How would you pronounce Aroa?

[lagilliana]

Aroa is a Basque/ Spanish name; according to nameberry it means "season".

I'm wondering how you would pronounce this name, just reading it off the page. Where is the emphasis- would you say "a-ROW-a" or "ARO-a" (like Aria)?

I feel like the two pronunciations are really different. And I don't know which I like better. What I would really like is for a Spanish speaker to tell me how they would pronounce it. Anyone??

[dillonsfan01]

I don't know the correct pronunciation but I would say a-ROW-a with the Row sound the same as it is in Rowan. I think Aria is a better choice but that is just personal preference

[east93]

I would personally say it ah-ROW-a. I don't know for sure though.

[stuffd]

I would also pronounce this a-ROW-a.

[jesba]

That is my gut instinct, in English, with the pp's, stress on the O. I speak fluent, near-native Spanish, but it's not my first language. I think in Spanish it would be closer to Aria, but will defer to any native speakers that can weigh in as this is the kind of thing non-native speakers are sort of unreliable on : D.

I'd be curious to know the prn in Basque, as that's probably the closest to home!

[lucialucentum]

It's "a-RO-a" without a W sound (there's no W in Basque), but the stress in Basque is pretty weak so the RO sound is the emphasis, but just barely. And R in Basque is like the 'tt' in "butter" or the 'dd' in "ladder" (I had the *hardest* time trying to understand how to make this sound when I started learning Spanish, haha. If you aren't familiar with it, just keep trying. It makes a huge difference in how things are pronounced, and names sound a million times nicer. Here's the pronunciation of the name Leire. You can tell the difference between an English R and a Basque R for sure here: http://www.forvo.com/word/leire/#eu)

I have to say, I've never heard of Aroa before and I live in the Basque Country. I know a few girls named Naroa, but no Aroas. I looked it up, and Aroa is actually way more popular than I thought, though, and used completely throughout Spain.

disclaimer: Neither Spanish nor Basque is my native language, but I lived in Spain for a year, and have been living in the Basque Country since September and work at a Basque high school so I hear it day in and day out.

[lagilliana]

Thanks for the responses all!!

[s.s.apostol]

Its pronunciation is AH-RO-AH

[holbs]

I would pronounce it...with difficulty? My initial guess would be Ah-row-ah.

[jesba]

@lucialucentum - that is so cool and interesting, a pleasure to read! Yes, I think you describe what my instinct was too, like "closer to Aria", but not exactly taking the stress of the O either. And of course, the r is more a flap, I am aware of all this stuff when I speak but have the hardest time remembering to explain it : D.

I really like the name Aroa fwiw...