Pronounciation

[Ally Kumari]

To pronounce it Zenia is a pure nonsense. X in Russian and other languages is KS.

[Janet Ashton]

To pronounce it Zenia is a pure nonsense. X in Russian and other languages is KS.

The name transliterated as "Ksenia" is very hard for a non-Russian speaker to pronounce. The Russian grand Duchess and princess of this name would have been very accustomed to hear their name given as "Zennia" or "Zenie" (in the French style) throughout their lives. I have heard the former ("Zennia") from someone who knew Xenia Alexandrovna well in the later years of her life. It surprised me to hear it, but in those circumstances I would feel foolish in insisting on a more Russian inflection. To pronounce X as Z when a vowel follows is not uncommon in English and French - Xavier is another such name (also Xenon, though that one is hardly common!)

[Ally Kumari]

I understand that, however it makes it a different name...

[Olga Maria]

It is pronounced as KSYEN-ya. I saw it in my copy of Russian names last night.

[Olga Maria]

How do you pronounce

Uhlan?
Impyeratorskoye Velichestva?

[CorisCapnSkip]

I know the Russian pronunciation of Alexei, but I was wondering what the most acceptable Anglicized pronunciation would be.

Ah-lex-eh(hard 'a' sound), perhaps?

Or Ah-lex-ee-eh(hard 'a' sound)?

The most normal pronunciation is Alex+ay. Ah-lex-ey and Ah-lex-ee-ay sound too affected to me.

Came on here to ask this after finishing watching World War II:  Behind Closed Doors.  Two people were saying Alexei (talking about different individuals, but same spelling.)  One said Ah-LEX-ee-ay and the other Ah-LEX-ee, both with the emphasis on the second syllable.  Is different pronunciations of the same name correct?  (For instance, Colin could be with a long or short o depending on the individual.)  Which way would Alexei Romanov's name be pronounced?  By the way, I never knew the Russian pronunciation of Anastasia until I saw the Unsolved Mysteries segment in which a Russian, a relative of one of the executioners, said it.  Did Anna Anderson pronounce Anastasia correctly?

[Ally Kumari]

I think the best way how to figure this out is to watch some Rusian movie or documentary - Romanovy: Ventsenosnaya Semya for example - and listen to the name yourself...

[CorisCapnSkip]

How about Maria?  Probably only two ways to pronounce that.

[tom_romanov]

How about Maria?  Probably only two ways to pronounce that.

Two? Is it not just Marr-e-ya ?

[CorisCapnSkip]

How about Maria?  Probably only two ways to pronounce that.

Two? Is it not just Marr-e-ya ?

Properly, yes.  The other pronunciation should be spelled "Mariah."

[CorisCapnSkip]

I think the best way how to figure this out is to watch some Rusian movie or documentary - Romanovy: Ventsenosnaya Semya for example - and listen to the name yourself...

Maybe someone can send a link to a YouTube video that actually mentions names.  All those I could find in either English or Russian are just music videos, except for a British news report on the discovery of the remains which pronounces the name two different ways.  I can't get the movie to play on Frozentears.org at all, even after downloading the recommended player and using Firefox as a browser.

[Tina Laroche]

How about Maria?  Probably only two ways to pronounce that.

Two? Is it not just Marr-e-ya ?

Properly, yes.  The other pronunciation should be spelled "Mariah."

You mean, like we pronounce Mariah Carey's first name? No, I don't think so - or, at least I believe nobody will pronounce it like that in Russian.

[CorisCapnSkip]

How about Maria?  Probably only two ways to pronounce that.

Two? Is it not just Marr-e-ya ?

Properly, yes.  The other pronunciation should be spelled "Mariah."

You mean, like we pronounce Mariah Carey's first name? No, I don't think so - or, at least I believe nobody will pronounce it like that in Russian.

Good, I feel better now we've got that settled, thanks.

[CorisCapnSkip]

Well, I haven't found a source with spoken Russian yet, but someone pointed out this video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ep3-COpojP8 where the names are sung, as closely as I can make out (in order in song):

Nee-co-lai

Ah-lex-Sandra

Ah-lex-Syay

Mar-ee-ya

Olga

Tatyana

Ah-na-sta-see-ya

And, it is much easier to remember something if learned in song form!

[clockworkgirl21]

I'm still not understanding how to pronounce Xenia. The "KS" is throwing me off.