# How do YOU pronounce "Van Gogh"? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 27, 2011, 10:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-van-gogh/583419 "2011-05-27T10:18:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Candyman74](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ad7895/32.png) [@Candyman74](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Candyman74)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2011, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-van-gogh/583419/101 "2011-06-02T18:27:35Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > At this point I have no idea what this conversation is about anymore. I lost track several posts ago. I honestly have no idea what you’re talking about. Probably best we just leave it as it is. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2011, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-van-gogh/583419/102 "2011-06-02T19:16:19Z")
“Van Go”, unless I’m speaking Dutch (not that I ever do, but if I’m reading the language, that’s how I hear the name in my mind’s ear). This relates closely to the recent threads on perceived pretentiousness, and I admit I pronounce _Van Gogh_ that way because, if I pronounced it correctly, it would just confuse people. To an Anglophone person unfamiliar with Dutch, the pronunciation of that language is more “strange”, so to speak, than German. Really, almost every letter in the artist’s name is pronounced quite differently from its English counterpart. However, I can’t reconcile my preferred pronunciation with the fact that I usually try to pronounce French artists’ and writers’ names in the correct French manner. I think it all comes down to how the names have been traditionally pronounced in English. ---
**Author:** ![Knorf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/58956e/32.png) [@Knorf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knorf)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2011, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-van-gogh/583419/103 "2011-06-07T17:45:13Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > Unless you’re speaking Dutch or the pronunciation of Dutch is somehow relevant to the topic of your conversation, showing off that you know how something is pronounced in Dutch is gratuitous. It’s nothing more than showing off. That’s true for any kind of knowledge. Possibly. But it’s not “pretentious.” ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2011, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-van-gogh/583419/104 "2011-06-07T17:51:48Z")
> [@Knorf](#): > > Possibly. But it’s not “pretentious.” I’d say that showing off knowledge gratuitously is pretty close to the heart of pretentiousness. ---
**Author:** ![NAF1138](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naf1138/32/3245_2.png) [@NAF1138](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NAF1138)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2011, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-van-gogh/583419/105 "2011-06-07T17:52:30Z")
> [@Knorf](#): > > Possibly. But it’s not “pretentious.” Pretentious 1. Claiming or demanding a position of distinction or merit, especially when unjustified. 2. Making or marked by an extravagant outward show; ostentatious. Sounds like it fits to me. You can’t agree with Acsenray and not concede pretension there. ---
**Author:** ![Knorf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/58956e/32.png) [@Knorf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knorf)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2011, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-van-gogh/583419/106 "2011-06-07T18:33:03Z")
I don’t think using the Dutch pronunciation of Dutch artist Van Gogh quite amounts to “extravagant show.” That’s setting that bar WAY too low. Definition #1 isn’t applicable at all. Showing off knowledge you genuinely have isn’t pretentious, though it may be tacky. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2011, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-van-gogh/583419/107 "2011-06-07T18:37:06Z")
> [@Knorf](#): > > I don’t think using the Dutch pronunciation of Dutch artist Van Gogh quite amounts to “extravagant show.” That’s setting that bar WAY too low. Well, that’s just a matter of opinion, isn’t it? As any conclusion of pretentiousness would be. ---
**Author:** ![Knorf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/58956e/32.png) [@Knorf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knorf)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2011, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-van-gogh/583419/108 "2011-06-07T23:59:14Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > Well, that’s just a matter of opinion, isn’t it? As any conclusion of pretentiousness would be. Sure, but the word “pretentious” is being watered down so much it is coming to mean something very little different from “something I’m not sure about and don’t like.” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-van-gogh/583419.md?page=5)