Monday, September 17, 2007

Talking Smart: Foreign Names

Jaroslaw Fojut (Pol.)
In Polish language "j" stands for [y]: [yaroslav foyut].

Jason Euell (Eng.)
In England itself they prefer a one-syllable pronunciation [yull]. Although a two-syllable variant is legitimate too: [yuell].

Jeffrey de Visscher (Hol.)
The Dutch "sch", as has been said many times, breaks apart into [s] and [h]: [viss-her].

Jiří Hrbáč (Czech.)
The Czech "ř" is pronounced with so strong aspiration that turns into [rzh], while the Czech "h" is always voiced and should be better approximated as [g]: [yir-zhi grbach]. Those, who have problemas with pronouncing [grbach], don't forget that there is a hidden syllable there: [g(o)rbach]. Hrbáč and Gorbatchov have the same root.

Joakim Sjöhage (Swed.)
In Swedish language "sj" is pronounced as [sh]: [sho-ha-ge].

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