How do you pronounce proper names in a foreign language?

[Kitschum]

This brings me back to hours of voice lessons and having it drilled into me the difference between rolling and flipping Rs. Basically, the roll is where it's longer, "r-r-r" (like Eartha Kitt's schtick), and the flip is the a single instance, where the r is almost made to sound like a soft d instead.

A flap! I just remembered what you're on about.

[Kitschum]

That's the opposite of what I'm asking about. Imagine if the prof is actually a Frenchman. Should he say, "a prominent French writer VIK-tor HEW-go", or "a prominent French writer Vic-TOR Ew-GO"?

Compromise. To a general (-y uneducated) audience likely to misunderstand I would always "anglify", but I see no reason to e.g. mispronounce Ljungberg in the common English way as "Lung-burgh" speaking to people who are familiar enough with the soccer player.

[Ben Kenobi]

How do you pronounce that? I'm horrible with Scandinavian names.

[Boris Godunov]

As for Victor EwGo, the man was French. Ewgo is correct.

Do you say "YESH-oo-ah" instead of "GEE-zus?" Or "YOO-lee-us KAY-zar" instead of "JOO-lee-us SEE-zer?"

[Ben Kenobi]

Actually I call him Hay-Soos. And JayCee. Sometimes it's the Imperious Gee Jay Cee.

[Ben Kenobi]

Actually it's Ki-zar, Boris.

[loinburger]

"Ki" pronounced like "key," or "ki" pronounced like "kai"?

[Riesstiu IV]

I wish I had a Greek name.

[Boris Godunov]

"Ki" pronounced like "key," or "ki" pronounced like "kai"?

Technically, no one is absolutely sure of the correct pronunciation, since the modern reconstruction of Classical Latin is not guaranteed accurate. I've seen at least three different "official" pronunciations for "Caesar:"

Che-SAR
KAH-AI-zar (dipthong, so the A and E are articulated separately)
KAY-zar

But regardless of that, there's no way a 1st century Jewish rabbi named Yeshua would recognize his name as "GEE-zus," or "Hay-SOOS," or "JEEZ-ee CREEZ-ee."

[Kitschum]

How do you pronounce that? I'm horrible with Scandinavian names.

"Youngberry" is better, although still an approximation. I've actually heard them say something like that on British TV.

[Lul Thyme]

If you are speaking a foreign language and have to mention a proper name from your own, do you say it in your own language or try to say it using the sounds of a foreign language?

This question seems too complicated for most Apolytoners to grasp.
Witness:

I encounter this fairly often actually.

If I know the correct pronunciation I will use it. If not I make the best of it as I can. So long as you make a respectful effort at getting it right no offense is generally taken.

I ****ing hate when my university profs pronounce cities or names of people from other countries with a foreign accent. For Christ's sake, just say Hugo, not ew-GO. Jesus Christ, you teach at the ****ing University of Regina, get over yourself, you're barely qualified to call yourself an academic.

It depends on who I'm talking to. I used to go to a Russian church, so I would use Ee-van there. With English folks, it's Eye-van.

As for Victor EwGo, the man was French. Ewgo is correct.

(Unless Ben is fluent in both Russian and French, which is possible)

The question is about pronouncing a name from a language you can speak while speaking another language!
It is not about pronouncing a name in a language that is foreign to you. In fact, unless you speak at least two languages, this question didn't even apply to you.

I think it's an interesting question and most people didn't understand it because they have never been in this position, while most have been in the position of trying to pronounce a name in a foreign language, so they assumed this is what you were asking.

I think this is also why some people said that, clearly, if you can pronounce the name in the "original" way correctly, then you should. This is a natural answer but in practice, I often find myself disagreeing.

There are sounds that are used in some languages but not in others and it can sometimes be hard to switch from one language to the other in the middle of a sentence, as Kitschum pointed out. If the name has a common "translation", then using it usually makes the sentence flow more easily and it is also easier to understand.

You could extend this question to other words than names. For example, English contains many French words, some of which are still pronounced "the French way".
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...glish_speakers)

This pronunciation is often quite different from how these words are pronounced in French, yet is not how you would pronounce it in English stritcly from the spelling either (whatever that means). It is usually somewhere in between.

Being fluent in both French and English, I am never sure how to pronounce these words when speaking English. If I pronounce them exactly as I would in French, it often breaks the flow as I explained earlier and sometimes people don't understand, since they are not used to hearing it that way. Since I speak French, it seems logical to put at least as much French accent on the word as educated English speakers usually would hence I end up faking an English speaker trying to fake a French speaker, which is a bit silly.

[SlowwHand]

If I were Japanese I would think he was mocking me.

And you would be right to think so.

Calling George Bush "Joruju Bushu" is the equivalent of approaching a Japanese man who's waiting to shake your hand and then suddenly bowing down ninety degrees like a jackass because you want to "show respect for Japanese culture". Japanese people know who George Bush is and know how to shake hands, for god's sake.

Like Obama?

[Asher]

That was the reference, yes.

[loinburger]

Like Obama?

You're late to the party, MrFun

[notyoueither]

I hate it when Americans mispronounce my proper name. The bastards.

The setup is perfect...