As one of the most popular European holiday destinations in the world, one would think that most people would know how to pronounce Ibiza correctly. Well, think again, because there's a lot of controversy surrounding the correct way to pronounce the names of Spanish islands. As you probably already know, Ibiza tends to be pronounced differently depending on where you are. So, how do you pronounce Ibiza correctly?
As Vice points out, Spanish locals used to refer to this Mediterranean island as "Ei-vi-ssa," which is derived from the Catalan word for "Ibiza." However, this pronunciation is said to be largely outdated.
According to a study conducted by language learning platform Preply, the most common pronunciations in Ibiza include "eye-BEE-tha", "ih-BEE-za" and "ee-BEET-sa". However, as research points out, the correct pronunciation of Ibiza is "ee-BEE-tha".
Much of the debate surrounding the pronunciation of Ibiza stems from the "th" sound of the letter "z". Although the word "Ibiza" is indeed spelled with a "z", it is considered the correct way to pronounce the "th" in its place, as this is how native Spanish people pronounce the letter.
By contrast, Vice also noted that "Ihh-bee-za" and "Ee-bee-za" are common pronunciations of Ibiza among North Americans (who tend to pronounce it with a "z"), jokingly citing Mike Posner's 2015 2011's hit song "I Took a Pill in Ibiza" as the reason.
Meanwhile, Preply research also claims that many people in Latin American countries pronounce Ibiza's "z" as an "s", thus referring to the island as "Ee-bee-sah."
Of course, the debate over how to say Ibiza has spread to social media, with many people shocked by the different pronunciations.
"How old was I when I discovered Ibiza was pronounced 'Ibeetha'LMFAO," one Twitter user wrote. Another user commented: "One of the biggest confusions of my adult life is hearing people pronounce Ibiza as Ibitha."
