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OK, this has been bugging me for a long long time: do you pronounce as "Chop-pin" or "Chop-pun"? When I go the shop, I'd be too embarassed to pronounced it wrongly so I usually just point to the CD. Surprisingly, I hear different pronounciations all the time.

-"pan" actually, also see this thread:
http://www.pianoworld.com/ubb/ubb/ultimatebb.php?/topic/2/14364.html#000000

Go here, and click on the speaker icon to hear the correct pronunciation (pan):

http://www.m-w.com/dictionary/chopin

Thanks, signa and Ethernal.

If you REALLY want to impress those clerks and everyone else, pronouce it the "French" way.

Say the Cho quietly but let your voice raise a bit and say the "pa" (a little nasal on the a) and let your voice drop with just a hint of the on the n.

So it's sho..pAH...n.

This is so strange. Just last night my husband asked me why the name isn't pronounced Chop-pin. He was trying to be funny (I hope).

So I asked him why his last name isn't pronounced Ur-rich, instead of Ur-rick...when it is spelled Eurich. Duh!

Just remember to put a very slight accent on the first syllabel and you can't go wrong.

Kathleen

I'm in French 1, so I'm no expert. Next week i'm preforming some music for my french project (Chopin, Debussy, and NOT HANON!!!)

My French teacher leaves off the n and pronounces it Show - Pah

Is that the correct french pronounciation?


Matt

As some witty poster once put it Hot Bread, meaning "chaud pain." That's pretty much it. One of my piano teachers was French and I picked up the French pronounciation of Chopin (and a few others composers and terms) from her and have gotten many strange looks over the years because of it but I think that now with emigration and globalization people are becoming a bit more sophisticated original language pronounciations.

Just FYI - Since a few of Chopin's Polish teachers tried to render his name phonetically into Polish, "Szopen" sometimes shows up in his school records. He must've grown up thinking his name a bit odd. He once saw a book in a library with Chopin on the spine and snatched it down, thinking to himself that he'd discovered "another Chopin" only to find the mysterious volume was a recently published copy of one of his own compositions.

American pronunciation is: SHOW
(as in motion picture show) -pan (as in
frying pan). So: SHOW-pan (stress the
first syllable, but not heavily).

Debussy: I think your French teacher is right on the money. However, (I took one semester of French in college, so, of course, I am an expert) I do remember hearing that the French do not use stress marks. Therefore, we might say DaBUSEsee. The French would give all 3 syllabels the say stress...Daybusay. I think this is right.

Funny, heart-warming story, Frycek.

Kathleen

(Thinking of Young Frankenstein when Gene Wilder, as Dr. Frankenstein, kept correcting people saying "FrankenSTEEN.")

I'd have to agree with loveschopintoomuch and Frycek. Love the "Hot Bread."

Why Americanize a name? You don't dare Americanize the piece.

Well, Liberace did. Only he would have thought of a CHOPIN MEDLEY

Whatever your thoughts on the medley, in this clip he gets the pronounciation exactly as described by Frycek and loveschopintoomuch.

Hi Trucker: Now why did that man get so nuts? He could play the piano...really. I wonder if he wrote that arrangement. It wasn't bad. Totally flowery, but it fit in just right, considering.

Thanks...I think I'll watch the rest of his videos. I remember watching him every week on TV. Seems like a lifetime ago. Yikes! It was.

Hey Trucker: Just noticed the bottom of your post. My brother lives in Barrington Hills. Small world.


Kathleen

I agree about Liberace. He was just himself.

Here's a Liberace story from my trucking days:

In California, they have these agricultural checkpoints where you have to stop and produce your bills and tell them what you have on board.

Even though the truck very plainly had piano graphics all over it, the refrigeration/heating unit on the front of the trailer always made them wonder if I had produce on board.

I'd just lean out the driver's window and "air play" a phantom piano and yell out PIANOS!!!!! to the inspector and they'd flag me through.

After a while, I got to the point where I just would hold the hands out the window and start to play and they'd yell "Okay Liberace -- you can pass!"

Trucker - that was too funny!

My report/concert for french class (I chose Chopin, Debussy, and Ravel) is coming up on tuesday, I will let you know how things go.

How about posting your report if it's not too much trouble.

Could someone enlighten me on my missing cultural background? Who is this Liberace guy???

Well, I agree, this arrangement wasn't bad, but it had me thinking again about how different one and the same piece can be played, i.e. interpreted by the pianist. And since he played my most favorite Nocturne (of which I can play the last three measures...) I have to say that I don't like these very flowery interpretations.

Thanks anyway for posting this, it was very interesting!

Patty

Thanks for the link Trucker!!!

I had the opportunity to see Liberace play when I was 8 or 9. I remember thinking "Wow, this guy is really good! But he's kinda weird, too." It was an enlightening day, to say the least.

My Grandma could never pronounce his name, despite repeated efforts by the whole family. "Little Archie" is the closest she could ever get.

Ah, Ha!
My cup of tea (french is my mother tongue): try Chopain, quite like the ain sounds in "I ain't so good at piano"... The "n" is silent.

I too claim French as my mother tongue. Born in Montreal. Okapi is correct. The n is silent--it is there, but sort of hidden away. Hold your nose, say Chopin, and you will get as close to the correct pronounciation as possible. Gaby tu

Oh this is cool... a list of audio pronunciations (mp3). Go to the C's and select Chopin. The pronunciation is pretty good. Could do with a little less 'n' at the end, but not bad.

Pronunciation guide

Done