How Do You Pronounce Samoa?

[bobpark56]

Learned something at a luau last week. If you think Samoa is pronounced sam-Oh´-ah or sam-Oh´-wah, you should listen to a Samoan say it. As I heard it, it's more like Sam´-wah (light accent on first syllable, with perhaps a slight touch of "o" in the "w."

"Samoan," though, is another story. As this is likely an English word, not Samoan, a case can be made for pronouncing it any way you like.

 

[PcflEZFlng]

I heard it pronounced that way (by a Samoan) long ago, too, and as a result have pronounced it that way ever since.

 

[slip]

I have been watching a family in American Samoa on YouTube and they say it differently but I don’t know what is correct.

 

[beejaybee]

At first I was thinking this thread was about "samosa",which DH brought home last week from the nearby Indian food market. Then I was thinking maybe it was about those Girl Scout cookies. Must be time for breakfast!

 

[DrQ]

Coup

 

[WVBaker]

Pronounce it anyway you prefer?

 

[AwayWeGo]

 

[silentg]

Sam o ah

 

[clifffaith]

There was a nursing student from Samoa on my dorm floor at UCLA my freshman year. She pronounced it SAmoa, with the emphasis on the first syllable.

 

[bshanebowl]

Like some more only with a Boston accent.

 

[Passepartout]

My beloved auntie who served a church mission in Samoa many, many years ago pronounces it SAM-'almost imperceptible-'o'- wah. Good enough for me.