# How do you say it? \[How to pronounce Cecil\] **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 28, 2023, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-say-it-how-to-pronounce-cecil/986236 "2023-06-28T15:08:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![smithsb](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smithsb/32/12107_2.png) [@smithsb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smithsb)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2023, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-say-it-how-to-pronounce-cecil/986236/41 "2023-06-29T03:15:57Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > I thought it was Inglethorpe Dinwiddy Throatwobbler Mangrove. ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2023, 6:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-say-it-how-to-pronounce-cecil/986236/42 "2023-06-29T06:26:47Z")
> [@colinfred](#): > > I’m British so always read it “Sess-ill”, even though I know that Zotti and most of the US pronounce it See-sill. Just to confuse the issue, the surname of the aristocratic family Cecil used at one time to be pronounced “Sissill”. Now, about “Mow-reece”… ---
**Author:** ![Dead\_Cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9fc29f/32.png) [@Dead\_Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dead_Cat)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2023, 6:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-say-it-how-to-pronounce-cecil/986236/43 "2023-06-29T06:39:02Z")
Precisely. I in fact had an Uncle Cecil, who was always referred to as “Uncle Cece”, pronounced “sess”. In fact I only became aware of the “seesil” pronunciation via this thread. Yes, I’m British. ---
**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:** [June 29, 2023, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-say-it-how-to-pronounce-cecil/986236/44 "2023-06-29T12:47:25Z")
> [@Plutonium\_Chef](#): > > I _was_ going to reply, “How is this a question? Many times, Cecil referred to himself as ‘Cece’ or ‘Unca Cece’. ‘Cece’ should be pronounced ‘seess’ or ‘cease’, which implies ‘see-sil’. The man has spoken.” Well, no, it doesn’t imply any such thing: Nathaniel/Nathan/Nate, Katherine/Kat(i)e, Montgomery/Monty. Those vowel sounds change. It’s like saying acronyms must be pronounced with the original letter sounds of each constituent word. The nicknames are their own thing and are pronounced in a way that makes sense for their spelling. Plus who’s to say “Cece” isn’t pronounced “Cess”? That’s how I’d pronounce it in this case. (Though more often than not “Cece” is “see-see” to me, short for “Cecelia,” which I pronounce with an “eh” in the first syllable, but the nickname with an “ee” in the first syllable.) ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2023, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-say-it-how-to-pronounce-cecil/986236/45 "2023-06-29T12:56:57Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > Sea anemones are sessile. Sea anemones are sessile and put the vessel with the pestle seeing Cecil by the sea shore. ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2023, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-say-it-how-to-pronounce-cecil/986236/46 "2023-06-29T13:19:42Z")
Cecil sells sessile sea shells by the sea shore. ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2023, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-say-it-how-to-pronounce-cecil/986236/47 "2023-06-29T13:27:39Z")
Should I cease and desist, before this thread descends into a cess pit? ---
**Author:** ![MrAtoz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@MrAtoz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrAtoz)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2023, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-say-it-how-to-pronounce-cecil/986236/48 "2023-06-29T13:27:54Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Montgomery/Monty. Those vowel sounds change. Okay, at the risk of opening another can of worms, and/or exposing myself as an illiterate American: what vowel change do you perceive between Montgomery and Monty? ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2023, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-say-it-how-to-pronounce-cecil/986236/49 "2023-06-29T13:30:21Z")
The pellet with the poison’s in the vessel with the pestle. The chalice from the palace has the brew that is true. ---
**Author:** ![rocking\_chair](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocking_chair/32/2918_2.png) [@rocking\_chair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rocking_chair)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2023, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-say-it-how-to-pronounce-cecil/986236/50 "2023-06-29T13:31:47Z")
same here. once again influenced by cecilia. ---
**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:** [June 29, 2023, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-say-it-how-to-pronounce-cecil/986236/51 "2023-06-29T13:36:14Z")
The first has a schwa, the second has what we’d call a “short o” sound, at least to me. So /məntˈɡʌməɹi/ vs /ˈmɒnti/. And that’s straight from Wiktionary, so it looks like it’s not just me. ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2023, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-say-it-how-to-pronounce-cecil/986236/52 "2023-06-29T13:37:16Z")
I watched the first few minutes of the video with Ed and I noticed that he pronounces aphids like “ah-phids” instead of “ay-phids”, so who knows if he’s pronouncing Cecil right. ---
**Author:** ![MrAtoz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@MrAtoz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrAtoz)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2023, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-say-it-how-to-pronounce-cecil/986236/53 "2023-06-29T13:38:37Z")
Interesting. It would never have occurred to me to use a schwa for the first syllable of “Montgomery.” Trying to say it that way makes it sound weird to me. ---
**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:** [June 29, 2023, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-say-it-how-to-pronounce-cecil/986236/54 "2023-06-29T13:39:03Z")
That’s the standard way. Watch the Simpsons. ---
**Author:** ![MrAtoz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@MrAtoz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrAtoz)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2023, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-say-it-how-to-pronounce-cecil/986236/55 "2023-06-29T13:40:31Z")
I would never use the way Simpsons characters talk as a standard for _anything._ 😀 ---
**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:** [June 29, 2023, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-say-it-how-to-pronounce-cecil/986236/56 "2023-06-29T13:41:41Z")
Merriam-Webster lists it as the first pronunciation. Wiktionary doesn’t even give an alternate pronunciation. Now [dictionary.com](http://dictionary.com) lists your pronunciation. It does look like the city in Alabama is pronounced your way. So perhaps it’s not that definitive one way or another which it is pronounced. But, to me, pronounced without a schwa sounds as weird as with a schwa does to you. Now I’m unsure of how it’s pronounced on the Simpsons, but I hear it with a schwa in my head. ---
**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:** [June 29, 2023, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-say-it-how-to-pronounce-cecil/986236/57 "2023-06-29T13:48:45Z")
Oh, and here’s four audio samples spoken by Americans. They all sound like how I say it, though one may be a bit difficult to tell: > **[How to pronounce Montgomery in English - Definition of Montgomery in English](https://forvo.com/word/montgomery/#en_usa)** > > How to pronounce Montgomery in English. The definition of Montgomery is: Canadian novelist... ---
**Author:** ![MrAtoz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@MrAtoz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrAtoz)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2023, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-say-it-how-to-pronounce-cecil/986236/58 "2023-06-29T13:49:07Z")
Well, it’s not the first time that the rest of the world fails to recognize my way of doing things as inherently correct, and it probably won’t be the last. 😀 ---
**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:** [June 29, 2023, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-say-it-how-to-pronounce-cecil/986236/59 "2023-06-29T13:49:49Z")
I’m sure it varies by dialect/region. ---
**Author:** ![MrAtoz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@MrAtoz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrAtoz)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2023, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-say-it-how-to-pronounce-cecil/986236/60 "2023-06-29T14:12:31Z")
Almost certainly. And, to be a bit more serious, the funny thing about pronunciations is that you often hear what you expect to hear, and it can be difficult to perceive regional differences that are outside of your own dialect. For example, of those four audio samples, I hear three of them as having a “short o,” rather than a “schwa” sound, in the first syllable. Number three is the outlier for me. To hopefully end the hijack and drag this back on topic, I pronounce Cecil as “See-sill,” but I’ve seen enough British movies and TV that the pronunciation “Sess-ill” is not unfamiliar. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-say-it-how-to-pronounce-cecil/986236.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-say-it-how-to-pronounce-cecil/986236.md?page=4)