Pronunciation, local or 'Merican?
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Pronunciation, local or 'Merican?
How do you go about pronouncing foreign words?
Do you go for the native/local way, ie, the way the people who live there pronounce it?
Or do you go for the 'Merican pronunciation?
I'm all for accuracy, and will refer to a name by it's proper pronunciation when in that country (Munich vs Muenchen, Ibiza vs Ibitha, Japan vs Nihon, etc). Especially if I'm using that language. It would be insane to say "Japan" in Japanese, for instance, since that means "well, bread!"
But I also hate sounding like a douche in America if I use the "proper" pronunciation.
So why is it douchey to use the proper word? I don't know. It sure seems that way, though.
So do you just americanize the words or try to do it right, or vary your approach on where you are and who you're with?
Do you go for the native/local way, ie, the way the people who live there pronounce it?
Or do you go for the 'Merican pronunciation?
I'm all for accuracy, and will refer to a name by it's proper pronunciation when in that country (Munich vs Muenchen, Ibiza vs Ibitha, Japan vs Nihon, etc). Especially if I'm using that language. It would be insane to say "Japan" in Japanese, for instance, since that means "well, bread!"
But I also hate sounding like a douche in America if I use the "proper" pronunciation.
So why is it douchey to use the proper word? I don't know. It sure seems that way, though.
So do you just americanize the words or try to do it right, or vary your approach on where you are and who you're with?
- shays_days
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Re: Pronunciation, local or 'Merican?
Lol I don’t even pronounce my own name with the “foreign” pronunciation...(it’s obviously not Shay) let alone other words from other languages.
But I think it’s situational and depends on who you’re with
But I think it’s situational and depends on who you’re with
- greenonion
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Re: Pronunciation, local or 'Merican?
Does anyone really know what a Merican is anymore these days?? I’m losing track, that’s for sure.
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Re: Pronunciation, local or 'Merican?
i’m from kansas so i pronounce words with my dialect.
but really, think about it this way: would you expect someone from nicaragua or tokyo or kyrgyzstan to pronounce US cities and states and names with a perfect US accent? of course not, they’ll use an accent colored by their language. so why expect yourself to have that burden?
everyone’s dialect and accent is their own and will pronounce words the way their mouth works. i don’t see a reason to go out of your way to identically match native pronunciations unless you’re fluently communicating in that language.
but really, think about it this way: would you expect someone from nicaragua or tokyo or kyrgyzstan to pronounce US cities and states and names with a perfect US accent? of course not, they’ll use an accent colored by their language. so why expect yourself to have that burden?
everyone’s dialect and accent is their own and will pronounce words the way their mouth works. i don’t see a reason to go out of your way to identically match native pronunciations unless you’re fluently communicating in that language.
- disentangled
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Re: Pronunciation, local or 'Merican?
Have you ever heard a Brit say Los Angeles?
Now if we could just pronounce couloir and glissade properly!
Now if we could just pronounce couloir and glissade properly!
- greenonion
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- disentangled
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Re: Pronunciation, local or 'Merican?
greenonion wrote: ↑Sat Mar 06, 2021 9:40 amKoowar is one I believe. But how is glissade different from glissade?? Glissahd??
couloir needs an L
kooL wahr (soft R)
The i in French is pronounced ee (without the Y sound at the end) and never has the sound of the English i like in "give".
glee sahd
lol whatever.
- greenonion
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Re: Pronunciation, local or 'Merican?
Glee and Sahd both in the same word. How French!shelly+ wrote: ↑Sat Mar 06, 2021 1:02 pmgreenonion wrote: ↑Sat Mar 06, 2021 9:40 amKoowar is one I believe. But how is glissade different from glissade?? Glissahd??
couloir needs an L
kooL wahr (soft R)
The i in French is pronounced ee (without the Y sound at the end) and never has the sound of the English i like in "give".
glee sahd
lol whatever.
- SchralpTheGnar
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Re: Pronunciation, local or 'Merican?
My take has always been the more euro I can sound the better, the euros are sick
Re: Pronunciation, local or 'Merican?
Good rule of thumb for place names might be sticking to the language you are using at the time. But i don't care much.
Unless you are talking in English and pronounce "Paris" like "Paree". Then i WILL through up.
Unless you are talking in English and pronounce "Paris" like "Paree". Then i WILL through up.
- Carl_Healy
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Re: Pronunciation, local or 'Merican?
From the title I thought this was going to be a thread about how to pronounce "Buena Vista" or "Montrose"...
If you can't run, you walk
If you can't walk, you crawl
If you can't crawl, you find someone to carry you
If you can't walk, you crawl
If you can't crawl, you find someone to carry you
- cedica
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Re: Pronunciation, local or 'Merican?
Luv them all...SchralpTheGnar wrote: ↑Sat Mar 06, 2021 1:26 pm My take has always been the more euro I can sound the better, the euros are sick