# How do you pronounce this composers name?



## kg4fxg (May 24, 2009)

I am sure you have run into the name or a particular piece and are not sure how to pronounce it correctly. How does one become as good as a radio announcer pronouncing all those names and various pieces?

I was listening to a podcast recently and I heard them pronounce the composer's name Rued Langgaard. To me the pronunciation did not sound like it looked. It was a Naxos Podcast.

How do you learn to pronounce these names or works correctly? Are there books? Websites?

Here is an example of one website:

http://www.pronunciationguide.info/general.html

Please share your resources.

Thanks


----------



## Mirror Image (Apr 20, 2009)

When you look a composer up on Wikipedia, they at times, depends on the composer, will give you a icon by the composer's name that you can click on and it will give you the pronunciation of that composers name like for example:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bedřich_Smetana

By the composer's name, there is a little icon that looks like a little horn, click on that and it should load up a quick little sound bite of correct pronunciations of that composer.


----------



## mueske (Jan 14, 2009)

I have something with languages, being from central Europe and living in a country with 3 official languages + English in school tends to do that. It's intuitive for me.


----------



## Mirror Image (Apr 20, 2009)

mueske said:


> I have something with languages, being from central Europe and living in a country with 3 official languages + English in school tends to do that. It's intuitive for me.


Are you from Switzerland? I know it has four languages: Romansch, German, French, and Italian.


----------



## vavaving (Apr 20, 2009)

Speaking of French, Saint-Saens has a weird pronunciation; I thought of it as "Saynt-Sayens" but its said as "Sahn-Sahns", with your nose plugged. I probably mispronounce over half of the names, and by the time I hear the correct pronunciation, the wrong one is second nature.

Boccherini: boke-er-eenee, not botch-er-eenee 
Beethoven: bay-tove-in, not bee-thuvin 
Sade: shar-day, not sayd


----------



## Tapkaara (Apr 18, 2006)

It's pronounced: yo han pack ul bell.


----------



## Air (Jul 19, 2008)

How about Bach? Is it "bock" or "baa" or "baa + throwup 'h' sound"?


----------



## Zanralotta (Jan 31, 2009)

Tapkaara said:


> It's pronounced: yo han *pack* ul bell.


 As a native German, I'd like to protest this pronunciation.


----------



## Tapkaara (Apr 18, 2006)

Zanralotta said:


> As a native German, I'd like to protest this pronunciation.


Mein Gott! Ein Deutschlander!


----------



## Zanralotta (Jan 31, 2009)

airad2 said:


> How about Bach? Is it "bock" or "baa" or "baa + throwup 'h' sound"?


Depends on what you mean by "throw-up h sound"...

"ch" has two pronunciations in German:

A somewhat hissing sound created behind the teeth after consonants and the vowels ä, e, i, ö, ü, ie, ai, ei, eu, äu... (I'll stop here)

After o, ä, u, au and a (there are probably a few others I'm too lazy to to think of right now), the sound is created in the back of the throat.
The English language doesn't have this sound...
Think of the noise someone makes when he has a hair in the back of his throat and tries to get it out.
Or someone who gets strangled?

Ask a teacher... 

"Ba", btw. is pronounced like _bar_ without the _r_.

"Deutschländer", Tapkaara, is the name of a brand of sausages...


----------



## Tapkaara (Apr 18, 2006)

Zanralotta said:


> "Deutschländer", Tapkaara, is the name of a brand of sausages...


This reminds me of when President Kennedy said "Ich bin ein Berliner."


----------



## Zanralotta (Jan 31, 2009)

Tapkaara said:


> This reminds me of when President Kennedy said "Ich bin ein Berliner."


Well, "ein Berliner" is a bit ambiguous. It can refer to both, a citizen of Berlin and a donut.

"Ich bin Berliner" (_I am citizen of Berlin_ instead of _I am *a* citizen of Berlin_) would have been more clear...


----------



## Tapkaara (Apr 18, 2006)

Zanralotta said:


> Well, "ein Berliner" is a bit ambiguous. It can refer to both, a citizen of Berlin and a donut.
> 
> "Ich bin Berliner" (_I am citizen of Berlin_ instead of _I am *a* citizen of Berlin_) would have been more clear...


Well, I'd prefer the donut, personally.


----------



## mueske (Jan 14, 2009)

Mirror Image said:


> Are you from Switzerland? I know it has four languages: Romansch, German, French, and Italian.


No, I'm from Belgium. We have Dutch (and thousands of dialects, every city has it's own), French and German.


----------



## Rasa (Apr 23, 2009)

mueske said:


> No, I'm from Belgium. We have Dutch (and thousands of dialects, every city has it's own), French and German.


Not that knowing French will in any way improve your pronunciation of any composer other then French named ones...

Having Dutch as prim language apparently lends itself well to learning all kinds of pronunciations without problem.


----------

