# How would this name be pronounced in French?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-this-name-be-pronounced-in-french/611918>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [February 6, 2012, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-this-name-be-pronounced-in-french/611918 "2012-02-06T01:41:56Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\
**Post date:** [February 6, 2012, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-this-name-be-pronounced-in-french/611918/1 "2012-02-06T01:41:56Z")

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The name Euler, as in the mathematician Leonhard Euler, is pronounced OY-ler in German. How would a French speaker pronounce the name?

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**Author:** ![Heracles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heracles/32/487_2.png) [@Heracles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Heracles)\
**Post date:** [February 6, 2012, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-this-name-be-pronounced-in-french/611918/2 "2012-02-06T02:19:32Z")

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Assuming the speaker didn’t know the proper German pronounciation, I’d expect it to be pronounced the same way as “eux-lère” : [ølɛʁ] .

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**Author:** ![Themenin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ee59a6/32.png) [@Themenin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Themenin)\
**Post date:** [February 6, 2012, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-this-name-be-pronounced-in-french/611918/3 "2012-02-06T21:21:24Z")

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> [@Heracles](#):
>
> Assuming the speaker didn’t know the proper German pronounciation, I’d expect it to be pronounced the same way as “eux-lère” : [ølɛʁ] .

This is the way the street and company (Euler-Hermès SFAC) are pronounced, but for some reason I usually hear the mathematician’s name pronounced “eux- **leur** ”. The first syllable is like uhh, the second sort of like “lurk” without the “k”.  
Emphasis is on the last syllable for both.

\*This is “hexagonal” French.

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**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\
**Post date:** [February 7, 2012, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-this-name-be-pronounced-in-french/611918/4 "2012-02-07T01:11:39Z")

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So is the x pronounced?

I do thank you both for your replies.

The reason I ask is that there’s an “American English” way I’ve also heard the name pronounced, as YOO-ler. We tend to see the “eu” as “yoo”

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**Author:** ![jovan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/0ea827/32.png) [@jovan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jovan)\
**Post date:** [February 7, 2012, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-this-name-be-pronounced-in-french/611918/5 "2012-02-07T02:27:19Z")

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> [@Baker](#):
>
> So is the x pronounced?

No.

Check out this video, at 0:22, you can hear _formule d’Euler_ with “Euler” pronounced as “eux-lère”.

[![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/YK5ssuA8lD0/hqdefault.jpg "linéarisation polynome trigonométrique") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YK5ssuA8lD0)