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People seem to fight about this as though it's life or death, and everyone on both sides is equally convinced of their own pronounciation.
Pou-LANK (rhymes with "rank" or "stank")
or
Poul-LONGC (rhymes with Long-k or honk)
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The second way.
I wasn't aware of any controversy (or any con TROV er sy, even :p ).
Steven
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Ha!
In high school, my piano teacher pronounced it Pou-LONGC. Then when I got to college, my professor corrected me by saying POU-lank, which is the way to say a word like "Poulenc" in French.
Then, just last month, I ran into a person who actually knew Francis Poulenc, and he said it's Pou-LONGC.
Don't even get me started on Alberto Ginastera.
Private Piano Teacher and MTAC Member
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jee-nah-STEH-ra.
Tomasino
toe-ma-SEE-no
"Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do so with all thy might." Ecclesiastes 9:10
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When I was just beginning the piano I read "Chopin" as "cho-pin", that is, perfectly phonetically, starting with a "ch" for "ch"ess, so I read it as "choping" with more "in" at the end instead of the "inG".
Now, of course I pronounce it right . . . but when reading (not out loud obviously) I think I still read it as I did before, but am unsure because I can never quite remember once I've read it, and if I read it conciously then I'm too aware to misread it . . . but I think I read it as I did before.
Actually I must do, because I think I say it out loud like that when I'm nervous.
"Hopinmad" does not help!
Patience's the best teacher, and time the best critic. - F.F.Chopin
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Poulen... drop the C? Thats how I would pronounce it.
Matt
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Final consonants in French words (names) are usually silent, except for C, R, F, and L. Some notable exceptions :
Herold Berlioz Saint-Saëns Hahn
Regards,
BruceD - - - - - Estonia 190
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Poolonk! with the stress on the lonk.
It don't mean a ting if it don't have dat swing
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Originally posted by Arabesque: Poolonk! with the stress on the lonk. The French Larousse dictionary - a good authority - gives the correction pronunciation in the IPA as [pu lÉ›~nk], and as closely as I can transliterate it, it is : Poo lank, accent on the last syllable. The Petit Robert, Dictionnaire universel des noms propres confirms this pronunciation. Regards,
BruceD - - - - - Estonia 190
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It is (IPA: [pulɛ̃k]) where the /ɛ̃/ is a nasalized short e, similar to the e in the english word 'bet' only nasalized
Poo - lenk
"There are so many mornings that have not yet dawned." -- Rg Veda
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Dang, I've been using the wrong vowel! I had assumed that it was the same as in sans or France, when in reality it's the one in cinq (or Chopin!).
I didn't consider that en sometimes goes both ways: vendredi, comprend ... vs. rien, bien, chien. But not usually, n'est-ce pas, Bruce? Isn't it typically represented by in or ain and not by en other than in the combination ien?
I will now Anglicize Poulenc to "poo LANK" rather than "poo LAHNK."
Thanks, you guys. I love both French and phonology!
Steven
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In the US, people make a point of Americanizing French words, indeed do it with a vengence. Pronouncing French words with authentic French pronunciation is considered improper in the US. I've never heard it pronounced, but by US standards, it would be pronounced as though it were an English word, thus: "poo-LENK," or "POO-lenk," with the "len" pronounced like the "len" in "length."
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I detest the way Chopin is pronounced in the US . . . that accent on the second syllable is horrible!
Patience's the best teacher, and time the best critic. - F.F.Chopin
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I'd like to see someone try to type out how to pronounce the distinctive French "k" sound.
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Originally posted by hopinmad: I detest the way Chopin is pronounced in the US . . . that accent on the second syllable is horrible! That's not typical, though it could be regional. I don't think I've ever heard Chopin pronounced in English with the second syllable stressed. Steven
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Originally posted by hopinmad: I detest the way Chopin is pronounced in the US . . . that accent on the second syllable is horrible! I hope you're not too stressed to learn that in French, names are invariably pronounced with the accent on the last syllable. One could say, then, that Americans pronouncing Chopin's name with the accent on the last syllable are just emulating correct pronunciation. Cho. pin. Ra. cine Bau.de. laireSaint SaënsBoil. dieuRa. meauChar.pen. tieretc., etc., Regards,
BruceD - - - - - Estonia 190
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Add Bizet and Ravel to Bruce's list.
Honestly, when I hear a person say "SHOW-pan," I immediately think that he or she has no real musical knowledge.
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Originally posted by wdot: Honestly, when I hear a person say "SHOW-pan," I immediately think that he or she has no real musical knowledge. I resemble that remark! (I give both syllables almost equal weight, actually, with a slight emphasis on the first.) Do folks in your neck of the woods really say "show-PAN"? FWIW, it's always worth considering that variations reflect regional differences as easily as educational ones. Steven
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Where Americanized French is concerned, my favorite is a small town in Missouri near where I grew up called "Bois d'arc." Anybody want to guess how we said it in Missouri?
"If we continually try to force a child to do what he is afraid to do, he will become more timid, and will use his brains and energy, not to explore the unknown, but to find ways to avoid the pressures we put on him." (John Holt) www.pianoped.comwww.youtube.com/user/UIPianoPed
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The stress on most French words, including names, is more or less equal. If one simply must stress one syllable over another, the last one is the one which receives the stress.
SHOW-pan is not right. But certainly neither is show-PAN, with an obvious accent.
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