Pronounciation

[Dashkova]

Well Alexei, here's more to confuse us both! I just asked a couple other people (Russians, that is) who BOTH pronounced it "Nick-oh-LIE-yevnah"...much to the consternation of an actual "Nickolaievna" (who says she's LIVE-nah) in their presence!
Hmph!
Who knows?

[Georgiy]

That's what I'm saying - both are correct, it is just that one is said more carefully than the other. It's just a difference of ennunciation, and perhaps personal preferance as well. Some people really run sounds together - I've heard Ekaterinburg pronounced like "Ektinboorg." for example. Or the way lots of people pronounce my country New Zealand as New Znd, but if they were taking more care with their speech would say it more like new zelind. (But we never say noo ZEEEland.)

[Dashkova]

I've never heard that pronunciation of E'burg.  The natives definitely say Yeck-ah-tyer-in- BOORG.

What I hate most of all is to hear it pronounced Eeeekat-a-REEN-berg....like chalk scraped on a blackboard and ignorantly inaccurate!  

[Grand_Duke_Alexei]

I've never heard that pronunciation of E'burg.  The natives definitely say Yeck-ah-tyer-in- BOORG.

What I hate most of all is to hear it pronounced Eeeekat-a-REEN-berg....like chalk scraped on a blackboard and ignorantly inaccurate!  

Lol Dashkova, screeeeeeeeeeeeeeech.  

[Olga]

Or the way lots of people pronounce my country New Zealand as New Znd, but if they were taking more care with their speech would say it more like new zelind. (But we never say noo ZEEEland.)

I'm one of those Australians who says Nyooo Zeeeeeeeeland.   Feesh and cheeps as opposed to fush and chups.

[Dashkova]

I'm one of those Australians who says Nyooo Zeeeeeeeeland.   Feesh and cheeps as opposed to fush and chups.

LOL! I remember it well (Aussies -- PLEASE Americans it's with a Z not and S! -- and Kiwis).
I've heard many say: NZed for Noo Ziland (last word spoken rapidly)
Where are you guys from, anyway?  I lived in Perth in OZ (Subiaco to be exact) and in NZ in Christchurch and Hamilton.

[Olga]

My papa is from Christchurch. I'm in the Southern suburbs.

*Olga sits and hopes no weird stalker people lurk around here*  

[Georgiy]

And I'm from Auckland.

[Johnny]

Well, I can't see any reason to speak it slowly, so if it's being pronounced the way Russians *speak*, then it *sounds* like Nick-oh-LIVE-nah. And since pronunciation has to do with speech, how something is spoken is what counts in this case.

That poor word has five syllables not four. Besides, whatever the verdict on the "LIVE" bit, the fact still remains that the second syllable is not an "oh" but an "ah", unless spoken slowly which you yourself agree is not the normal way of pronouncing things.
By the way, if you heard my aunt say Tchaikovsky or Prokofieff you would certainly not recognize either. She pronounces them like chuh-KUOF-skyee and prrah-KOH-fyif. Needless to say she is one 100% made in Russia.

[Kostya]

There is a good site with names in Russian and how to pronounce it.  both in male and female pronounciations and nicknames.

http://www.geocities.com/Colosseum/Track/7635/names.html

i hope it has not been posted already.

[Alicky1872]

Like most Americans, I pronounce their last name as

"Romin-ov"

I've noticed that in most British documentaries, they pronounce it

"Ro mann off"

What's the correct way?

[Dashkova]

In Russian, it is pronounced:  Roh-MAHN-off.  Any other way, at least in Russian, is incorrect.  It is also a *very* common surname of the nonroyal variety.

Oh, and Roh-MAHN-o-vah for the ladies

[Sarushka]

Ok, gang, this might start some sort of monsterous debate (or rampant speculation that I'm a nincompoop), but I'd like to know -- just where do Russian speakers put the emphasis in "Romanov"?

Here in the states, I hear it mostly pronounced "ROmanov" with the emphasis on the first syllable. Myself, I tend to favor "roMANov" with the emphasis in the middle. Am I correct or just affected?   (My college Russian classes didn't cover this -- can you imagine? But I can ask for directions to the restroom like a pro!)
Sm

ps: come to think of it, why am I specifying the Russian pronunciation when we're discussing a bilingual family??

[Lanie]

Roh-MAH-nov, I think.  For the female members of the family, Roh-MAH-nov-a.

[Angie_H]

I have always wonder about the pronunciation of middle names.