Pronouncing Names

[Layla1971]

Originally Posted by Yennie

I cant find a word that explains how Margrethes name is pronounced but try something like this: Mah (Like the english Ma´)-grey-the

Is the "the" part at the end of Margrethe's name pronounced like one would say "the" in english, like 'the house' or is it pronounced "tah" ?

[BeatrixFan]

A Danish friend says it as;

Mar-gray-deh

And the deh is very quick and short whilst the gray part is dragged out a bit.

Margraayde

[Layla1971]

Originally Posted by BeatrixFan

A Danish friend says it as;

Mar-gray-deh

And the deh is very quick and short whilst the gray part is dragged out a bit.

Margraayde

I hate to disagree, but I think it's Mar-ge-ray-dah or tah.

You're basically right, I just think the "gray" part is more like "ge-ray".

[BeatrixFan]

Does Danish have varying accents to it like English does? If it does, is there a standard 'Queen.s Danish' we could follow.

You could be right Layla. It's confusing - why couldn't she have been called Peggy?

[Layla1971]

Originally Posted by BeatrixFan

Does Danish have varying accents to it like English does? If it does, is there a standard 'Queen.s Danish' we could follow.

You could be right Layla. It's confusing - why couldn't she have been called Peggy?

I think Danish is like Irish or Scottish, there's a different accent for different counties, or whatever they call counties in Denmark.

Maybe someone from Copenhagen could help us, since the Queen most likely speaks with a similar accent as the people of Copenhagen.

[BeatrixFan]

I think we do need a Danish speaker!

In England of course, we've got so many dialects. Windsor English, Estuary English etc and I would think thats the same for most countries.

[Layla1971]

Originally Posted by BeatrixFan

I think we do need a Danish speaker!

In England of course, we've got so many dialects. Windsor English, Estuary English etc and I would think thats the same for most countries.

No it isn't that way in Australia. We have one accent for the country and another for the city. The country accent is more rustic, if one can call it that. And, the city one is more sophisticated, actually more British!

[BeatrixFan]

Really? Windsor English (News at Ten, The Shipping Forecast, The Queen) sounds strange to some.

Ar yew going into th' heyse?

(Are you going into the house?)

Whereas Estuary English, (Eastenders) sounds even more strange

Wee goin up d'shops den Madge?

(We going up the shops then Madge?)

I won't go into the Yorkshire and Lancashire accents (Tinternet and Teegypt - Internet and Eygpt. Another favourite is calling for a Thambulance).

[Layla1971]

Well, than goodness I don't have to learn to speak english! And, I thought Russian pronouciation was tough!

[Louise]

Originally Posted by Layla1971

Is the "the" part at the end of Margrethe's name pronounced like one would say "the" in english, like 'the house' or is it pronounced "tah" ?

I'd say this is the closest to the danish pronuonciation, with a "the" at the end, but it's a very short e.

There are different accents i Denmark, but the way the queen speaks is what's known as rigsdansk (directly translated as state-danish), which is also how they mostly speak on the news and so on. The queens accent isn't like what they speak in Copenhagen, but more like they speak in north Seeland, where they are quite posh (the area is nicknamed the whiskey-belt or coast, because the properties there are very expensive and the people living there are quite rich).

This is just how I see it and pronounce it, and I'm from Jutland (born in the west, and currently living in the east), so perhaps someone says it differently.

[Australian]

i thought Margrethe is pronounced with the "the" as "ta", Margarayta

[Maxie]

Originally Posted by Louise

The queens accent isn't like what they speak in Copenhagen, but more like they speak in north Seeland, where they are quite posh (the area is nicknamed the whiskey-belt or coast, because the properties there are very expensive and the people living there are quite rich).

This is really quite funny. Queen Beatrix also speaks my language with a very posh accent. But it suits her. :)

[regardez]

How do you pronounce Maxima? I don't understand the accent over the a... ( á )

[Maxie]

Originally Posted by regardez

How do you pronounce Maxima? I don't understand the accent over the a... ( á )

Maybe the accent makes the 'a' a little longer? The sound a little more accentuated? (Good question, regardez. I'm beginning to wonder about the á too. Never did that before!)

Any of the argentine members? What's is it with the á? :)

[Piewi]

The á makes the sound more accentuated, the á sounds stronger or louder. I`m not sure if you`ll understand what i mean but please someone correct me if i didn`t it well :)

[Maxie]

Originally Posted by Piewi

The á makes the sound more accentuated, the á sounds stronger or louder. I`m not sure if you`ll understand what i mean but please someone correct me if i didn`t it well :)

Well, that's just what I thought, Piewi! Thanks for explaining it, now I'm sure! :)

[Silvermj]

How do you pronounce "Maxie" in Dutch? I mean, in English and Spanish "Maxima" has the same Latin origin (Maxima being the plural of Maximum in English), and the pronunciation of the first "Ma" is similar in both languages (Spanish and English) or that of the words: maximize, maximus, maxillae or the name Maximillian (Oh no, I did not forget it : Maximus was the name or Russel Crowe's Gladiator! Again, same pronunciation of the first "Ma").

The sound of the second "ma" is lighter but their pronunciation lenght is identical. The accent applies for stronger sounds. Hope this have helped you all!:)

[christinacg]

Hello, this is my first post!

I have always been wondering how Queen Marie Jose's name was pronounced. Is Jose pronounced the spanish way, like ho-zay or is it Jo-see, or something else.

Also, how to you pronounce King Baudouin's name?

Thanks in advance.