How is Giza pronounced in Egypt itself?
Over a 100 years ago, I think Giza was pronounced Jeezah. For example, in his multi-volume book on the Great Pyramid, Piazzi Smyth, who worked at Giza for years spelled it "Jeezeh":
The image above is from a handdrawn map of the plateau of Giza by Smyth.
Do the Arabs still pronounce it "jeezah", or has the pronounciation changed to "Giza"?
Note, I am asking how it is pronounced locally, not about "academic" pronounciations by people that do not live in the Al Jizah area. In other words I want to know how normal residents of Al Jizah pronounce the name of their neighborhood.
Best Answer
This is the most obvious difference between the Egyptian Arabic dialect and the standard Arabic, the 'Jeem' letter ? . It's 'Geem' In most of Egypt.
But since this is not a question about grammar, and you just ask about how it's pronounced in Egypt, the answer is
Giza is pronounced Giza by 100% of Giza local people. It is not "Jeezah"
And if you are interested in more details,
It's Giza in all of Egypt cities including (Giza, Cairo, Alexandria, Port Said,.... ) and except of the cities in number 2
It's Jeezah in Upper Egypt, Sharqia, Sinai Peninsula
- Sharm El-Sheikh Is in Sinai Peninsula, however it's a mixed city full of tourists and people from different Egyptian cities, so I think I can't be definitely sure.
- All other Arab countries say "Jeezah" .
I don't think you really need to pronounce it as the local Giza citizens do when you are there!. If you looked like a tourist, then any difference will be understood by the people you are interacting with.
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How do you pronounce Giza in Egypt?
Giza (/\u02c8\u0261i\u02d0z\u0259/; sometimes spelled Gizah, Gizeh or Jizah; Arabic: \u0627\u0644\u062c\u064a\u0632\u0629 al-J\u012bzah, Egyptian Arabic pronunciation: [el \u02c8gi\u02d0ze]) is the second-largest city in Egypt after Cairo and fourth-largest city in Africa after Kinshasa, Lagos and Cairo.How to Pronounce Giza, Egypt? (CORRECTLY)
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