How To Say my name! Pronunciation thread

[Samu Cuenca]

Let's say that i'll stay with just Tao Hart as i don't need to go copypaste his full name from PCS everytime i want to mention him. TGH is also ok with me but i have a chronic case of not remembering shortenings so Tao Hart is just easier for me.

You won't write his full name? It's not that Hart

 

[staubsauger]

Microsoft SwiftKey actually has learned how to spell Geoghegan, so autocomplete prevents errors!

 

[railxmig]

You won't write his full name? It's not that Hart

Big Pun

 

[saganftw]

I guess the Czech "ně" is pronounced like the the serbo-croatian "nje" or the italian "gne". I had to look up how it's called......"voiced palatal nasal" and the symbol is [ɳ], similar to an "n".

and by the way, where do you put the accent/emphasis in Sagan? Sàgan or Sagàn ?? (Even though he's Slovak )

actually true, for example in Romagna "n" would be pronounced as n in "ně"

in Slovak emphasis is almost always on first syllable

 

[pmcg76]

She gets the pronunciation right but Deignan would be a foreign name for Lizzie.

Some Irish names can be very hard for people due to many of our names being pronounced using Irish language rules despite most of us being primarily English speakers. I don't think we have ever had a good example in the peleton though

Then you have never heard some European commentators pronounce Sean Kelly, its more like Seen Kelly or something. It is such a common name in the Anglo-world, you forget the Se- is in reality pronounced as a Sh sound.

Also in the Womens Ranks, there is Niamh Fisher-Black. Without knowing, how many people would pronounce her first name correctly outside of Ireland? There is actually another female pro with the same name, but with the anglicised version Neve Bradbury of FDJ. There is also the Cyclo-Cross rider Siobhan Kelly who is actually Canadian.

 

[Breezy1985]

Then you have never heard some European commentators pronounce Sean Kelly, its more like Seen Kelly or something. It is such a common name in the Anglo-world, you forget the Se- is in reality pronounced as a Sh sound.

Also in the Womens Ranks, there is Niamh Fisher-Black. Without knowing, how many people would pronounce her first name correctly outside of Ireland? There is actually another female pro with the same name, but with the anglicised version Neve Bradbury of FDJ. There is also the Cyclo-Cross rider Siobhan Kelly who is actually Canadian.

Niamh and Siobhan are too of the big ones in terms of just baffling non Irish people as the "mh" and "bh" both make V sounds. I was saying on another thread that one of the Eurosport commentators used to say "Rosh" instead of "Roach" for Nico Roche. We also had an u23 champion 2 years ago called Darragh O’Mahony which might confuse as the "gh" in Darragh is silent and Mahony would be quicker and closer to M(quick a)honey and not Maahoony like the guy from Police Academy

 

[BlueRoads]

Niamh and Siobhan are too of the big ones in terms of just baffling non Irish people as the "mh" and "bh" both make V sounds. I was saying on another thread that one of the Eurosport commentators used to say "Rosh" instead of "Roach" for Nico Roche. We also had an u23 champion 2 years ago called Darragh O’Mahony which might confuse as the "gh" in Darragh is silent and Mahony would be quicker and closer to M(quick a)honey and not Maahoony like the guy from Police Academy

Now come on, everybody who listened to Rebus-audio books during their younger days knows how to pronounce Siobhan.

 

[Breezy1985]

Now come on, everybody who listened to Rebus-audio books during their younger days knows how to pronounce Siobhan.

Never heard of them.
I did read Grapes of Wrath though and referred to the priest as Casy like the girls name Cassie for years until I saw the movie and realized that Steinbeck meant it as the Irish name Casey which like it looks sounds like "case" with an added "y"

 

[pmcg76]

Niamh and Siobhan are too of the big ones in terms of just baffling non Irish people as the "mh" and "bh" both make V sounds. I was saying on another thread that one of the Eurosport commentators used to say "Rosh" instead of "Roach" for Nico Roche. We also had an u23 champion 2 years ago called Darragh O’Mahony which might confuse as the "gh" in Darragh is silent and Mahony would be quicker and closer to M(quick a)honey and not Maahoony like the guy from Police Academy

Well Roche has it's origins in France so I ain't going to quibble on how they pronounce it. I remember the French Footballer Alain Roche who played for PSG in the 90s and it was definitely pronounced Rosh. I think even the English language commentators pronounced it that way. I think we are more likely to have butchered it over centuries.

I think Irish names are becoming more well known Worldwide and some like Sean are just accepted without question. It depends on if there is a well known person with such a name. Tadgh is not exactly a common name, but I bet a lot of Aussies know it because of the Aussie Rules player Tadgh Kenneally who played for Sydney Swans in the noughties. Saoirse Ronan, Sinead O'Connor are others.

I am sure the likes of Oisin, Eoghan, Aoife, Caoimhe, etc still cause plenty of problems even though they are common in Ireland.

 

[Armchair Cyclist]

In my late teens, I started using Caoimhín in place of my given Kevin for a while, although I was in the South of England. Proved more hassle than it was worth.

 

[SHAD0W93]

While not hard for me to pronounce, Phil and Paul would always touch on TVG’s Dutch name and how hard it would be to pronounce and the Dutch love him from his name.

 

[MTV]

On TW @saiklist_help - Nice!

 

[davidsonduke]

Today Wiggins said MAR-tin-ezz at least once and then Mar-TEEN-ezz most of the time. Is MAR-tin-ezz a typical British pronunciation?

 

[Bonimenier]

Today Wiggins said MAR-tin-ezz at least once and then Mar-TEEN-ezz most of the time. Is MAR-tin-ezz a typical British pronunciation?

It is Dan MAR-tin so I'm not surprised that English speaking people would say MAR-tin-ezzzzzz

 

[Armchair Cyclist]

Today Wiggins said MAR-tin-ezz at least once and then Mar-TEEN-ezz most of the time. Is MAR-tin-ezz a typical British pronunciation?

Partly that, partly that the English/British are notoriously lazy in taking on foreign languages (obviously with exceptions), but largely that a high level of ignorance is typical for Wiggins.

 

[RedheadDane]

Partly that, partly that the English/British are notoriously lazy in taking on foreign languages (obviously with exceptions), but largely that a high level of ignorance is typical for Wiggins.

And judgning by the Rob Hatch thread - which I guess kinda led to this - not everyone appreciates it when a commentator actually makes an effort to pronounce names correctly...

 

[tobydawq]

I think all Danish commentators pronounce Cavagna wrongly. It's very easy to guess how to pronounce a French name (generally just stress the last syllable unless it's an un-accented e), yet they all stress the second syllable in his case.

They're better at his laborious nickname, The TGV from Clermont-Ferrand.

 

[SafeBet]

I think all Danish commentators pronounce Cavagna wrongly. It's very easy to guess how to pronounce a French name (generally just stress the last syllable unless it's an un-accented e), yet they all stress the second syllable in his case.

They probably know it's an Italian name (and one with the accent on the penultimate syllable too!)

 

[tobydawq]

They probably know it's an Italian name (and one with the accent on the penultimate syllable too!)

Hmm, but surely the French don't pronounce it that way?

 

[SafeBet]

Hmm, but surely the Frwnch don't pronounce it that way?

Not even Italians pronounce it that way (at least the ones I know). They stick to the French pronunciation.
His grandad was from around Bergamo though.

 

[RedheadDane]

They probably know it's an Italian name (and one with the accent on the penultimate syllable too!)

So... you're suggesting they attend the logic-is-your-friend school of pronunciation? That names should be pronounced based on where it's originally from, not how the person in question pronounces it.

 

[SafeBet]

So... you're suggesting they attend the logic-is-your-friend school of pronunciation? That names should be pronounced based on where it's originally from, not how the person in question pronounces it.

Most likely they attend the we-have-no-clue school of pronunciation, but there's also a very slim chance they know the name's origin.

 

[RedheadDane]

Most likely they attend the we-have-no-clue school of pronunciation, but there's also a very slim chance they know the name's origin.

Even so, I'd say it all depends on how Cavagna pronounces it.

 

[SafeBet]

Even so, I'd say it all depends on how Cavagna pronounces it.

100% agree on this.

 

[RedheadDane]

I have come to the conclussion that while I appreciate commentators - and media people in general - who make an effort of pronouncing names correctly, my main pet peeve is when written media doesn't write names correctly, using the right names, which is also something that is much easier than pronunciation; you just have to type the right things... It's also why I take care to write Geoghegan Hart very time I talk about the former Giro winner on Ineos.