Author Topic: Pronounciation  (Read 273044 times)

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Johnny

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Re: Pronounciation
« Reply #30 on: November 28, 2004, 04:34:34 PM »
If by "Tanieff" you mean Taneyev (Anna Vyrubova's family name) that is pronounced "ta-NYE-yef". You can trust me on that one. He is a world famous composer.  I remember mispronouncing his name often until I was corrected by a Russian woman.
« Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 06:00:00 PM by Johnny »

Maria_Romanov_fan

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Re: Pronounciation
« Reply #31 on: November 28, 2004, 04:48:37 PM »
Sorry all, this is very sad...
I can never pronounce "Nicholaievna"

Offline Georgiy

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Re: Pronounciation
« Reply #32 on: November 28, 2004, 04:54:48 PM »
Nee- koh-la-yev-nah, or a bit faster: Nee-koh-lahv-nah.

Dashkova

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Re: Pronounciation
« Reply #33 on: November 28, 2004, 09:04:27 PM »
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Nee- koh-la-yev-nah, or a bit faster: Nee-koh-lahv-nah.


That's interesting.  In my own studies of Ryccki yazik, and from my close Russian relatives, it is pronounced:

Nick-oh-LIVE-nah.

(that's LIVE as in: "LIVE from Radio City Music Hall..." ;) )
« Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 06:00:00 PM by Dashkova »

Grand_Duke_Alexei

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Re: Pronounciation
« Reply #34 on: November 29, 2004, 07:39:41 AM »
Quote

That's interesting.  In my own studies of Ryccki yazik, and from my close Russian relatives, it is pronounced:

Nick-oh-LIVE-nah.

(that's LIVE as in: "LIVE from Radio City Music Hall..." ;) )


I am pretty sure that it is pronunced like this.

Nick-oh-ly-en-ah

olga

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Re: Pronounciation
« Reply #35 on: November 29, 2004, 08:40:32 AM »
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I am pretty sure that it is pronunced like this.

Nick-oh-ly-en-ah


Then where does the v sound go?

Johnny

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Re: Pronounciation
« Reply #36 on: November 29, 2004, 09:15:18 AM »
OK, let's not fight over it.
It may sound like "Live from Broadway" when it's uttered quickly, but it is actually:
nee-ka-LAh-yev-na.
It will help to keep in mind that in Russian all non-stressed "O"s sound like "Ah" or "uh" depending on their position relative to the stressed syllable. A good example is the Russian word for good or well, "khorosho". The accent is on the last "o", so the first o sounds like uh and as it gets closer to the stressed syllable it sounds like ah and the last vowel is a clear oh. It sounds something like "khuh-rah-shoh".

Johnny

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Re: Pronounciation
« Reply #37 on: November 29, 2004, 09:25:57 AM »
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I've seen Buxhoeveden written as Bugsgevden, which I guess is the Russian version of the name. It would be pronounced "Boogz-gev-(hard g)-den".

Georgiy's Russian pronunciation of Buxhoeveden sounds correct. But, since it's a German name the"oe" bit is really an o-umlaut (an o with two dotts on top) which sounds like the vowel in the second syllable of the french word mon-sieur (something like "yuo").
So in German it will sound like Books-hyov-den.
« Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 06:00:00 PM by Johnny »

Johnny

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Re: Pronounciation
« Reply #38 on: November 29, 2004, 09:37:05 AM »
I just checked it on a website of German and Austrian nobility last names. Buxhoeveden's German spelling is BUXHÖWDEN (notice the missing e between W and D).
W in German is pronounced like a v.

Dashkova

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Re: Pronounciation
« Reply #39 on: November 29, 2004, 12:27:11 PM »
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I am pretty sure that it is pronunced like this.

Nick-oh-ly-en-ah


Just to be absolutely certain before I posted, I asked a Russian with the same patronymic.  "Nick-oh-LIVE-nah"

Offline Georgiy

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Re: Pronounciation
« Reply #40 on: November 29, 2004, 02:09:32 PM »
When an "ah" and an "eh" sound are run together (as when spoken quickly), it sounds close to the English letter "I".

Johnny

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Re: Pronounciation
« Reply #41 on: November 29, 2004, 04:21:18 PM »
Georgiy,
You are absolutely right. It sounds like the long English "I". But it is important to distinguish that it is actually two different vowels "ay' and "ye". By the way, if you ask a Russian to spell a word or to pronounce a word syllabically and slowly, s/he will pronounce all the "o"s as oh. That's because that is the natural sound of the letter. But when the word is spoken normally then all the "o"s become a's and uh's.  Just like our word "pronunciation". If a foreigner asked an American to pronounce it slowly s/he will probably hear something like prow-nun-si-ey-shun. But as we all know the normal American pronunciation of "pronunciation'" is more like prr-nun-si-yey-shun, without the o in the first syllable.
« Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 06:00:00 PM by Johnny »

Dashkova

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Re: Pronounciation
« Reply #42 on: November 29, 2004, 04:29:28 PM »
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When an "ah" and an "eh" sound are run together (as when spoken quickly), it sounds close to the English letter "I".


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.

I mean, come on...look at the English word: "Worchestershire." If it were pronounced gramatically correct, based on the spelling, one would be the object of ridicule.

Offline Georgiy

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Re: Pronounciation
« Reply #43 on: November 29, 2004, 04:50:44 PM »
I think it would depend on who was speaking and why. After all, in different situations we adjust the way we speak - for example, if I were to meet the Queen I would speak differently than with say my work colleagues. I think if the GDs were being formally announced their names would have been pronounced carefully, but if someone was talking about them or addressing them informally the sounds would be glided together, which is the case in any language.

Grand_Duke_Alexei

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Re: Pronounciation
« Reply #44 on: November 29, 2004, 05:21:32 PM »
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Just to be absolutely certain before I posted, I asked a Russian with the same patronymic.  "Nick-oh-LIVE-nah"


Okay Dashkova, I am sorry for contradicting you without re-checking my resources.  Your phonetics do seem like they are right.