Do NOT pronounce "Simon" with an "i"(ee) sound!! It sounds hilarious for a very wrong reason. :) It's always a long "i"(ai), followed by either a weak "o", or even a neutral sound.

It was yesterday. My cousin was having a final oral exam the next day. My uncle asked me to go his place to help him practice. There was something, though, that puzzled me, and I am still at a loss. I taught my cousin to pronounce the [i] in the proper noun, Simon, as [i] Then I went on the Internet, only to discover it is pronounced [ai]. I wonder which is correct, [i], [ai], or both. Only [ai] is correct.

My cousin has a final oral exam tomorrow, so my uncle asked me to help him prepare for it. I helped him based on what I know. One thing puzzled me and I'm still confused about it. I told him to pronounce the "i" in the name "Simon" as [i], but then I searched the internet and found that the correct pronunciation is [ai]. I'd like to know which is correct and if there is only one pronunciation of ''i." There are a number of different pronunciations of the letter "i" in English. For example, in my area "Simon" is a common surname, but the ''i" is pronounced "ee" (IPA [i]). However, if it's a given name, then the "i" is pronounced like the diphthong [ai]. The letter "i" can be pronouned either [ɪ] or [ai]. For example, the “i” in words like words like kit, bit and sit is pronounced [ɪ], but when one adds an “e” to the end of those words (kite, bite, site), the pronunciation of the “i” changes to [ai]. There is another pronunciation of “i” called a “barred i” and represented by the IPA symbol [ɨ], close to, but just a shade different from, [ɪ].