Pronounciation

I've never been sure of how to pronunciate these two nicknames:
Shvibzik
Alyoshka

Not sure myself on the first though i've always said Sh-ivz-bick and i could be wrong. i think the other is Al-yo-sh-ka once again could be wrong!

I heard the first pronounced in a movie once. "Oh, my poor little Shvybzik!" and he said it like [Shvih-bzikk]
Emily x

Maybe "Shvybzik" has its origins in the German word "beschwipst" [beshvipst] which means "jolly" or "tipsy" in English. :-) But I'm not sure.

While we're here, how is Tsarskoe Selo pronounced?

I've always pronounced it Sar-co Seal-o... I could be wrong though!

It's more like ['tsarskaj sʲɪel'o:], ['tsa:rskaə sʲɪe'lo:] or ['ʦarskɐje sʲɪ'ɫɔ].

Wow, it's never so bad that there isn't something good to derive from it: In tonight's news segment about Russia's nightmarish project of building a floating nuclear power plant and towing it to the Arctic Sea off Siberia, I did learn that the stretch of water where it was launched, Невa / the Neva, is pronounced /nʲe'va/ with stress on the second syllable!  

I apologize if this has been asked before how to say Yusupova. I was in the forum, in the Yusupov topic, and reading about Princess Tatiana Alexandrovna Yusupova. I cannot say Yusupova properly. Is it just Yusupov with an 'a' sound at the end?

I apologize if this has been asked before how to say Yusupova. I was in the forum, in the Yusupov topic, and reading about Princess Tatiana Alexandrovna Yusupova. I cannot say Yusupova properly. Is it just Yusupov with an 'a' sound at the end?

I think it's [ju 'su pɐ və], so stress on the second syllable.         

I apologize if this has been asked before how to say Yusupova. I was in the forum, in the Yusupov topic, and reading about Princess Tatiana Alexandrovna Yusupova. I cannot say Yusupova properly. Is it just Yusupov with an 'a' sound at the end?

I think it's [ju 'su pɐ və], so stress on the second syllable.         

Thank you.

In the German Duden dictionary of pronunciation I finally found the correct Russian pronunciation of Tsarskoe Selo confirmed: ['ʦarskɐjɐ sʲɪ'lɔ]. In English orthography it would be something like /TSARskuyuh seeLAW/.

Originally by Forum Admin, I'm just quoting him:

This has been discussed many times before.  The proper Russian pronunciation is "Sars-kaya Syelo"  But here is a very soft "t" sound with the first S, and the "kaya" "a" sounds are not hard like "ah" but soft, almost a cross between "a" and "o", and the "ye" in Syelo is very soft when properly pronounced, and the final "o" is also very soft, like the O in Oscar..  Its kind of hard for English speakers to get right unless they have heard a Russian pronounce it for them.

Originally by Forum Admin, I'm just quoting him:

This has been discussed many times before.  The proper Russian pronunciation is "Sars-kaya Syelo"...[..]

Tina Pavlovna, such a roundabout explanation can perhaps elucidate the pronunciation in IPA I gave above, but it says nothing about stress (so vital in Russian) and is no real substitute for a proper rendering in IPA.

Sometimes I wish there were audio files saying things correctly...I know I have been mispronouncing names for 40 years plus!
As Фёдор Петрович  says, where the stress is vital etc.

[cercle]

I realize this does not really have anything to do with the Imperial Family directly, but I am wondering how to pronounce the name of the society conversation excersise Queen Victoria did with Alix when she was a young girl and teen, the cercle. Also, something else that is not directly related: Margarethe von Fabrice, Alix's lady-in-waiting. If anyone could clear this up for me I'd appreciate it greatly!

[Mar]

I think the "cercle" is just pronounced like the ordinary "circle"

As for Princess Alix's companion:
unlike the English name Margaret (Mar-gret) in the German version you pronounce the second "a" as well. The last three letters are not pronounced like the English "the" but like the first two letters of "TExt" : Mar - ga (british "a" like in MARgret - not the american one) - re (sharp "e" like the first "e" in "Ethel") - te ("TExt").

The "v" in von is like the "f" in fall

Fa (british "a") -bree-ce ("ce" like "s" - but a sharp s like in Sam)

[Rademacher]

Thank you so much! I appreciate the detailed instructions a lot!
Another German surname I was wondering how to pronouce correctly is Rademacher, and also von Blumenthal. Though of course now I do know how to say von!