# Acceptable American pronunciation of dead European writers **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 31, 2007, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acceptable-american-pronunciation-of-dead-european-writers/413774 "2007-07-31T03:12:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2007, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acceptable-american-pronunciation-of-dead-european-writers/413774/41 "2007-08-02T13:12:34Z")
[QUOTE=Beware of Doug] Neither dead nor European, but I want to know how the investigative journalist/author [William Langewiesche](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Langewiesche) says _his_ name. (My guess: LANG-guh-wee-shee.) [/QUOTE] According to the New York Times it’s “long-gah-VEE-shuh”. [Google Cached cite](http://64.233.183.104/search?q=cache:H2-4HW-unBIJ:query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html%3Fres%3D9F01E3D6163AF933A15753C1A9649C8B63+langewiesche+pronounced&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=6&gl=uk). ---
**Author:** ![descamisado](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e480ec/32.png) [@descamisado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/descamisado)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2007, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acceptable-american-pronunciation-of-dead-european-writers/413774/42 "2007-08-02T14:26:22Z")
[QUOTE=Mangetout] ‘Moi’ is pronouced ‘mwa’. I mention this because it will come in handy if anyone needs to say “Pretentious? Moi?” [/QUOTE] While we’re at it, could someone please tell me how to pronounce Peter Schjeldahl’s last name (the art critic for _The New Yorker_)? I know it would have sounded pretentious trying to get it right, but when I saw him on the street in Manhattan last, I wanted to tell him how much I enjoyed his body of work, but he wouldn’t answer to “Yo, Pete!” ---
**Author:** ![Einmon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Einmon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Einmon)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2007, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acceptable-american-pronunciation-of-dead-european-writers/413774/43 "2007-08-02T15:27:03Z")
[QUOTE=e-logic] My philosophy professor at Uni. Hannover said it as “_Kahnt_”. Possibly in other regions the middle “a” will have a different sound. [/QUOTE] I don’t want to discount your experience, but I’m also native German; and like **mkl12** , I would never have said _Kahnt_, but only with the short “a” sound (and I’ve never heard anybody pronounce it otherwise). Maybe your professor had an unusual accent or was from another country? Though Hannover is supposed to be the region with the people who speak rather accent-free “High German”. ---
**Author:** ![kellner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c2a13f/32.png) [@kellner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kellner)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2007, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acceptable-american-pronunciation-of-dead-european-writers/413774/44 "2007-08-02T16:09:58Z")
The problem with the English version of _Kant_ is not so much the vowel sound in general but the length. I think those describing the sound as _ah_ think of the right vowel but it is important that this vowel is short. The first recording (“cunt”) captures that better than the second. It’s /kant/, not /kaːnt/. In German the word doesn’t rhyme with _mahnt_ or _bahnt_ (if you know these words, note how the silent _h_ reflects the long vowel.) Instead it sounds like the second syllable in _bekannt_ and as long as take [final obstruent devoicing](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Final_obstruent_devoicing) into account it rhymes with (German) _Land_ and _Hand_. Btw. there is a word spelled _kahnt_ and pronounced with a long vowel in German but it is a 3rd person form of a rather uncommon verb for using a certain type of boat. ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2007, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acceptable-american-pronunciation-of-dead-european-writers/413774/45 "2007-08-02T16:10:24Z")
Among the variations on Sartre, I have settled on “Sart,” but I leave my lips apart at the end, as if I’m thinking about another syllable. He was into existentialism, though, which means you can say it any way you like. Only the individual matters. Proust comes out of my mouth as “Prooss,” with the faintest suggestion of a t. I say Neet-chee, and I can never remember how to spell it. It’s a good thing I never need to. [QUOTE=Mangetout] ‘Moi’ is pronouced ‘mwa’. I mention this because it will come in handy if anyone needs to say “Pretentious? Moi?” [/QUOTE] Yes, but adding the “blowing a kiss” gesture would be too, too pretentious, dahlink.🙂 ---
**Author:** ![candide](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/46a35a/32.png) [@candide](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/candide)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2007, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acceptable-american-pronunciation-of-dead-european-writers/413774/46 "2007-08-02T19:34:52Z")
Re: T. Coraghessan Boyle. In his newer imprints he goes simply by T. C. Boyle and signs his books that way. Coraghessan was an old Irish family name (the maiden name of his grandmother, IIRC). If you happen to run into him throwing back a few beers, people who know him generally just call him Tom. My question is about Samuel Pepys. The common pronunciation today is peeps, one syllable. I’ve heard, though, that in his day it was pronounced pep-ys, two syllables with two schwas rather than the long -E. Does anyone know whether there has been an authoritative study? ---
**Author:** ![Darryl\_Lict](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7cd45c/32.png) [@Darryl\_Lict](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darryl_Lict)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2007, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acceptable-american-pronunciation-of-dead-european-writers/413774/47 "2007-08-02T21:51:53Z")
And to show my complete ignorance, how you pronounce your name, **candide**? I read Candide not long ago, and have recently realized that it wasn’t pronounced like Sean “Puff Daddy” P. Diddy Combs. KAHN-deed, perhaps? Once again, it’s not in Merriam-Webster. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2007, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acceptable-american-pronunciation-of-dead-european-writers/413774/48 "2007-08-02T23:15:11Z")
[QUOTE=Darryl Lict] And to show my complete ignorance, how you pronounce your name, **candide**? I read Candide not long ago, and have recently realized that it wasn’t pronounced like Sean “Puff Daddy” P. Diddy Combs. KAHN-deed, perhaps? Once again, it’s not in Merriam-Webster. [/QUOTE] I’ve always said can DEED. But that’s one that I don’t know that I’ve ever heard anyone say. Hmm. ---
**Author:** ![mr.jp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/48db29/32.png) [@mr.jp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mr.jp)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2007, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acceptable-american-pronunciation-of-dead-european-writers/413774/49 "2007-08-02T23:41:21Z")
Danish guy here! I’m sure I can set these thing straight, but im not sure how snoopy I can be about it. Van Gogh: He is Dutch, so the pronounciation is actually “fan hrohr”. Hearing that said several times a day, no wonder he cut his ear off. Immanuel Kant: It’s the same sound as Kahn, but shorter. The rest you seem to have right. ---
**Author:** ![candide](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/46a35a/32.png) [@candide](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/candide)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2007, 8:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acceptable-american-pronunciation-of-dead-european-writers/413774/50 "2007-08-03T08:22:57Z")
[QUOTE=jsgoddess] I’ve always said can DEED. But that’s one that I don’t know that I’ve ever heard anyone say. Hmm. [/QUOTE] canDEED, canDID, or canDEID, all are acceptable. But not canDIED. Death be not proud. CA ---
**Author:** ![descamisado](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e480ec/32.png) [@descamisado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/descamisado)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2007, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acceptable-american-pronunciation-of-dead-european-writers/413774/51 "2007-08-03T17:40:12Z")
Anybody know how to pronounce “Schjeldahl”? ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2007, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acceptable-american-pronunciation-of-dead-european-writers/413774/52 "2007-08-03T18:19:11Z")
[QUOTE=5-4-Fighting] Anybody know how to pronounce “Schjeldahl”? [/QUOTE] I would just say SHELL-dahl. That is, I assume, a Scandinavian name. “Dahl” is similar to English “dale” or German “tal” meaning valley-- pronounced like “doll” would be pronounced in English.. The name probably derives from some valley in some Scandinavian country. ---
**Author:** ![descamisado](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e480ec/32.png) [@descamisado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/descamisado)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2007, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acceptable-american-pronunciation-of-dead-european-writers/413774/53 "2007-08-03T18:56:19Z")
[QUOTE=John Mace] I would just say SHELL-dahl. That is, I assume, a Scandinavian name. “Dahl” is similar to English “dale” or German “tal” meaning valley-- pronounced like “doll” would be pronounced in English.. The name probably derives from some valley in some Scandinavian country. [/QUOTE] Thanks, **John Mace** ; I thought so, but the “j” kept (mentally) throwing me off. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2007, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acceptable-american-pronunciation-of-dead-european-writers/413774/54 "2007-08-03T22:21:58Z")
[QUOTE=5-4-Fighting] Thanks, **John Mace** ; I thought so, but the “j” kept (mentally) throwing me off. [/QUOTE] “J” is, of course, pronounced like a “y”, but there are some unusual consonant pairs like “kj”, pronounced like a soft “ch” and “sj”, pronounced like “sh”. When followed by a noun, the “y” sound sorta gets lost anyway, so you can pretty much pretend it’s not there. (Native speakers probably can tell the difference between my anglicized approximations, but you’re never going to get it exactly right if you’re not a native speaker anyway. 🙂 ) I wouldn’t be surprised if that is a variant spelling of “Skjeldahl” or just “Kjeldahl”. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acceptable-american-pronunciation-of-dead-european-writers/413774.md?page=2)