# How does one pronounce Yngwie? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 5, 2002, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-one-pronounce-yngwie/140648 "2002-12-05T05:28:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![kgriffey79](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/2bfe46/32.png) [@kgriffey79](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kgriffey79)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2002, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-one-pronounce-yngwie/140648/1 "2002-12-05T05:28:08Z")
Was just wondering how one pronounces the Swedish name, Yngwie. Thanks ---
**Author:** ![Sternvogel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bc79bd/32.png) [@Sternvogel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sternvogel)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2002, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-one-pronounce-yngwie/140648/2 "2002-12-05T05:38:45Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by kgriffey79 \* > \*\*Was just wondering how one pronounces the Swedish name, Yngwie. > Thanks \*\* Mr. Malmsteen’s site simply gives the Americanized pronunciation, “ING-vay”: [http://yngwie.org/faq/](http://yngwie.org/faq/) ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2002, 7:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-one-pronounce-yngwie/140648/3 "2002-12-05T07:18:31Z")
Bit of a hijack… In language classification, English and Frisian belong to a subgroup of the West Germanic languages known as Ingvaeonian. ---
**Author:** ![Charlie\_Tan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/charlie_tan/32/12582_2.png) [@Charlie\_Tan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Charlie_Tan)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2002, 8:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-one-pronounce-yngwie/140648/4 "2002-12-05T08:18:06Z")
Being Swedish, I just wanted to say that Yngwie **is not** a Swedish name. The name is **Yngve** , which he changed when he started his international career. Malmsteen is bound to be changed too. The suffix -sten in Swedish names, meaning ‘stone’ is almost never spelled ‘steen’. Malm, BTW means ‘ore’. Yngve is a Viking name, probably derived from the name of the god Ing. ---
**Author:** ![Floater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/dc4da7/32.png) [@Floater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Floater)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2002, 10:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-one-pronounce-yngwie/140648/5 "2002-12-05T10:47:46Z")
Unfortunately the English language lacks the proper sound for Swedish **y** , but you’re welcome here so we can say it out loud for you. ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2002, 11:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-one-pronounce-yngwie/140648/6 "2002-12-05T11:09:09Z")
Verrry carefully. ---
**Author:** ![Cholo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/58f4c7/32.png) [@Cholo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cholo)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2002, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-one-pronounce-yngwie/140648/7 "2002-12-05T12:17:53Z")
It’s Swedish for “Ego”. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2002, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-one-pronounce-yngwie/140648/8 "2002-12-05T15:01:37Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Floater \* > \*\*Unfortunately the English language lacks the proper sound for Swedish **y** , but you’re welcome here so we can say it out loud for you. \*\* [Swedish **y**](http://www.photo.net/sweden/pronunciation) is equivalent to the French **u** as in _lune_. English speakers can practice the sound by rounding their lips as they would for an “oo” sound, but instead pronounce an “ee”, all the while keeping the lips somewhat puckered and round. For another good, deliberate example of this vowel, listen to Kevin Kline pronounce the name of his character Luc in _French Kiss_ during the airplane scene when he first meets Meg Ryan. ---
**Author:** ![KidCharlemagne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ed8c4c/32.png) [@KidCharlemagne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KidCharlemagne)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2002, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-one-pronounce-yngwie/140648/9 "2002-12-05T17:40:21Z")
I pronounce it “OY vay”