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A very contentious topic of debate 👀

Submitted by fraaab on July 11, 2025
Is the 'y' in Guyana acting as a vowel or a consonant?

We all grew up learning that a, e, i, o, and u are the five vowels, but here at Jetpunk there are those who can become very impassioned when insisting that the letter 'y' usually acts as a vowel.

I have just scheduled a quiz to be published in a couple of hours: Countries with More Vowels than Consonants (after a quick search I don't think it's been done before). In most cases, whether the 'y' acts as a vowel or a consonant is pretty clear: in Yemen, it is a consonant; in Germany, it acts a vowel. But that pesky, majority-deciding Guyanese 'y' is not so clear-cut.

So what say you? Vowel or Consonant? I need answers people, well-reasoned answers! 😂

Thanks :)

11 Comments
toowise
+4
Level 81
Jul 11, 2025
Just to make it a little more difficult, it depends on how you pronounce Guyana.

If you say Guy-ana (like another name for a man) then I would say it's a consonant.

But if you pronounce it the same as French Guiana, then its a vowel.

Hope that clears it up :)

fraaab
+2
Level 65
Jul 11, 2025
As I feared, somewhat subjective... Thanks for weighing in with your thoughts :)
Anonymousbeer25
+1
Level 56
Jul 11, 2025
i think its a consonnant because when we pronounce it it's kinda like

gui (y sound) ana

the same y sound as in yes or yay or yemen

and if in those words it is a consonnant then it is a consonnant in guyana too

Neodymium
+1
Level 63
Jul 11, 2025
consonant but i misspronounce it
Dimby
+6
Level 83
Jul 11, 2025
It’s part of a vowel sound. Look at Merriam-Webster’s phonetic spelling: gī-ˈa-nə . Seems pretty definitive.

I’ll also point out that many people (I assume most native speakers?) learn the vowels are “A, E, I, O, U, and sometimes Y”.

fraaab
+2
Level 65
Jul 11, 2025
Very interesting. I should learn how to read phonetic spelling. Out of curiosity, do other dictionaries agree with the phonetic spelling you cited? During my brief research on the topic I read that there are two different ways to pronounce Guyana 🥴
Dimby
+2
Level 83
Jul 11, 2025
The Oxford English Dictionary says it is

/ɡaɪˈæn.ə/,

which also only has vowel sounds where the Y is. OED and MW are the only dictionaries I trust, and this covers British and American pronunciations. Ghee-Yana is just not how it’s pronounced.

HollowYT
+1
Level 51
Jul 11, 2025
That seems like the pronunciation for French Guiana
Lindwyrm
+2
Level 82
Jul 11, 2025
Without checking, I'd say consonant cuz "Gu-ya-na" (three syllables) but I'm not too sure about it.
Insaniot
+2
Level 63
Jul 11, 2025
As the proud owner of the quiz "Countries but all vowels are Changed to O", I have seen many arguments both for and against counting Y as a vowel. What I've come to learn is that some people are taught that Y is exclusively a consonant, whereas others were taught that Y can sometimes be a consonant or a vowel depending on how it's used in a word. Personally I say "guy-yawn-a" so I would count it as a consonant, but it really depends on how you use it in this instance.
BautyArg
+1
Level 52
Jul 24, 2025
I pronounce it as the 'sh' in 'show'; therefore it's a consonant for me
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