-pronunciation-of-shaman/784842/1 "2017-04-20T14:08:09Z")
shay-man shay-mahn shah-min shah-mon sham-on sham-ahn … My brain seems to think shay-min is right for some reason but I keep hearing varying versions and they can’t all be right, or even close. Masters, please help. ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2017, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/correct-pronunciation-of-shaman/784842/2 "2017-04-20T14:39:45Z")
Depends on where you live. [Cambridge dictionary](http://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/pronunciation/english/shaman) says shay-man in the UK and shah-mon in the U.S. But I’m sure you’ll find both pronunciations in both places. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2017, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/correct-pronunciation-of-shaman/784842/3 "2017-04-20T15:11:50Z")
> [@TroutMan](#): > > Depends on where you live. [Cambridge dictionary](http://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/pronunciation/english/shaman) says shay-man in the UK and shah-mon in the U.S. But I’m sure you’ll find both pronunciations in both places. Yeah, for example, I’m US and I grew up learning it as shay-mən around here. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2017, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/correct-pronunciation-of-shaman/784842/4 "2017-04-20T15:26:04Z")
OK, since word sound and religious practice line up here: what’s the correct pronunciation of “Shamus?” ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2017, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/correct-pronunciation-of-shaman/784842/5 "2017-04-20T15:29:31Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Yeah, for example, I’m US and I grew up learning it as shay-mən around here. Shaman you for pronouncing it that way! It’s SHAH-mun. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2017, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/correct-pronunciation-of-shaman/784842/6 "2017-04-20T15:40:03Z")
SHAY-mən (I stole that “ə” from **pulykamell** , because it’s not quite an “a” sound and not quite an “i” sound.) SHAY-mus ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2017, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/correct-pronunciation-of-shaman/784842/7 "2017-04-20T15:47:15Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > … > SHAY-mus Trick question. If you’re Bogie, “SHAY-mus.” If you’re Mortie Goldberg, sexton of the local shul (the word/title which was the original), it’s “SHAH-mus.” [Yiddish crossover from Hebrew root for “guard/guardian.” In NYC, for example, the Jewish policeman’s [del]other ball[/del] fraternal order, or whatever the hell they call it, is called the “Shomrim.”] ---
**Author:** ![DrCube](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a3d4f5/32.png) [@DrCube](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrCube)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2017, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/correct-pronunciation-of-shaman/784842/8 "2017-04-20T16:18:43Z")
Like “thee” and “thuh”, I personally use two pronunciations, both “shay-mən” and “shah-mən”. I can’t think of any rule that I use to decide when to use one pronunciation over the other, though. With “the”, I think it’s like a/an. When the next word starts with a vowel, it’s “thee”, and “thə” otherwise. With shaman, I think it has more to do with what mood I’m in. There are other words like that, too, where I guess part of my brain still hasn’t decided what accent or dialect I have, so I go both ways. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2017, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/correct-pronunciation-of-shaman/784842/9 "2017-04-20T16:26:58Z")
> [@DrCube](#): > > With “the”, I think it’s like a/an. When the next word starts with a vowel, it’s “thee”, and “thə” otherwise. It’s also common for the “thee” pronunciation to show up for emphasis (as in, “that place has THEE best hot dogs”) and also in hesitated/interrupted speech, like when you’re searching for a word or to complete a though. (“What did you order?” “Lemme think, I got theeee … what was it? … thee … West Virginia dog and an order of fries.”) ---
**Author:** ![Boozahol\_Squid\_P.I](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/d9b06d/32.png) [@Boozahol\_Squid\_P.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boozahol_Squid_P.I)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2017, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/correct-pronunciation-of-shaman/784842/10 "2017-04-20T17:13:40Z")
> [@Leo\_Bloom](#): > > If you’re Mortie Goldberg, sexton of the local shul (the word/title which was the original), it’s “SHAH-mus.” > > [Yiddish crossover from Hebrew root for “guard/guardian.” In NYC, for example, the Jewish policeman’s [del]other ball[/del] fraternal order, or whatever the hell they call it, is called the “Shomrim.”] I’ve always heard that it was a corrupted spelling of the Irish name Seamus, due to the plethora of Irishmen on the NYC police force. If so, Reb Goldberg should be pronouncing it just like Bogart. The OED seems to claim ignorance, and other lesser sources seem to split between the Irish/Yiddish source of the word. ---
**Author:** ![glowacks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/glowacks/32/5548_2.png) [@glowacks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glowacks)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2017, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/correct-pronunciation-of-shaman/784842/11 "2017-04-20T17:33:48Z")
Making the first ‘a’ an English “long A” is hyper-English-ifying the word. The British are very fond of doing this sort of thing, as are uneducated Americans (in my not-so-humble opinion). Making is an American “short A” is Americanifying the word, but that’s not all that bad, although not particularly common. It, in my opinion as well as Google’s, should be the same vowel as in “father” (which I think is the same in all dialects). Listen to the pronunciation given when searching Google for it: [shaman - Google Search](https://www.google.com/search?q=shaman), although they apparently list the “long A” version as a possible pronunciation, probably because it’s fairly common. That the second vowel is a schwa I don’t think is in any dispute, since generally unstressed vowels are realized as schwas in English unless they’re clearly something else. If you’re trying to hard to think of which vowel it should be there, you’re not letting the stress fall correctly. I’m fairly certain the consonants have no ambiguity. ---
**Author:** ![FlikTheBlue](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fliktheblue/32/10972_2.png) [@FlikTheBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlikTheBlue)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2017, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/correct-pronunciation-of-shaman/784842/12 "2017-04-20T18:09:26Z")
I’ve always prounced the first syllable like the sha in shank and the second syllable like the mon in money. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2017, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/correct-pronunciation-of-shaman/784842/13 "2017-04-20T18:47:10Z")
> [@FlikTheBlue](#): > > I’ve always prounced the first syllable like the sha in shank and the second syllable like the mon in money. So, like Sean Connery ordering fish? ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2017, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/correct-pronunciation-of-shaman/784842/14 "2017-04-20T21:20:37Z")
> [@glowacks](#): > > Making the first ‘a’ an English “long A” is hyper-English-ifying the word. The British are very fond of doing this sort of thing, as are uneducated Americans (in my not-so-humble opinion). Wow. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2017, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/correct-pronunciation-of-shaman/784842/15 "2017-04-21T17:53:38Z")
I’ve only really heard it as SHAH-muhn. > [@pulykamell](#): > > > [@](#): > > > > View Post > > Making the first ‘a’ an English “long A” is hyper-English-ifying the word. The British are very fond of doing this sort of thing, as are uneducated Americans (in my not-so-humble opinion). > > Wow. I wouldn’t say “uneducated,” and I don’t know about this word in particular. But I would say that, in the U.S. at least, there is a lack of prestige in using anglicized pronunciations of words. It seems to me to be somewhat the opposite in the UK, but I don’t know for sure. I mean, I’ve seen many people made fun of for saying Mary-o or Marry-o instead of MAH-ree-oh for Mario. Saying tortilla with -la is a sign of stupidity. And don’t get me started with mispronouncing French words that have entered English. So it does not surprise me that someone might think that Anglicizing “shaman” would be seen as boorish or uncivilized. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2017, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/correct-pronunciation-of-shaman/784842/16 "2017-04-21T18:12:35Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > I’ve only really heard it as SHAH-muhn. > > I wouldn’t say “uneducated,” and I don’t know about this word in particular. But I would say that, in the U.S. at least, there is a lack of prestige in using anglicized pronunciations of words. It seems to me to be somewhat the opposite in the UK, but I don’t know for sure. > > I mean, I’ve seen many people made fun of for saying Mary-o or Marry-o instead of MAH-ree-oh for Mario. Saying tortilla with -la is a sign of stupidity. And don’t get me started with mispronouncing French words that have entered English. > > So it does not surprise me that someone might think that Anglicizing “shaman” would be seen as boorish or uncivilized. _Shrug_ That’s just the way I’ve learned the word from educated speakers in my dialect group. I’ve never thought of it as a non-“prestige” pronunciation. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2017, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/correct-pronunciation-of-shaman/784842/17 "2017-04-21T20:04:21Z")
White non-urban from the South or Middle America, obviously uneducated, ca. early 2003. "Yeah, we should invade “Eye-raq.” Obvious redneck. For years, even until now, the sign of a redneck or kindred dummy in any discussion about the mideast. Urban Senator from New York, "Yeah [Yay] we should invade “Ih-raq.” Educated person. I, for one, do _not_ believe this is true, but many do. Just aks them. ---
**Author:** ![Ann\_Hedonia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ann_hedonia/32/319_2.png) [@Ann\_Hedonia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ann_Hedonia)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2017, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/correct-pronunciation-of-shaman/784842/18 "2017-04-21T20:18:57Z")
I would go with shah-mon. Everyone I know that purports to be one pronounces it that way. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2017, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/correct-pronunciation-of-shaman/784842/19 "2017-04-21T20:50:32Z")
SHAY-mn with a vocalic n is how I say it. ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2017, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/correct-pronunciation-of-shaman/784842/20 "2017-04-21T21:40:04Z")
For me it’s [ˈʃɑːmən]. The _American Heritage Dictionary_, edited by language scholars I trust, gives the two pronunciations: [ˈʃɑːmən] first and [ˈʃeɪmən] second. So both sides may comfort themselves, respectively. That the one they put first happens to be the one I use is probably a reflection that I’m a native speaker of general, widespread American pronunciation. Now, the source word from the Evenki language is _[šamán](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%D1%88%D0%B0%D0%BC%D0%B0%D0%BD#Evenki)_, pronounced /ʃamaːn/. This is a dialectal pronunciation of Evenki samán (/samaːn/). It seems here that the accent mark in the transcription is intended to mark vowel length instead of syllable stress; no indication of stress accent is given. Behind Evenki, all attempts at etymology are question marks. The two most popular guesses are 1) from the Tungusic root _sha_- ‘to know’ or 2) from Pali _samaṇa_ (a term familiar to readers of _Siddhartha_ by Hesse), from Sanskrit श्रमण _śramaṇa_ [QUOTE=Monier-Williams] 1. one who performs acts of mortification or austerity, an ascetic, monk, devotee, religious mendicant (ŚBr. etc.) 2. a Buddhist monk or mendicant (also applied to Buddha himself. [/quote] But neither guess has won over most etymologists. In any event, it most definitely is not from Arabic _shayṭān_—that is just ridiculous. A phonetic sound change could never happen just like that. Arabic “y” and “ṭ” are not even playing in the same ballpark as “m.” [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/correct-pronunciation-of-shaman/784842.md?page=2)