# pronunciation: Jaqueline [proper name]



## AntiScam

Hello,

I would like to know how to pronounce *Jaqueline*, a French name, in English in particular and also in French if possible.
I thought _*/i/*_ was a short sound but it's probably not. I'm not sure anyway.


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## Keith Bradford

It works with both a long or a short 'i'.  /'dʒæklɪn/ or /'dʒækli:n/.  Which to use depends on what she herself prefers.

In French it has a long 'i' and also the stress is on the second syllable and the letter 'J' is pronounced /ʒ/.


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## AntiScam

Thanks a lot Keith. Do you know if the name is fairly common in English speaking countries, England and North America in particular?
Oh, thanks for the stress tip.


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## Keith Bradford

Very common in Britain, often shortened to Jackie.

For popularity in the USA see Jacqueline - Girl's name meaning, origin, and popularity | BabyCenter.
In Britain it was very popular thirty years ago (no.95), much less so now.  See The Top 100 Names in England and Wales 1984


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## AntiScam

Thank you very much, Keith. Yes, I know Jackie! I mean I've heard of the name.


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## pickarooney

I would always pronounce it with three syllables (a schwa between the /k/ and /l/) and with a long /i/, for what it's worth.


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## dojibear

In AE, I pronounce it with 3 syllables. But I use an English 'J' and a short 'i', unless I'm saying the French name.



AntiScam said:


> Do you know if the name is fairly common in English speaking countries, England and North America in particular?



Jacqueline Kennedy was a very popular US "First Lady" (wife of the President). Her husband "JFK" was assasinated (while President) in 1963, but she remained in the public eye for several decades. Her popularity made the name "Jacqueline" very common in the US for many years.


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## AntiScam

Using Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis as a model is a good idea, easy to remember, dojibear. Language and culture, something I should keep in mind.
Thank you all.


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## RedwoodGrove

I believe many Americans pronounce it _jack-well-in_. (I normally would.) Descending stress on the syllables.


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## AntiScam

Thanks RedwoodGrove. Now it is even more interesting!
Looks like names with -line at the end like Carol*ine* and Jacquel*ine* divide native speakers into camps. Maybe that was a bit of a stretch, but those names are a contentious topic.


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## Truffula

The majority of the women I've met (in the USA) who have that name pronounce it like /'d͡ʒæk wə lɪn/ 

Though some did say it like Keith's with just two syllables, and one said /'d͡ʒæk wɛl aɪn/

As for dividing people into camps: not really - there aren't any official English pronunciations of names.  Nearly every name has multiple pronunciations.  I know an Alanna who says /ə 'la: nə/ and one who says /əl 'eɪn ə/ - neither is right or wrong, they're just different.


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## JulianStuart

Truffula said:


> The majority of the women I've met (in the USA) who have that name pronounce it like /'d͡ʒæk wə lɪn/
> 
> Though some did say it like Keith's with just two syllables, and one said /'d͡ʒæk wɛl aɪn/


I believe the pronunciation of the qu as kw is uniquely AE.


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## RM1(SS)

Well, that's the normal way of pronouncing it....


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## JulianStuart

RM1(SS) said:


> Well, that's the normal way of pronouncing it....


For an AE speaker, that is  BE speakers (as far as I recall) omit the w sound using the French form of qu (as in cheque)


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## ewie

JulianStuart said:


> I believe the pronunciation of the qu as kw is uniquely AE.


I've never in all my born days heard it with a /kw/ in the middle

I was born in 1964: it seemed when I was at school that every other girl was named Jacqueline.
But I've only ever known one who insisted on /ˈʤækəlɪn/ rather than /ˈʤæki/


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## suzi br

Truffula said:


> The majority of the women I've met (in the USA) who have that name pronounce it like /'d͡ʒæk wə lɪn/
> 
> Though some did say it like Keith's with just two syllables, and one said /'d͡ʒæk wɛl aɪn/
> 
> As for dividing people into camps: not really - there aren't any official English pronunciations of names.  Nearly every name has multiple pronunciations.  I know an Alanna who says /ə 'la: nə/ and one who says /əl 'eɪn ə/ - neither is right or wrong, they're just different.




Ain't that the truth! I know a woman called Karen who insist on trying to make everyone say that with a long A.  "care-un"  which is pretty challenging after 50 years of saying it with a short A!


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## RM1(SS)

RM1(SS) said:


> Well, that's the normal way of pronouncing it....





JulianStuart said:


> For an AE speaker, that is  BE speakers (as far as I recall) omit the w sound using the French form of qu (as in cheque)


So you would pronounce "quick queen" as "kick keen," rather than "kwick kween"?


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## JulianStuart

RM1(SS) said:


> So you would pronounce "quick queen" as "kick keen," rather than "kwick kween"?


Don't be silly  I never said any such thing - what a grotesque idea.  Oblique and unique are oblikwe or unikwe in AE?


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## RM1(SS)

JulianStuart said:


> I believe the pronunciation of the qu as kw is uniquely AE.





RM1(SS) said:


> Well, that's the normal way of pronouncing it....





JulianStuart said:


> For an AE speaker, that is *BE speakers (as far as I recall) omit the w sound* using the French form of qu (as in cheque)


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## JulianStuart

The context is, of course, the name Jaqueline. No other context was implied - see thread title


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## Language Hound

AntiScam, a very interesting website dedicated to pronunciation is forvo.com.
You can click here to hear "Jaqueline"/"Jacqueline" pronounced by native speakers from various countries in French, English, German, etc.


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## RM1(SS)

JulianStuart said:


> The context is, of course, the name Jaqueline. No other context was implied - see thread title


Correct.  We pronounce the _qu_ in Jacqueline as _kw_ because that's the way _qu_ is normally pronounced.  You seemed to disagree.


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## JulianStuart

Groteskwi, unikwi, oblikwi .  The name comes originally from French and the French do not use the kw in that name. 

Post #12 I can paraphrase as: Only AE speakers use the KW in pronouncing the name Jaqueline.  Clear enough ?


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## Truffula

Julian, you're not comparing the right things, I think.  In the USA we also don't pronounce the "w" in the qu sound at the end of words, including French names:  Monique, Dominique.  I think "grotesque" and "unique" more closely resemble those than they do Jacqueline or Jaqueline (without the c).  A better word to use for an example is "aquiline" which both UK/US pronounce with the "w" sound (How to pronounce aquiline in English) but that's derived from Latin directly rather than via French.  

Oh I found a good one:  Eleanor of Aquitaine.  French don't pronounce this qu with a "w" sound but British apparently do according to Oxford Learner's dictionary anyway: eleanor-of-aquitaine  - Definition, pictures, pronunciation and usage notes | Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary at OxfordLearnersDictionaries.com

Of course there are plenty of words where "qu" is pronounced like "k" in English, both sides of the Atlantic: for example, "marquis" and "marquess" (which I think share a French derivation) and maquillage (means makeup).  So it's always a matter of convention, and "it's French" doesn't prove things either way.


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## dojibear

RM1(SS) said:


> We pronounce the _qu_ in Jacqueline as _kw_ because that's the way _qu_ is normally pronounced.



I disagree with "that's the way qu is normally pronounced" in AE. There are hundreds of English words where "qu" is "k", not "kw". Most of those come from French, but 30% of all English words come from French. And starting in the 1950s, a large percentage of American high school students took classes in Spanish or French, both of which pronounce "qu" as "k". 

I don't agree that "we" say Jacqueline with a "kw" sound. The woman who made the name famous in the US (Jacqueline Kennedy) didn't use a "kw" sound, and neither did the thousands of newsmen talking about her on TV. I think most people impressed enough by the woman to name their daughter after her would copy the pronunciation they've heard on TV, not just the spelling.

Of course I am not saying that nobody pronounces it "kw". And I don't know what percent of Americans do. But it isn't universal or "standard".


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## RM1(SS)

JulianStuart said:


> Post #12 I can paraphrase as: Only AE speakers use the KW in pronouncing the name Jaqueline.  Clear enough ?



Clear.



JulianStuart said:


> Groteskwi, unikwi, oblikwi .



No, no, no.  Grotescue, unicue, oblicue.  They all rhyme with anticue.


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## JulianStuart

dojibear said:


> I disagree with "that's the way qu is normally pronounced" in AE. There are hundreds of English words where "qu" is "k", not "kw". Most of those come from French, but 30% of all English words come from French. And starting in the 1950s, a large percentage of American high school students took classes in Spanish or French, both of which pronounce "qu" as "k".
> 
> I don't agree that "we" say Jacqueline with a "kw" sound. The woman who made the name famous in the US (Jacqueline Kennedy) didn't use a "kw" sound, and neither did the thousands of newsmen talking about her on TV. I think most people impressed enough by the woman to name their daughter after her would copy the pronunciation they've heard on TV, not just the spelling.
> 
> Of course I am not saying that nobody pronounces it "kw". And I don't know what percent of Americans do. But it isn't universal or "standard".


I was very careful in my wording.  

I did not say that all AE speakers use the kw sound for Jacqueline.  There is a chasm of difference between saying "Only AE speakers do X" (post #12)  and "AE speakers only do X": what you seem to have reacted to 

Nor did I say that all French-derived words with qu are pronounced the same way.  Just pointing out that for BE speakers, and some AE speakers, the qu in Jaqueline retains its k from the French.


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## natkretep

I've never encountered the name spelt _Jaqueline_ (as in the title and the opening post) without a <c>. I've always seen it as _Jacqueline_ and shortened to _Jacky _or _Jacquie._ I'd always say /ˈdʒaklɪn/ or _jaklin_. I'd always assumed that _Jacyln _(which also represents this pronunciation) was a pronunciation respelling of _Jacqueline_. (The American actress in _Charlie's Angels_ Jaclyn Smith, for example. If so, it suggests that this is a possible pronunciation of _Jacqueline_. Or am I getting it all wrong?)


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## Truffula

natkretep - that is (other than the vowel sound of the "a") the pronunciation given by Keith in the first reply(#2).  It (Keith's version with the "æ" ) the one I hear second most often.  I agree that "Jaclyn" is a respelling of Jacqueline in order to make it more obvious that /'dʒæklɪn/  is the desired pronunciation, you are almost certainly right about that   (if it was /'dʒaklɪn/ I think Americans'd write it Joclyn).

I found a reference where Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis's daughter Caroline says that her mother pronounced her name /'dʒæk ˌli:n/   How Did Jacqueline Kennedy Pronounce Her Name? has a link to the interview with Caroline.  That article's authors claim to hear a schwa in the middle, but I don't.


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## Keith Bradford

Please let's not claim that any /kw/ pronunciation that may or may not be present is due to a French influence.  The French *do not* pronounce 'qu' with a /kw/ sound,* it's simply /k/.*

The /kw/ sound derives from Old English, when it was written 'cw', as in _cwen _(= queen).  In the name Jacqueline it's obviously a late variation, derived from a mispronunciation of the spelling.  In history it was always pronounced with a /k/ and sometimes so written (e.g. Jakolina, Jakelina...) has given rise to surnames such as Jacklin.


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## cando

The trouble with Americans )) is that they try to make English consistent! You can't apply rules of logic to spelling and pronunciation in a language with a hybrid vocabulary from different origins and a long history of eroded diction and changing accents.


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## JulianStuart

Keith Bradford said:


> Please let's not claim that any /kw/ pronunciation that may or may not be present is due to a French influence.  The French *do not* pronounce 'qu' with a /kw/ sound,* it's simply /k/.*


I don't think anyone suggested the kw was from French; rather the opposite, that the k in the name in the thread title is from what you say is a K The KW came when that influence disappeared.


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## natkretep

Truffula said:


> I agree that "Jaclyn" is a respelling of Jacqueline in order to make it more obvious that /'dʒæklɪn/  is the desired pronunciation, you are almost certainly right about that   (if it was /'dʒaklɪn/ I think Americans'd write it Joclyn).


Thanks, Truffula. Just a little clarification: my /a/ represents the vowel in _cat _rather than _father _(for me, /ˈfɑːðə/). In other words, it's the same as in /'dʒæklɪn/.


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## hjr.lm7mudia.hntati

RedwoodGrove said:


> I believe many Americans pronounce it _jack-well-in_. (I normally would.) Descending stress on the syllables.



That's how I would pronounce it as well.
Although here in the southern United States, I don't think I've ever heard of that name....._ever._


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## Truffula

I have a friend in Columbia SC named Jacqueline...  You just haven't met her   (I worked at an insurance software company there for a while.) 

Of course, with a name like hjr.lm7mudia.hntati, I'm sure you know what kind of names are commonplace around your parts...


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## hjr.lm7mudia.hntati

Truffula said:


> I have a friend in Columbia SC named Jacqueline...  You just haven't met her   (I worked at an insurance software company there for a while.)
> 
> Of course, with a name like hjr.lm7mudia.hntati, I'm sure you know what kind of names are commonplace around your parts...



Oh wow, I actually live there...born and raised there. And nah that's just a name I put up for this account lol
My name is biblical, Hager or Hagar...


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## Jacqueline underwood

AntiScam said:


> Hello,
> 
> I would like to know how to pronounce *Jaqueline*, a French name, in English in particular and also in French if possible.
> I thought _*/i/*_ was a short sound but it's probably not. I'm not sure anyway.


My name is Jacqueline and I say it jack-kwel - line - I do not like being called jack-a-lin


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## JulianStuart

Welcome!
It will help us if you can tell us the  variety of English you speak (see #18 here) - e.g., American or British - for another data point in this "survey"


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## jmichaelm

I learned the pronunciation from newscasters saying "Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis" who apparently did not generally pronounce the "kwel" middle syllable, because that's how I learned it.


JulianStuart said:


> It will help us if you can tell us the  variety of English you speak


I'd be interested to know what region of the US as well (if you speak AE).


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## Dale Texas

I certainly remember saying it as a three-syllable *JACK-well-in*, and that's how I recall everyone saying it, newscasters and the general public alike.

(And any person who was named it said it like that also.  Yes, there were women and girls who had that name long before Jackie Kennedy came along. It wasn't as common as Mary or Jane, but plenty of people were named that, so I said it like they did, the *kw* sound.)

As it happened, it was during that era that I started taking French in high school, so certainly I used the French  zh*ahk-LEEN (*the French "J") when saying that name in French.

(As an aside, it was in that French class that the loudspeaker came on announcing that bullets had struck President Kennedy in the head in Dallas, and they didn't know whether or not Jackie had been hit also.  Later on we were informed he had died, and the whole school was shut down and we all slunk home in disbelief.)

I stick to whatever language I'm speaking and don't awkwardly or pretentiously switch to a French pronunciation when speaking AE


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## JulianStuart

(I also remember _exactly_ where I was when I learnt of the assassination.  As I recall, his wife was only referred to as Jackie, so the question never arose.  I do my best to say someone's name they way they prefer it to be said but, unless I know their preference,  it can only be a guess.)


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## sdgraham

I have never heard "Jacqueline" to rhyme with "feline."

People who choose an uncommon pronunciation of their name and become upset when strangers don't pronounce it that way are likely doomed to have much discomfort.

(My wife, whose parents bought her up with a European pronunciation of her name doesn't let it bother her)


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## Truffula

My first name has two common pronunciations (example: the first syllable of "Kara" sounds like "care" or it sounds like "car") and there are people who know me for years and use the wrong one because it's  how they're used to the name being pronounced.  I put up with it because there's really no other option - once you tell someone how to say your name, if they keep saying it wrong, telling them again is no help.

A lot of first names common in the USA have more than one reasonably common pronunciation.  So this isn't an unusual problem or one special to those named Jacqueline


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## london calling

My aunt pronounces her name 'Jack-lin '.


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## Hermione Golightly

I have never heard Jacqueline pronounced in English other than 'jack- ul- een, three syllables, and 'u' is a schwa. That's what's 'normal' to BE me. Of course I've led a sheltered life.


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## RM1(SS)

Apparently I am the only one (other than the people annoying Jacquelin underwood) to pronounce it jack-a-lin.  (The middle syllable is a schwa.)


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## Mr. Eusly

AntiScam said:


> Hello,
> 
> I would like to know how to pronounce *Jaqueline*, a French name, in English in particular and also in French if possible.
> I thought _*/i/*_ was a short sound but it's probably not. I'm not sure anyway.



The question was how to pronounce the FRENCH name, which stems from Latin. People are commenting on how they pronounce the Hebrew name, which is spoken like Jacklyn.  The French name, is always pronounce with a long i. In fact, Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis had a father of French origin, hence the Bouvier surname. She, as did her family, pronounced her name “Jack’leen”, yet the general media pronounced it the Hebrew way. Caroline Kennedy even discussed this during an interview with George Stephanopoulos. Diane Sawyer recently did a special and was one of the few media personalities to make a point to pronounce it correctly. Americans can become lazy in their speech, (I am one)-anything that can be reduced to just lowering their jaw, as opposed to shaping their lips, sometimes takes favor. Think of the word ‘to’ becoming ‘tuh’. The long i in Jacqueline almost forces a slight smile, which is kind of nice to see on people-especially when they are saying your name!

The Golden Globe winning actress Jacqueline Bisset, also pronounces it the French way, as her mother, whom named her, was French. Other words, Latin, Sinhalese _tōramalli_ ‘carnelian, or otherwise (like the American gasoline) derived words ending in l-i-n-e or just i-n-e are those such as trampoline, tourmaline, pristine, and as someone pointed out-magazine, et al.

For what it is worth, even though formally I pronounce my daughter’s name (zh)Jackleen, (Zhokleen, when I am pretending to be fancy- serving her dinner or handing her a fashionable outfit to try on in the store, I will sing her to sleep with the schwa. Sometime Joc-a-leen just fits better, as in Joc’wuh’leen, Joc’wuh’leen, prettiest girl I’ve ever seen. For me, I don't ever correct anyone who omits the zhJ sound, or even the way they pronounce the ‘a’. It is all in the last syllable, which is the emphasis in French, anyway. That is the part that makes it truly effeminate. Yes, there are boys names that end that way, but they are masculine in their own right, already. Oddly enough, her nicname is Coley, as if stemming from (Jah)Colleen, even though, when not cheekily singing, we pronounce it sans schwa.

My name is French, as well, and I can tell you, it makes me feel more feminine hearing my name in that way. There is just something so pretty about French female names.

The lovely thing about a name is, even if you don’t want to go through the hassle of changing it, you can pronounce it differently than your parents intended, especially if living away from them, or give yourself a nicname. It may be difficult for newcombers, but it makes it easier when there is more than one person with the same spelling.


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## kentix

Well, once you pronounce it in English it isn't French or Hebrew anymore (pronunciation-wise).

The original question wasn't how to pronounce the French name Jacqaeline. It was how to pronounce it in French _and_ in English.

The name that comes to mind for me is Laura. If you listen to the Forvo pronunciations of that name, every non-English speaker says something that approximates low-ruh/rah (where the ow is the one in cow and how). Every English speaker, of any nationality, says lore-uh (rhymes with core and bore). I would call that the English pronunciation of Laura, a name that exists in other languages, like Italian, etc. with a different pronounciation. Perhaps it's not a good example because it doesn't appear to "belong" to one particular country. Wikipedia says it came from Latin.


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## Mr. Eusly

“I would like to know how to pronounce *Jaqueline*, a French name, in English in particular and also in French if possible.
I thought _*/i/*_ was a short sound but it's probably not. I'm not sure anyway.”

Ah, that is why I quoted the OP, originally, to specify the OP was referring to the French name. Now if the OP asked how to pronounce the Hebrew name in English and French, that would be a different discussion.


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## Uncle Jack

I know the OP asked about the French name, but is Jaqueline actually a French name, at least any more than it is an English name. The usual French spelling (so far as I am aware) is Jacqueline, the same as it is in English.

The question may have been about how we English speakers pronounce the name of a French person called Jaqueline, but then the most important question would be whether we would Anglicise it or try to retain some sort of French pronunciation. However, if this were the question, surely the obvious letter to focus on would be "J", but the OP wrote about the "i". Therefore I take it the OP was asking about the English pronunciation of an English name that derives from a French name (which might derive from a Hebrew name - is there a female form of Jacob in Hebrew?).

The pronunciation of Jaqueline and Jacqueline in English are identical. It is clear that English speakers don't agree on what this pronunciation should be, but I am confident that whatever pronunciation an English speaker would use for Jacqueline they would also use for Jaqueline.


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## Mr. Eusly

True, and to complicate matters, English speakers (native) are scattered throughout South Africa, New Zealand, Canada, the UK, Ireland, Jamaica, et al. Most, not all Americans pronounce it one way while most, not all other countries that predominantly speak English pronounce it another way. I guess a better question may have specified, “How do most people pronounce it in Atlanta, GA, or Glasgow Scotland?”, etc., because each dialect pronounces vowels differently, when compared to each other.


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## london calling

RM1(SS) said:


> Apparently I am the only one (other than the people annoying Jacquelin underwood) to pronounce it jack-a-lin.  (The middle syllable is a schwa.)


That's how my aunt pronounces her name.


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