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The 'How do I say that guy's name?' thread


Philip Rolfe

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But how do you know whether to pronounce it in French or in Dutch? How would you know De Bruyne is pronounced the way the French pronounce it and not the way the Dutch/Belgians pronounce it? Is it because of the De in De Bruyne?

Yep, wasn't thorough enough. De Bruyne is also derived from Dutch. It actually means the brown (the brown one) - and is clear dutch to the Dutch speakers, and normally to the Walloons as well. So, it should be pronounced in Dutch/Flemish.

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How would the name sound in Dutch? According to Wiki it's more of a Br-oe-nuh (maybe Br-ow-nuh is more accurate) sound, whereas in French it's obviously more like Br-oy-nuh (which seems to be the way everybody (myself included) says it).

Basically, it should be more like Broenuh (Brownuh) instead of Broynuh?

Language is fascinating... (I'm a bit of a loser :D)

The talk of Belgium has reminded me that they butcher Alderweireld as well. It's not an easy name to pronounce but "Al-der-why-reld" is just hideous :lol:

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How would the name sound in Dutch? According to Wiki it's more of a Br-oe-nuh (maybe Br-ow-nuh is more accurate) sound, whereas in French it's obviously more like Br-oy-nuh (which seems to be the way everybody (myself included) says it).

Basically, it should be more like Broenuh (Brownuh) instead of Broynuh?

Language is fascinating... (I'm a bit of a loser :D)

The talk of Belgium has reminded me that they butcher Alderweireld as well. It's not an easy name to pronounce but "Al-der-why-reld" is just hideous :lol:

Like this, mate -> scroll to the Dutch one -> Theredone (which is me)

http://www.forvo.com/word/kevin_de_bruyne/

and like this one

http://www.forvo.com/word/toby_alderweireld/

(don't listen to the first one, it's a dodgy regional accent, haha)

although you could say that Alderweireld could be pronounced slightly different - the wei like "why" indeed.... it's an odd one, this one.

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I can see why Vanendert threw you off though. Belgian names don't always leave the 'van' as a seperate word - I think we always do, or at the very least it's extremely uncommon not to. Had it been spelled Van Endert it would probably have been more obvious to you. The name ending in 'dert' presumably didn't help either, it probably suggested it rhymed with 'angleterre'.

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I don't really have any issues if you and your mates want to butcher Vertonghen and Chiriches' names (and god knows how many names you English butcher) - but from a professional commentator and sports journalists I expect a much better performance.

For Chiriches I say Kiri-kesh and Vertonghen pretty much just as it's spelt. Both are probably wrong but as long as the link between pronounciation and player is obvious then there's no problem in my view.

The club is Bayern München - it says so on their badge ffs - so I have always and will always call them Bayern München, München, or Bayern. I'm not sure of your point on CSKA - it isn't one word, it is an acronym which standards for Central Sports Army Club (translated into Russian the ordering of words change so it becomes CSCA and for whatever reason the second C becomes a K).

Then why not say Deutschland? Why is it ok in some circumstances to make entirely different words for a country in English but people/club/place names have to be pronounced in their native language? As for CSKA, I've heard it pronounced as something like "sheshka" by Russian commentators so take it up with them.

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For Chiriches I say Kiri-kesh and Vertonghen pretty much just as it's spelt. Both are probably wrong but as long as the link between pronounciation and player is obvious then there's no problem in my view.

Kiri-kesh is close. It's Kee-reh-kesh. Vertonghen is more or less as it looks, but some people (UK commentators in particular) forget everything they're taught with the GH sound and pronounce it as "Ver-tonguh-en". Even though the word "though" isn't pronounced as "tho-guh", for example. It's "Ver-tong-en" (the tong part sounding likes tongues at a BBQ are said).

Then why not say Deutschland? Why is it ok in some circumstances to make entirely different words for a country in English but people/club/place names have to be pronounced in their native language? As for CSKA, I've heard it pronounced as something like "sheshka" by Russian commentators so take it up with them.

Because the club is Bayern Munchen, they have named themselves that. They don't call themselves Bayern Munich. Calling the city Munich is fine because that's the English way to say Munchen (the city). But the club is Bayern Munchen, not Bayern Munich. It's the same - I can't stand "Inter Milan". The club is "Internazionale". Call them Inter or Internazionale. If you must use the Milan part, it's Inter Milano or Internazionale Milano. It isn't about "pronouncing Bayern Munchen in German", it's about calling Bayern Munchen by their name - which is Munchen and not Munich.

Like Red said above, you don't just change club names to suit your own pronunciation. The club is Bayern Munchen, so call them that. They've never been Munich, so it's wrong to call them that.

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Here's Jelle Vanendert by the way: http://www.forvo.com/word/jelle_vanendert/#nl

Yeah I checked this one out before I made the post because when you said how the BBC got his name wrong, I was wondering how they did so (I don't know how the BBC commentators pronounce Vanendert but I got it wrong myself anyway so w/e :D).

As for Alderweireld, I pronounce it how you do but obviously without the Dutch accent (being Scottish 'n' all). I'll correct my De Bruyne pronunciation in the future :cool:

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But how do you know whether to pronounce it in French or in Dutch? How would you know De Bruyne is pronounced the way the French pronounce it and not the way the Dutch/Belgians pronounce it? Is it because of the De in De Bruyne?

Lots of French speakers have Dutch names and vice versa. You cant really tell what language they speak going by their names.

Thibaut Courtois or Mignolet are french names but they are dutch speakers. Van Buyten, vanden Borre are dutch names but they are french speakers etc...

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but we don't adjust the team names. We will say the team, which is based in Berlijn, but they are called Hertha BSC Berlin.

Hertha BSC Berlin is wrong. BSC does mean Berliner Sport Club, so it's just Hertha BSC or Hertha Berliner Sport Club as long version.

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Hertha BSC Berlin is wrong. BSC does mean Berliner Sport Club, so it's just Hertha BSC or Hertha Berliner Sport Club as long version.

Fair enough, but my point is that it is Berlin (in Dutch) and not changed to Berlijn.

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Lots of French speakers have Dutch names and vice versa. You cant really tell what language they speak going by their names.

Thibaut Courtois or Mignolet are french names but they are dutch speakers. Van Buyten, vanden Borre are dutch names but they are french speakers etc...

Well yeah, but you don't pronounce Courtois/Mignolet any different in dutch than you would in french do you? spot on with the french speakers with dutch names & vice versa though, came in this thread to say that.

Wonder if we actually pronounce Chadli & Bakkali the right way.. :D

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Lots of French speakers have Dutch names and vice versa. You cant really tell what language they speak going by their names.

Thibaut Courtois or Mignolet are french names but they are dutch speakers. Van Buyten, vanden Borre are dutch names but they are french speakers etc...

True. But then you do pronounce Van Buyten and vanden Borre in the Dutch way. Courtois and Mignolet in the French way (I'm sure we could butcher those to Dutch...)

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Wonder if we actually pronounce Chadli & Bakkali the right way.. :D

Funnily enough,eg. Khalid Boulahrouz is pronounced differently in Arabic than in Dutch... or well, there's a slight difference. But we do it wrong...

http://www.forvo.com/word/khalid_boulahrouz/#ar

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True. But then you do pronounce Van Buyten and vanden Borre in the Dutch way. Courtois and Mignolet in the French way (I'm sure we could butcher those to Dutch...)

Out of interest, how would Mignolet and Courtois come out in Dutch? :D

As for Boulahrouz, always just assumed it was obvious/easy. Not much of a difference between the Dutch and Arabic pronunciations there tbf, just that the Arabic speaker emphasizes the "AH" sound more than the Dutch speakers, which is an Arabic thing afaik.

FWIW, the Dutch way is exactly how I say it and probably most of the world says it. There's no need for as much emphasis on the AH sound imo.

e: Unless you were referring to the Khalid part of his name, in which case I'd say that the same way the Dutch do, but I have little/no exposure to Arabic names so I am ignorant to the pronunciation of KH.

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think in most cases the french/dutch way of pronunciation is just a small difference in what part of the word is stressed. Maybe the french 'r'.

Other than that I don't think there's huge differences. Tbf the names will all sound slightly different in various dialects as well so.. The antwerp way of saying De Bruyne won't be the same as in west-flandres I imagine :D

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Speaking of pronunciation.. Are there any fellow Belgians annoyed at Frank Raes' desire to pronounce any Portuguese names overly correct?

I swear if I ever hear him say MarcelOE again my TV will not survive..

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Speaking of pronunciation.. Are there any fellow Belgians annoyed at Frank Raes' desire to pronounce any Portuguese names overly correct?

I swear if I ever hear him say MarcelOE again my TV will not survive..

How do you think it should be pronounced? :confused:

The thing about Marcelo that always got to me is not knowing how to pronounce it - I hear people calling "March-ello" and others call him "Mart-sello"... what it the proper/Brazilian way? I've always said Marchello but I haven't a clue. On Forvo it's seemingly Martsello, but they're all Spanish pronunciations there... seen that apparently "Marcello" (the first name) is pronounced like Marchello, but honestly I'm not sure :D

e: then again, Marcello as a first name is Italian, so it would definitely be March-ello.

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How do you think it should be pronounced? :confused:

The thing about Marcelo that always got to me is not knowing how to pronounce it - I hear people calling "March-ello" and others call him "Mart-sello"... what it the proper/Brazilian way? I've always said Marchello but I haven't a clue. On Forvo it's seemingly Martsello, but they're all Spanish pronunciations there... seen that apparently "Marcello" (the first name) is pronounced like Marchello, but honestly I'm not sure :D

e: then again, Marcello as a first name is Italian, so it would definitely be March-ello.

The part that annoys me is the way he says the 'o' in Marcelo. Any Portuguese 'O's he pronounces as 'ooh' as if he's saying Marcelu

It may or may not be correct, but it annoys the hell out of me :D

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The part that annoys me is the way he says the 'o' in Marcelo. Any Portuguese 'O's he pronounces as 'ooh' as if he's saying Marcelu

It may or may not be correct, but it annoys the hell out of me :D

Ohh, I see. Never knew that it should be an "oo" sound.

So is it March-ell-oo or Mart-sell-oo? :lol:

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The "gn" sound is like a "nyuh" sound - think of "Mignolet" - "Meen-yo-lay".

Which would naturally make it "Dee-nyuh" I think. But I can't say for sure... a Frenchmen (or natural French speaker) would be most appreciated right now :D

Unsure if anyone else already answered this one, but you're correct actually.

Digne in french is pronounced as Deen-yuh :thup:

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As FaceCrusher said higher up, there probably is some quite strong differences:

Portuguese and Brazilian Portuguese will sound like different languages to foreign people, though the words are mostly the same.

There are almost 500 years of separated evolution, plus Brazilian-Portuguese phonetics have some African influence.

The fact alone that it's "Honaldo" in Brazil but "Ronaldo" in Portugal suggests there probably is some quite big differences.

Probably the same way American and British English is different to some extent too, although the differences are a lot smaller (and mostly superficial/spelling-related) than the differences in Belgian/Dutch and Brazilian/Portuguese, it seems.

e: Should clarify that in Portugal it's not quite "Ronaldo" the way a brit says Ronaldo, but it does have a clear R unlike the Brazilian way which doesn't. Perhaps "Rhhhhonaldo" is more appropriate for the Portuguese way?

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Unsure if anyone else already answered this one, but you're correct actually.

Digne in french is pronounced as Deen-yuh :thup:

Glad someone clarified :thup:

I was sure I was right because I studied French for 5 years and you pick up on these things, but the commentary was making me doubt myself. :D

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e: Should clarify that in Portugal it's not quite "Ronaldo" the way a brit says Ronaldo, but it does have a clear R unlike the Brazilian way which doesn't. Perhaps "Rhhhhonaldo" is more appropriate for the Portuguese way?

It's difficult to explain, but we have 2 sounds for R.

One, when used in the middle of a word, like "Pereira", is very similar to the English way.

The other, used at the start of a word, like "Ronaldo", or in the middle if a double R is used, like "Barros", is a much stronger sound, which the English don't use. Difficult to explain, similar to the French R sound, or the Spanish J in "Juan", but stronger.

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It's difficult to explain, but we have 2 sounds for R.

One, when used in the middle of a word, like "Pereira", is very similar to the English way.

The other, used at the start of a word, like "Ronaldo", or in the middle if a double R is used, like "Barros", is a much stronger sound, which the English don't use. Difficult to explain, similar to the French R sound, or the Spanish J in "Juan", but stronger.

I understand.

It's why you say "Ha-mee-rez" and not "Ha-mee-hez", right?

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I understand.

It's why you say "Ha-mee-rez" and not "Ha-mee-hez", right?

We say neither, in Portugal we say rrha-MEE-resh, with the sound I was talking about at the start. The second R is the same as in English. Brazilians may say it a bit different.

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We say neither, in Portugal we say rrha-MEE-resh, with the sound I was talking about at the start. The second R is the same as in English. Brazilians may say it a bit different.

I thought you were Brazilian, my bad! But yeah, there's seemingly more emphasis on the "rrha" sound you describe than a Brazilian speaker would put on it. Portuguese seem to say it as "rrha" whereas Brazilians seem to say it as a throaty "ha" sound, there's not really an R there from what I can hear.

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I thought you were Brazilian, my bad! But yeah, there's seemingly more emphasis on the "rrha" sound you describe than a Brazilian speaker would put on it. Portuguese seem to say it as "rrha" whereas Brazilians seem to say it as a throaty "ha" sound, there's not really an R there from what I can hear.

It's a way to put it. I actually think Brazilians say it somewhat similarly, but with a less deep sound, as if they were only making half the sound. In Portugal it's similar to the sound you make when you have a tickle in the throat, must be an arabic influence.:)

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Kiri-kesh is close. It's Kee-reh-kesh. Vertonghen is more or less as it looks, but some people (UK commentators in particular) forget everything they're taught with the GH sound and pronounce it as "Ver-tonguh-en". Even though the word "though" isn't pronounced as "tho-guh", for example. It's "Ver-tong-en" (the tong part sounding likes tongues at a BBQ are said).

...

The problem for me, a particular case for non-native English speakers, aside from my inability to learn stress, is that Ki-ri-kesh and Kee-reh-kesh sound exactly the same. There is no difference. It's a good thing that they invented the international phonetic alphabets. Although I'm not using it because it then makes me use Character Map very extensively.

Plus, it's understandable that commentators in England can't pronounce it accurately. The letter ș is particularly common only in Romania. You see kit manufacturers and football websites learning to put letters with umlauts or accents, but there are still uncommon letters. If the Spurs official website doesn't write Chiricheș as Romanians will write it, English commentators will understandably just go with usual letter s.

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The problem for me, a particular case for non-native English speakers, aside from my inability to learn stress, is that Ki-ri-kesh and Kee-reh-kesh sound exactly the same. There is no difference. It's a good thing that they invented the international phonetic alphabets. Although I'm not using it because it then makes me use Character Map very extensively.

Plus, it's understandable that commentators in England can't pronounce it accurately. The letter ș is particularly common only in Romania. You see kit manufacturers and football websites learning to put letters with umlauts or accents, but there are still uncommon letters. If the Spurs official website doesn't write Chiricheș as Romanians will write it, English commentators will understandably just go with usual letter s.

Kee-re and kiri sound the same to you? :confused:

So if you kick a ball, do you kick it or do you kee-ck it? :D

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Again, no difference for me. I would say "kik".

How can you say there's no difference, then? :confused:

You said kee-re and kiri sound the same to you.

The ki in kiri is the same sound as kik.

The kee in in kee-re is like bee with a k at the start.

They sound nothing alike.

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How can you say there's no difference, then? :confused:

You said kee-re and kiri sound the same to you.

The ki in kiri is the same sound as kik.

The kee in in kee-re is like bee with a k at the start.

They sound nothing alike.

Kick and bee are homophones for me. That could be because I can't learn through listening. I can learn only by the other two media: reading and doing.

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