# How do you pronounce "lawyer"? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 18, 2011, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-lawyer/575196 "2011-03-18T21:34:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2011, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-lawyer/575196/1 "2011-03-18T21:34:37Z")
Do you pronounce “lawyer” closer to: LAW-yer or LOY-er or NYE-ther? These pronunciations can be found [here](http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/lawyer). Click on the little speakers to hear the two variants. Oh, and if you post, where are you from? ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2011, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-lawyer/575196/2 "2011-03-18T21:38:06Z")
Actually, when saying the word at its normal speed, I can’t tell the difference between LAW-yer and LOY-er. I once had a similar discussion with a woman named “Laura,” and came to the same conclusion. ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2011, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-lawyer/575196/3 "2011-03-18T21:41:30Z")
I say Loy-er but I hear both from other people. ---
**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:** [March 18, 2011, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-lawyer/575196/4 "2011-03-18T21:48:13Z")
Lawyer is the one word I pronounce with the aw sound, the sound a stereotypical New Yorker uses when saying awful. And, yes, there’s very little difference between that and loy-yer. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2011, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-lawyer/575196/5 "2011-03-18T22:13:35Z")
Loy-er from this Chicaaaagoite. I can, with great effort and slow speech, say law-yer, but it’s difficult. ---
**Author:** ![Invisible\_Chimp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/f05b48/32.png) [@Invisible\_Chimp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Invisible_Chimp)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2011, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-lawyer/575196/6 "2011-03-18T22:14:51Z")
> [@jsgoddess](#): > > Do you pronounce “lawyer” closer to: > LAW-yer > > or > > LOY-er > > or > > NYE-ther? > > These pronunciations can be found [here](http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/lawyer). Click on the little speakers to hear the two variants. > > Oh, and if you post, where are you from? NEE-ther? I pronounce it as LOY-er. I am from Oregon(pronounced or-gun). I am surprised LOY-er is so far ahead in the poll. There is usually more variation when these kinds of questions are asked. ---
**Author:** ![umop\_ap\_sdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/dbc845/32.png) [@umop\_ap\_sdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/umop_ap_sdn)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2011, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-lawyer/575196/7 "2011-03-18T22:16:27Z")
/'lɔ.jɚ/, which would I guess be law-yer but could sound like loy-er if said quickly. There isn’t a huge difference between the two options the way I would say them. Edit to add: originally from Connecticut. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2011, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-lawyer/575196/8 "2011-03-18T22:17:41Z")
> [@Invisible\_Chimp](#): > > NEE-ther? > > I pronounce it as LOY-er. I am from Oregon(pronounced or-gun). I am surprised LOY-er is so far ahead in the poll. There is usually more variation when these kinds of questions are asked. I sometimes think a really good linguist could probably figure out where I’m from within a two-mile radius based on how unusual some of my pronunciations are. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![moth1416](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/839c29/32.png) [@moth1416](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/moth1416)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2011, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-lawyer/575196/9 "2011-03-18T22:33:54Z")
Lah-yer. From Tennessee. The other option around here is LAW-yer, with a strong country twang on the ‘aw’ part. ---
**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2011, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-lawyer/575196/10 "2011-03-18T23:03:09Z")
slīmˌbôl 😃 Oh c’mon, the opening was too wide not to step through… ---
**Author:** ![A.Gwilliam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ea5d25/32.png) [@A.Gwilliam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/A.Gwilliam)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2011, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-lawyer/575196/11 "2011-03-18T23:42:58Z")
LOY-yer. UK. My native accent is RP with a London admixture. I’ve never heard of people saying the word with “law” as the first syllable. Do they/you also pronounce “sawyer” in the same way? ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2011, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-lawyer/575196/12 "2011-03-18T23:46:59Z")
> [@A.Gwilliam](#): > > I’ve never heard of people saying the word with “law” as the first syllable. Do they/you also pronounce “sawyer” in the same way? If I ever said it, sure! 😃 But yeah, “Tom SAH-yer.” ---
**Author:** ![AClockworkMelon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aclockworkmelon/32/10803_2.png) [@AClockworkMelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AClockworkMelon)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2011, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-lawyer/575196/13 "2011-03-19T00:02:26Z")
Law-yer. ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2011, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-lawyer/575196/14 "2011-03-19T00:06:54Z")
LAW-yer. ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2011, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-lawyer/575196/15 "2011-03-19T00:08:20Z")
British RP and I say loy-er. ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2011, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-lawyer/575196/16 "2011-03-19T00:13:00Z")
“Liar” ---
**Author:** ![SeldomSeen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7ba0ec/32.png) [@SeldomSeen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeldomSeen)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2011, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-lawyer/575196/17 "2011-03-19T00:15:46Z")
> [@Invisible\_Chimp](#): > > I pronounce it as LOY-er. I am from Oregon(pronounced or-gun). I am surprised LOY-er is so far ahead in the poll. There is usually more variation when these kinds of questions are asked. Me too. I say LOY-er, and I’m from Oregon. But please, kind sir or madam, If you live here ya gotta know it’s \*\*\*“Orry-gun”. \*\*\*Gots to get that third syllable in there, dontcha know? Must be different from those uninformed easterners who think it’s OR-gon 😉 SS ---
**Author:** ![drachillix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/48db29/32.png) [@drachillix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drachillix)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2011, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-lawyer/575196/18 "2011-03-19T00:32:08Z")
> [@Stoid](#): > > slīmˌbôl > > 😃 Oh c’mon, the opening was too wide not to step through… So what do you call a wannabe lawyer? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2011, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-lawyer/575196/19 "2011-03-19T00:52:59Z")
> [@drachillix](#): > > So what do you call a wannabe lawyer? 😃 I don’t know… I don’t know anyone that wants to be a lawyer! (I sure as hell don’t) ---
**Author:** ![An\_Arky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/87869e/32.png) [@An\_Arky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Arky)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2011, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-lawyer/575196/20 "2011-03-19T02:10:01Z")
I’m alarmed by the preponderence of the second option. It’s LAW, not LOY, duh. How in the hell do you people exist in modern society, seriously? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-lawyer/575196.md?page=2)