# How to pronounce these last names **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 7, 2013, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-pronounce-these-last-names/646313 "2013-01-07T03:40:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Laggard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9de053/32.png) [@Laggard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Laggard)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2013, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-pronounce-these-last-names/646313/1 "2013-01-07T03:40:51Z")
D’aubuisson Doisneau Thanks ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2013, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-pronounce-these-last-names/646313/2 "2013-01-07T04:16:25Z")
Do-bwis-o[sub]n[/sub]\* Dwa-no \*The sub-“n” indicates a nasal…don’t actually pronounce the “n”, just kind of close off the last “o” through your nose instead of your mouth. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2013, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-pronounce-these-last-names/646313/3 "2013-01-07T04:18:03Z")
DOW-bwis-on DWAH-no ---
**Author:** ![Snerky\_Snerk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6bbea6/32.png) [@Snerky\_Snerk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snerky_Snerk)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2013, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-pronounce-these-last-names/646313/4 "2013-01-07T05:28:22Z")
Th (as in the th in the) + anks (as in the anks in yanks. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2013, 7:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-pronounce-these-last-names/646313/5 "2013-01-07T07:05:31Z")
And I’ve got a problem figuring out how to pronounce Rambouillet. (Name of a street in Paso Robles, CA., which I assume must be named after some person.) Ram-bwee-yay ?? Awkward. ---
**Author:** ![Gymnopithys](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/fbc32d/32.png) [@Gymnopithys](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gymnopithys)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2013, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-pronounce-these-last-names/646313/6 "2013-01-07T12:48:37Z")
Rambo yeah ! ---
**Author:** ![Laggard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9de053/32.png) [@Laggard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Laggard)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2013, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-pronounce-these-last-names/646313/7 "2013-01-07T14:15:12Z")
How about N’Djamena? Clearly I need to learn some basic French pronunciation. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2013, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-pronounce-these-last-names/646313/8 "2013-01-07T14:25:46Z")
> [@Laggard](#): > > How about N’Djamena? > > Clearly I need to learn some basic French pronunciation. That sounds more African than French. My understanding with African names beginning with N or M is to add a soft I before or after them - Njama is ni-jama or in-jama, Mbingo is either mi-bingo or im-bingo, etc. Mostly I wait for someone else to pronounce the name, preferably its owner. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2013, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-pronounce-these-last-names/646313/9 "2013-01-07T14:45:37Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > And I’ve got a problem figuring out how to pronounce Rambouillet. (Name of a street in Paso Robles, CA., which I assume must be named after some person.) > > Ram-bwee-yay ?? Awkward. Rhaam bou ley ---
**Author:** ![Laggard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9de053/32.png) [@Laggard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Laggard)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2013, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-pronounce-these-last-names/646313/10 "2013-01-07T14:49:55Z")
> [@NitroPress](#): > > That sounds more African than French. My understanding with African names beginning with N or M is to add a soft I before or after them - Njama is ni-jama or in-jama, Mbingo is either mi-bingo or im-bingo, etc. > . Capital of Chad. French colonial influences. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2013, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-pronounce-these-last-names/646313/11 "2013-01-07T16:02:26Z")
> [@Laggard](#): > > Capital of Chad. French colonial influences. Right, but the name is African (I assume Swahili but could be guessing too narrowly.) Is it conventionally pronounced French or Swahili style? ---
**Author:** ![Laggard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9de053/32.png) [@Laggard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Laggard)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2013, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-pronounce-these-last-names/646313/12 "2013-01-07T16:33:25Z")
> [@NitroPress](#): > > Right, but the name is African (I assume Swahili but could be guessing too narrowly.) Is it conventionally pronounced French or Swahili style? You are right. It’s arabic. Need to study up on my Arabic. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2013, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-pronounce-these-last-names/646313/13 "2013-01-07T16:52:46Z")
> [@Laggard](#): > > You are right. It’s arabic. Need to study up on my Arabic. Wow, that’s odd. It’s just barely within the Arabic arc of Africa. But to be specific, it’s _derived_ from Arabic and it looks like the derivation was done through an African language rather than French. So I guess you’d have to call N’Djamena City Hall and ask them how they pronounce it… 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![WotNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e19b73/32.png) [@WotNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WotNot)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2013, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-pronounce-these-last-names/646313/14 "2013-01-07T17:07:03Z")
> [@Snerky\_Snerk](#): > > Th (as in the th in the) + anks (as in the anks in yanks. Actually, that would be **th** as in “thing” – ie unvoiced, rather than the voiced sound in “the”. For most people, anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2013, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-pronounce-these-last-names/646313/15 "2013-01-07T17:53:08Z")
> [@Laggard](#): > > How about N’Djamena? > > Clearly I need to learn some basic French pronunciation. Amongst colleagues in the Foreign Service, it was pronounced n (like the n in no) jah MEE na. the “dj” combination is pronounced “juh”, like in Django. Or shi-tole, in some opinions. ---
**Author:** ![Snerky\_Snerk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6bbea6/32.png) [@Snerky\_Snerk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snerky_Snerk)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2013, 6:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-pronounce-these-last-names/646313/16 "2013-01-08T06:25:36Z")
> [@WotNot](#): > > Actually, that would be **th** as in “thing” ¨C ie unvoiced, rather than the voiced sound in “the”. > > For most people, anyway. I appologise to the OP for the bad hijack, and thank **WotNot** for correcting me. I think I may have been saying thing and thanks (and other th words) wrong for years. :smack: No wonder people keep assuming I’m from another country. Thank you. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2013, 10:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-pronounce-these-last-names/646313/17 "2013-01-08T10:20:39Z")
DOW-bwis-on Maybe an issue of accent, but the first syllable Do-bwis-o[sub]n[/sub] sounds better in French. > [@Senegoid](#): > > And I’ve got a problem figuring out how to pronounce Rambouillet. (Name of a street in Paso Robles, CA., which I assume must be named after some person.) > > Ram-bwee-yay ?? Awkward. For this, and any pronunciation of a name in a culture that is different from that name, you should either ask the person how to say their name, or ask a local how to pronounce the street/area. The pronunciations might be technically “wrong,” but fine in that area, and you’d look foolish to pronounce it the “right” way. The name Featherinstonehaugh? (Fanshaw) St. John? (Sinjin) The two above would probably be pronounced more literally in the US. Cairo, Illinois? (kay-ro) Versailles St. in my hometown (Ver-sails) And a not-wrong in the original sense, but confusing example: Gough Street, San Francisco (Gow? Goo? Go? Nope, Goff) ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2013, 11:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-pronounce-these-last-names/646313/18 "2013-01-08T11:29:15Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > And I’ve got a problem figuring out how to pronounce Rambouillet. (Name of a street in Paso Robles, CA., which I assume must be named after some person.) > > Ram-bwee-yay ?? Awkward. Technically speaking, the original word would not be readily pronounceable to an English speaker, because y’all don’t have anything that matches the “am” diphthong sound. It’s not “ram” as in the sheep, it’s closer to “rank” (without the -nk sound). Same nasal sound as in “croissant”. The m is a spelling convention/cruel trick played on middle schoolers\*, don’t pronounce that. The “bou” is also not really pronounced anything like an English phoneme, though “a shortened boo” would be close. Next up, in French “-ill-” is just a different spelling of the vowel “y” And of course, the final -t is silent, because we like to mess with foreigners. So, with all that said, we’ve wrestled the word down to: Ran-boo-yeh. Or [[ʁɑ̃bujɛ]](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA_for_French) in IPA :). Much less awkward, eh ? Though as \*\*thelurkinghorror \*\*says, the locals most likely pronounce it something altogether different, and theirs would be the “proper” pronunciation. (Oh, and it’s likely named after the [French forest and royal hunting grounds](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rambouillet), not a person. Which itself is named after the local castle, which is named after… hell if I know. There’s a viscountship attached to the castle, but a quick search didn’t turn up any outstanding or even notable vicomtes de Rambouillet.) - in case you’re curious, the full rule is that phonemes that would normally be wri[SIZE=1]tten “an-” or “en-” turn into “am-” or “em-” respectively when they comes before a B, M, or P. Because ha-HA! that’s why.[/SIZE] ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2013, 11:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-pronounce-these-last-names/646313/19 "2013-01-08T11:40:22Z")
> [@thelurkinghorror](#): > > … you should either ask the person how to say their name, or ask a local how to pronounce the street/area. The pronunciations might be technically “wrong,” but fine in that area, and you’d look foolish to pronounce it the “right” way. … Hue-stin, I mean How-stun street in Manhattan. Remember both, How-stun when ya don’t want look like a tourist . . . but Hue-stin, or something else, when being a visitor to "The City’ might get you laid! CMC ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2013, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-pronounce-these-last-names/646313/20 "2013-01-08T15:38:17Z")
We have Couch Street in Portland, pronounced “cooch”, presumably after the Civil War general like many of our streets. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-pronounce-these-last-names/646313.md?page=2)