How is the name 'Margie' pronounced?

Question

'Margie' is a diminutive form of Margaret /m'a: grit/. It is normally pronounced as [mˈɑːdʒi] by the native speakers. Some other derivatives include Maggie, Meg, Megan, etc. Now, all of these have the hard /g/ sound. So, I feel Margie may be pronounced as /m'a: gi/. So far, I've found just one reference that supports it.
So, how should a teacher of ESL teach the learners its pronunciation in a country where the name is quite unfamiliar? Will it be wrong to read it with the hard /g/?

chasly - supports Monica · Accepted Answer

When we were children, my sister Margaret was known as Margie with a hard "g".  I suspect that, as her younger brother, I was unable to pronounce her full name correctly and other family members took it up.  As adults we no longer use it.
The fact is that I used this name before I knew how to read or write so it is only today that it occurs to me there was a way to spell it!
On the other hand, my mother was called Marjorie, and this sometimes got shortened to Marge (soft 'g') and possibly Marjie.
English spelling is not phonetic. The only way to know how a name is pronounced in English is to hear it. As @rjpond says, it may differ from family to family.
To answer your question "Will it be wrong?"  -  The answer is another question. "Wrong according to whom?"  It may be right or it may be wrong depending on who you are talking about and who uses it.

rjpond · Answer

You probably shouldn't just make up your own pronunciations.  If a particular pronunciation is the one used by native speakers, it should be regarded as the correct pronunciation.
That said, it isn't possible to say with absolute certainty that no native speakers pronounce Margie with a /g/, since these diminutives are used playfully and sometimes in ways specific to particular individuals.  If it is ever pronounced with /g/ then it is probably with reference to a specific individual for whom that has emerged as her personal norm for whatever reason.
However, there is not always a close connection between the pronunciation of a name and of its diminutive forms.  The "i" vowel in "Mick" and "Mickey" is short, while it is long (a diphthong /aɪ/) in "Mike" and "Michael".
"Bob" doesn't even start with the same sound as "Robert", nor does "Bill" as "William" or "Ted" as "Edward".

How is the name 'Margie' pronounced?

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