How do you pronounce "Cairn"?

[Hillscreek]

One syllable cairn - if you are American or Scottish like my sister-in-law you might roll that 'r' a bit as you go over it with your tongue. But it is only one syllable all the same.

I'm English by origin say and Cairn like Mama Kimike says -care-n with very little of the 'r' sound but it is there and the word is one syllable as the Dict says.

[bradl]

Rhymes with bairn, close enough. Although I probably mispronounce that, too

[Ivy & Lucy's Mom]

Thanks Teddie's mum for throwing in another pronunciation in the mix. I've always said cairn-one syllable as well but I have a friend who has always says carn. I have no idea where she got that pronunciation and I have never asked her because i thought she was the only one who said it that way. How funny all of the different ways to say our little dogs breed name. I bet the dogs don't care how we say it either.....

[naden]

I say it like Brad's clip too (and incidentally the same way that we pronounce it when talking about the little rock stacks that mark trails).

[josie&holly]

Cairn is one syllable.

[Newman]

i pronounce mine with 1 syllable

"CARE IN"

http://www.thefreedictionary.com/cairn

just like that

click the little speaker

"CAREIN"

1 syllable

[josie&holly]

"Care in " has two syllables! Cairn only one

[sanford]

The dictionaries I looked in show "cairn" as having only one syllable. Some of the online dictionaries give you an audio button to hear what the word sounds like, but just to confuse things further, some of the recorded voices actually pronounce "cairn" as if it had two syllables!

[GunnOne]

Just found this thread and (as a born and bred Scot), it’s pronounced “care” (as in, I care about you) with a “n” dropped on the end. Slightly rolled r if you fancy it

In Scotland, a cairn is a man made pile of rocks, like people often build at the summit of a climb… and like the dry-stane (stones with no cement) walls that often border fields in Scotland. Cairn terriers were bred as ratters, flushing vermin out. 

I came upon this thread googling why Aussies mispronounce it - we live in Brisbane now and everyone here says “caaaaan” (like “car”). Having said that, I’m apparently incapable of pronouncing the QLD city “Cairns” right (here it’s said something between “Cannes” and a nasal “Ken”) so swings and roundabouts!! I think that must be why it’s mispronounced here…

[sanford]

On 8/2/2005 at 10:50 AM, Guest Darcy's Mom said:

 My husband on the other hand says KARN. It just drives me crazy. I have corrected him numerous times but he just pays no attention.

Your husband sounds so like a cairn!