# What is the correct pronunciation of the name Arkady? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 2, 2004, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-correct-pronunciation-of-the-name-arkady/257997 "2004-08-02T17:38:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![meenie7](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7993a0/32.png) [@meenie7](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/meenie7)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2004, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-correct-pronunciation-of-the-name-arkady/257997/1 "2004-08-02T17:38:53Z")
I’m writing a story, and I have a character named Arkady in it, and I just sort of realized, when telling someone about the story, that I have only read about people named Arkady before, and never heard the name said, so I don’t know what the correct way to say it is. Is it “Arka-dee”? “Ar-kay-dee”? Something else? Any doper help would be appreciated! ---
**Author:** ![SCSimmons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e495f1/32.png) [@SCSimmons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCSimmons)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2004, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-correct-pronunciation-of-the-name-arkady/257997/2 "2004-08-02T17:48:48Z")
There’s a Russian programmer named Arkady on one of my projects, and everyone pronounces his name ar- **kay** -dee. I’ve never heard him correct anyone on that, so I’d guess that’s how it’s supposed to sound. (Although come to think of it, I’ve never heard anyone correct _his_ pronunciation of _anything_ in English … But then, that would pretty much stop down any conversation he was involved in, so it may just be an efficiency issue. 😃 ) ---
**Author:** ![GilaB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8e7dd6/32.png) [@GilaB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GilaB)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2004, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-correct-pronunciation-of-the-name-arkady/257997/3 "2004-08-02T17:55:56Z")
The only way I’ve ever heard it pronounced is Ar-_kay_-dee, and the one Arkady I know doesn’t correct all of us who say it that way. He’s from Russia, but has grow up here and doesn’t speak with a noticeable accent, so I doubt that we’re mispronouncing it because we don’t understand how he says stuff. ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2004, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-correct-pronunciation-of-the-name-arkady/257997/4 "2004-08-02T20:58:48Z")
As I mention often, I’m surrounded by Soviets. What I’ve heard agrees with what’s already been posted, ar-KAY-dee. ---
**Author:** ![Athena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/35a633/32.png) [@Athena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athena)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2004, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-correct-pronunciation-of-the-name-arkady/257997/5 "2004-08-03T13:28:55Z")
We always pronounced it “Ardy”, because it seemed to fit my clownish orange tabby a little more than the full version. He was named Arkady because I _really_ wanted a Russian Blue but could only afford a pound cat, so I got a pound cat and gave him a good Russian name. ---
**Author:** ![Eva\_Luna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e495f1/32.png) [@Eva\_Luna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eva_Luna)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2004, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-correct-pronunciation-of-the-name-arkady/257997/6 "2004-08-03T13:55:41Z")
I think all the Arkadies (how the heck do you pluralize it in English, anyway?) mentioned so far are just trying to be polite and/or Americanized. All vowels in Russian are pronounced as long vowels, so it’s ArKAHdy. ---
**Author:** ![SmackFu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/53a042/32.png) [@SmackFu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmackFu)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2004, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-correct-pronunciation-of-the-name-arkady/257997/7 "2004-08-03T13:57:46Z")
My one datapoint is that I know an old-school Russian whose name is pronounced Ar-kah-dee. Ar-kay-dee isn’t even close to how he says it. ---
**Author:** ![Ms\_Ann\_Thrope](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a9a28c/32.png) [@Ms\_Ann\_Thrope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ms_Ann_Thrope)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2004, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-correct-pronunciation-of-the-name-arkady/257997/8 "2004-08-03T14:03:10Z")
I agree with Eva Luna and SmackFu. My parents were from Ukraine (it shares a border with Russia), and they always pronounced it ArKAHdee. I’ve known a few other Slavs, including some Russians, and they’ve pronounced it the same way. ---
**Author:** ![Sattua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sattua/32/11906_2.png) [@Sattua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sattua)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2004, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-correct-pronunciation-of-the-name-arkady/257997/9 "2004-08-03T14:48:43Z")
Another friend of a native Russian speaker, checking into report that he calls his friend Arkady “ArKAHdee”. ---
**Author:** ![Ponster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponster/32/17081_2.png) [@Ponster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponster)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2004, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-correct-pronunciation-of-the-name-arkady/257997/10 "2004-08-03T17:21:48Z")
Ar-kah-dee eh? Well it looks like I’ll have to go back and reread all my Martin Cruz Smith books and get it right this time 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2004, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-correct-pronunciation-of-the-name-arkady/257997/11 "2004-08-03T17:33:01Z")
> [@Eva Luna](#): > > All vowels in Russian are pronounced as long vowels, so it’s ArKAHdy. That’s a _short_ vowel. A long vowel would be the previously mentioned “ay”. ---
**Author:** ![Eva\_Luna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e495f1/32.png) [@Eva\_Luna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eva_Luna)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2004, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-correct-pronunciation-of-the-name-arkady/257997/12 "2004-08-03T19:40:14Z")
> [@Q.E.D.](#): > > That’s a _short_ vowel. A long vowel would be the previously mentioned “ay”. Nope, sorry. [http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/wordsandpictures/longvow/index.shtml](http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/wordsandpictures/longvow/index.shtml) ---
**Author:** ![Dancer\_Flight](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dancer_flight/32/7601_2.png) [@Dancer\_Flight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dancer_Flight)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2004, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-correct-pronunciation-of-the-name-arkady/257997/13 "2004-08-03T20:00:39Z")
> [@Eva Luna](#): > > Nope, sorry. > > [http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/wordsandpictures/longvow/index.shtml](http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/wordsandpictures/longvow/index.shtml) Considering that your cite defines Long Vowels the way the **Q.E.D.** and all of my grammar school teacher do, perhaps you’ve just had a brief brain-glich? Cat vs. Kate – the “ay” sound in Kate takes a slightly longer time to pronounce hence “long vowel sound”. It also requires a bit more stress in the mouth. Likewise with other vowels (and yes I know this is a sentence fragment). Cheers, -DF ---
**Author:** ![Eva\_Luna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e495f1/32.png) [@Eva\_Luna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eva_Luna)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2004, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-correct-pronunciation-of-the-name-arkady/257997/14 "2004-08-03T20:11:03Z")
> [@Dancer\_Flight](#): > > Considering that your cite defines Long Vowels the way the **Q.E.D.** and all of my grammar school teacher do, perhaps you’ve just had a brief brain-glich? Stranger things have happened, but I shold clarify that with very limited exceptions, in Russian there is only one way to pronounce each letter – it’s a very phonetic language. (There is somewhat of a regional variation in the way the unstressed O is pronounced, but that’s another story.) I’m trying to dig up something that explains Russian phonetics more clearly, but so far it’s all nasty, technical linguistics journal articles. But here’s a bit on the development of Russian orthography: [http://www.wordiq.com/definition/Reforms\_of\_Russian\_orthography](http://www.wordiq.com/definition/Reforms_of_Russian_orthography) I’ll keep digging. But for your reference, the “A” used to spell Arkady in Russian looks just like the English A. ---
**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:** [August 4, 2004, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-correct-pronunciation-of-the-name-arkady/257997/15 "2004-08-04T00:56:19Z")
i’d go with ahrkahdee, kinda roll that r a bit. vowels in russian don’t change within (or out) of words. an a is “ah” all the time. ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2004, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-correct-pronunciation-of-the-name-arkady/257997/16 "2004-08-04T04:52:41Z")
> [@Eva Luna](#): > > Stranger things have happened, but I shold clarify that with very limited exceptions, in Russian there is only one way to pronounce each letter – it’s a very phonetic language. You misunderstand me. I’m not saying that Russian vowels aren’t pronounced just one way for each one. I’m saying that you said they are pronounced as long vowels, when you meant to say they are prounounced as _short_ ones. And from what I’ve heard of the language (one of the engineers at EWC was Russian) that is, indeed, the case. ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2004, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-correct-pronunciation-of-the-name-arkady/257997/17 "2004-08-04T04:54:04Z")
Incidentally, that engineer’s name was Genady, which was pronounced Gen-AH-dee (hard G). ---
**Author:** ![meenie7](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7993a0/32.png) [@meenie7](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/meenie7)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2004, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-correct-pronunciation-of-the-name-arkady/257997/18 "2004-08-04T14:00:23Z")
> [@rocking chair](#): > > i’d go with ahrkahdee, kinda roll that r a bit. > > vowels in russian don’t change within (or out) of words. an a is “ah” all the time. oooh, I like that. “Ahrkahdee.” you almost _have_ to purr it all Russian and sexy-like. Yay 🙂 Sounds like a vampire’s name, too, and since he is one, it fits. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![cuauhtemoc](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ecb155/32.png) [@cuauhtemoc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cuauhtemoc)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2004, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-correct-pronunciation-of-the-name-arkady/257997/19 "2004-08-04T14:01:50Z")
> [@Ponster](#): > > Ar-kah-dee eh? > > Well it looks like I’ll have to go back and reread all my Martin Cruz Smith books and get it right this time 🙂 Not to mention all those episodes of _Joan of Ar-CAH-dia_. ---
**Author:** ![enteaeks](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dc4da7/32.png) [@enteaeks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enteaeks)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2014, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-correct-pronunciation-of-the-name-arkady/257997/20 "2014-07-27T03:10:14Z")
arkady checking in way late, it is pronounced ar kah dee. just imagine the second a with one of those accents above it, not sure which one fits, sorry, here’s a russian way of saying it(but in english you don’t roll your “R” like that cuz most of ya’ll can’t do it)… [How to pronounce Arkady (Russian/Russia) - PronounceNames.com - YouTube](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eoVP0u1wD_Q) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-correct-pronunciation-of-the-name-arkady/257997.md?page=2)