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Wed 11 Jul, 2007 06:38 am
In English how does one pronounce the composers name Saint Saen?
Thanks
I always wonder how foreign names are pronounced in English .... and why they don't try to do it properly
But I really think, family names should be pronounced as they are and not changed.
Walter Hinteler wrote:I always wonder how foreign names are pronounced in English .... and why they don't try to do it properly
But I really think, family names should be pronounced as they are and not changed.
So do I.
My birth name, pronounced in a way invented in America, sounds like the name of an African country. Think of what is was like to go through childhood with a name like Democratic Republic of Congo.
If you can overhear the drums and the rumble in the jungle - yes :wink:
Burkina Faso? Is that you?
(I've also wondered why we change the pronounciation of names and places of non-English origin.)
As to the original question: I honestly don't know, but suspect it would be something like "San-Sen"
If you follow my link, there's a pronounciation in International Phonetic alphabet...
Francis wrote:If you follow my link, there's a pronounciation in International Phonetic alphabet...
It would be easier Francis if you just told me what it was
You know, clicking on my link, when you get to Wikipedia you see those little weird characters, just after his name.
That's the way it's pronounced.
Sorry but, even though I have an idea, I don't know for sure how to pronounce it in English.
thanks francis I'll try and work it out
It might perhaps sound stupid for you, lovejoy, but why don't you want to pronounce it like everyone else, namely correctly?
I pronounce it CahMEAL San Sahn
I'm guessing that lovejoy is thrown by the international phonetic alphabet. I was not familiar with that either. I've little doubt he or she wants to say the word the way the french do and just is asking how to do that.
I don't know if Phoenix' attempt is correct, but I see how she is trying to help.
On the international phonetic alphabet, here's wiki on it -
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Phonetic_Alphabet
Phoenix32890 wrote:I pronounce it CahMEAL San Sahn
Looking at it, even without the accentation, I would have guessed the last name would be more like sayOhn. The last syllable like john but with a french accent, hardly emitting the n part.
It's an 'e' with a diaeresis (or trema):
ë @ wiki :wink:
Actually, this is useful :wink:
Quote:Ë appears in words like French 'Noël' and Dutch 'koloniën'. This so-called trema is used to indicate that the vowel should not be diphthonged. For example, "Noël" is pronounced /noɛl/, whilst "Noel" would be pronounced /nl/. Likewise, "koloniën" is pronounced /koloniən/, whilst "kolonien" would be pronounced /kolonin/.
Source
The way I phrased my question was misleading I just want to pronounce it as it is--in french
Phoenix sounds about right.
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