Comment on Should you copy a person's accent when pronouncing their name?
crypto@sh.itjust.works 6 months ago
My name is unpronounceable for most non-native French speakers. I tell them to not even try, as there are sounds in French that don’t exist in English. Instead, I introduce myself by butchering my own name, or by using the English equivalent to my name.
there are sounds in French that don’t exist in English
LOL no. I was perfectly fluent in French when in high school and college. I imitated by best teacher, little man from Arkansas that spoke English like a squirrel. When he visited France, they didn’t believe he was an American tourist.
Great argument.
The ‘u’ is also non-existent
“Crypto,” I say in a bad French accent.
lol, I tell em to use my first name
Ooh same! It makes me cringe when someone tries to say my name really well, even if I know they mean well, I can’t help it, it’s my French genes!
So want to know your name. Bet money my American ass could pronounce it perfectly.
Nice try, Cuthulu
Ph’nglui mglw’nafh Cthulhu R’lyeh wgah’nagl fhtagn
Yes
dream_weasel@sh.itjust.works 6 months ago
Renault Peugeot Rumplestiltzkin
You got any friends with a similar example name in French? Unless your name is Écureuil, I’m thinking it can’t be that bad.
“Moi, je déteste l’écureuil.” was my practice sentence to master that one and sometimes I’m still nervous to use it in the wild lol.
crypto@sh.itjust.works 6 months ago
I’m told “écureuil” is an infamously hard word for non-natives. It’s funny that one of the hardest words to pronounce in English in my opinion is “squirrel”. At least for a beginner.
To answer your question, I was thinking about words with nasal vowels, which are non-existent in English.
“Enfant”, “informatique”, “un brin brun”
My own first name has a nasal vowel and in my experience talking to native English speakers, it’s seems like a challenge to them.
dream_weasel@sh.itjust.works 6 months ago
Interestingly I don’t find the nasal vowels hard at all. In Écureuil (and other words that give me problems) it’s the “u” that is the hard part. It’s projected to a funny place in the mouth for me.
crypto@sh.itjust.works 6 months ago
Yes you’re right, I bet the French “u” is strange for an anglophone!
The sound I have the most trouble with in English is “th”. When I try it it kind of defaults to a “d”. In France they usually pronounce it like a “z” instead.