pronunciation - How is æ supposed to be pronounced? - English . . . As I said, you have to distinguish English spelling from pronunciation There's no difference between the letters"ae" together and the "æ" ligature; and there's no rule for how to pronounce them, either -- every word is different The words encyclopædia, encyclopedia, and encyclopaedia are all pronounced the same, however you pronounce them I pronounce that vowel as i , myself