# Why is Sinai sometimes pronounced with 3 syllables? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 1, 2014, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-sinai-sometimes-pronounced-with-3-syllables/703308 "2014-11-01T23:17:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2014, 12:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-sinai-sometimes-pronounced-with-3-syllables/703308/21 "2014-11-04T12:31:25Z")
> [@UDS](#): > > Mix > Flick > Pick > Tin > Income > Rivet > > An ‘i’ on its on, with no preceding vowel, is normally _not_ pronounced ‘-igh’. Or did I misunderstand you? Yes, you misunderstood me. I said -igh, not i. ---
**Author:** ![hibernicus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hibernicus/32/2802_2.png) [@hibernicus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hibernicus)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2014, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-sinai-sometimes-pronounced-with-3-syllables/703308/22 "2014-11-04T21:47:43Z")
> [@njtt](#): > > it appears that saying it either with or without the extra vowel after the **n** is established English usage. So it seems. And based on previous replies, there is no obvious basis in the Arabic or Hebrew pronunciation. I was interested in your tilde suggestion, but it seems there is no palatal nasal sound in either Arabic or Hebrew. By the way, I was also intrigued by Schama’s pronunciation of Elephantine (a place in Egypt) as ele-fant-eeny. It sounded really odd, and I would have assumed it to be pronounced like the English word elephantine. But when I checked, it turned out to be the correct (or a correct) pronunciation. ---
**Author:** ![hibernicus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hibernicus/32/2802_2.png) [@hibernicus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hibernicus)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2019, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-sinai-sometimes-pronounced-with-3-syllables/703308/23 "2019-01-10T21:59:46Z")
Just resurrecting this thread to mention that Dr Alice Roberts, presenter of the documentary series “The Incredible Human Journey”, clearly used the “signy-eye” pronunciation in episode 1 of that series, when discussing possible migration routes out of Africa. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2019, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-sinai-sometimes-pronounced-with-3-syllables/703308/24 "2019-01-11T01:48:56Z")
They are clearly getting this pronunciation (shifted vowel and extra syllable) [from somewhere](https://books.google.com/books?id=SuBUAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA227); maybe it can be traced back? ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2019, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-sinai-sometimes-pronounced-with-3-syllables/703308/25 "2019-01-11T02:27:26Z")
> [@Aspidistra](#): > > I don’t have an answer as to where it comes from, but I too have heard the “signy-eye” pronunciation. It’s the way the frighteningly erudite ex-vicar of my church does it, so I presume there’s A Very Good Reason. But I’ve no idea what it is. I too grew up (in the UK) with the 3-syllable “signy-eye” version - which I too would have heard in church. I see that the variant is noted in the Wikipedia article as a “traditional” pronunciation: > [@](#): > > In English, the name is now usually pronounced /ˈsaɪnaɪ/. The traditional pronunciation is /ˈsaɪneɪ/ or /ˈ **saɪneɪaɪ** /. The supporting references are two 19th-century biblical pronunciation guides, if anyone wants to dig further to try to figure out where it originated. ETA: ninjaed by DPRK, or rather I didn’t notice that he already posted one of those references. ---
**Author:** ![Ponch8](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponch8/32/9883_2.png) [@Ponch8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponch8)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2019, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-sinai-sometimes-pronounced-with-3-syllables/703308/26 "2019-01-11T02:51:23Z")
My guess is that the people who say “sigh-a-nigh” are the same people as the ones who pronounce sherbet “sherbert” and athlete “ath-a-lete.” ---
**Author:** ![AndyLee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/898d66/32.png) [@AndyLee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AndyLee)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2019, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-sinai-sometimes-pronounced-with-3-syllables/703308/27 "2019-01-11T14:17:36Z")
To hijack this, most people say “iz-REAL” but I also hear “iz-RAY-el.” Which is it? ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2019, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-sinai-sometimes-pronounced-with-3-syllables/703308/28 "2019-01-11T14:24:08Z")
It’s “IZ-rah-el”, but since English-speakers have a hard time with consecutive open vowels, it ends up sounding like “IZ-rail”. ---
**Author:** ![Ashtura](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ashtura/32/2963_2.png) [@Ashtura](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ashtura)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2019, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-sinai-sometimes-pronounced-with-3-syllables/703308/29 "2019-01-11T14:53:58Z")
> [@hibernicus](#): > > I was watching the BBC programme _The Story of the Jews_ and I noticed that the presenter, Simon Schama consistently pronounces Sinai as /saɪnɪaɪ/ (sounds like “signy-eye” instead of “sign-eye”). > > Does this reflect an authentic Arabic or Hebrew pronunciation of the name, or is it just a variant in English that I hadn’t heard before? When I hear it with 3 syllables, it’s always “sigh a nigh” like cyanide. ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2019, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-sinai-sometimes-pronounced-with-3-syllables/703308/30 "2019-01-11T17:23:33Z")
The way I’ve heard it done in 3 syllables is more like SEE-NAAH-EE. ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2019, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-sinai-sometimes-pronounced-with-3-syllables/703308/31 "2019-01-11T17:29:39Z")
> [@AHunter3](#): > > The way I’ve heard it done in 3 syllables is more like SEE-NAAH-EE. :dubious: I have never in my life heard anyone say that. I am also in NY same as you. No one says it that way. ---
**Author:** ![Anaglyph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Anaglyph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaglyph)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2019, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-sinai-sometimes-pronounced-with-3-syllables/703308/32 "2019-01-11T17:47:32Z")
> [@AHunter3](#): > > The way I’ve heard it done in 3 syllables is more like SEE-NAAH-EE. This is how it would be pronounced in German, and presumably also in Jiddish ---
**Author:** ![Channing\_Idaho\_Banks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/channing_idaho_banks/32/250_2.png) [@Channing\_Idaho\_Banks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Channing_Idaho_Banks)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2019, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-sinai-sometimes-pronounced-with-3-syllables/703308/33 "2019-01-11T18:00:04Z")
A person who speaks Spanish might pronounce it that way. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2019, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-sinai-sometimes-pronounced-with-3-syllables/703308/34 "2019-01-11T18:03:39Z")
> [@OldGuy](#): > > I’ve heard it with three syllables but never signy-eye. I’ve heard sigh-a-nie. > [@pulykamell](#): > > Same here. “Sigh-uh-nigh” is not an uncommon pronunciation of “Sinai,” in my experience, but I’ve never heard “signy-eye.” I hear it that way a lot as well (we have hospitals with Sinai in the name). I think it’s a combination of older people that have just always called it that as well as people thinking that’s the actual name. That is, I think if you ask someone that says ‘sigh a nie’ to write it, they’ll write ‘siani’ as opposed to ‘sinai’. The two words look very similar and if you think it’s spelled Siani, it would be acceptable to say ‘sigh a nie’. Take all that and add in that your friends and family all use the same mispronunciation it it just gets reinforced. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2019, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-sinai-sometimes-pronounced-with-3-syllables/703308/35 "2019-01-11T18:38:03Z")
> [@Anaglyph](#): > > This is how it would be pronounced in German, and presumably also in Jiddish In Hebrew, it’s “see-NAI”. ---
**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2019, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-sinai-sometimes-pronounced-with-3-syllables/703308/36 "2019-01-11T20:20:05Z")
> [@Ponch8](#): > > My guess is that the people who say “sigh-a-nigh” are the same people as the ones who pronounce sherbet “sherbert” and athlete “ath-a-lete.” Or people who heard it that way before ever seeing the word in print. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-sinai-sometimes-pronounced-with-3-syllables/703308.md?page=1)