This summer I spent some time on the shores of Lac Vieux Desert. It’ is on the WI/MI border and the source of the Wisconsin River.
Anyhow, I was wondering how to pronounce the name
View? Vye-you? Desert? Dessert?
And, does it have a meaning?
The name is obviously French, but in may have Native American origins.
thanks,
Brian
Lac Vieux Désert = Old Desert Lake. Now how to pronounce it? The best (English) phonetic spelling I could find was “vee-li day-zerr”.[/li]
*I don’t think this vowel exists in English, but the link is to its Wikipedia article; maybe one of the examples on this page will help you.
Not French but I would pronounce it Lack Veeyoo with the “oo” pronounced pretty close to “hood.”
Lac: Lack, as we pronounce that in English.
Vieux: Have you heard the correct French pronunciation for “monsieur” (mister) ?. The last syllable of that word is pretty much the one you would get at the end of vieux. vee-yeuh, I guess is how I’d try and spell it phonetically, but I don’t think English has a sound that matches very well at all.
Désert: Dayz-ayr might be close… the dé part of the word has the same “e” sound that you’ll hear in the word paté, when you hear that in movies and TV. The second part is like the word “air” in French, if you’ve heard it… all one syllable, finishing off with the r sound; you don’t pronounce the t. Think a little of Stephen Colbert, and how he says his last name - the two words rhyme.
Just to elaborate on the link bibliophage found: In French, désert can mean “deserted” as well as “desert” (in the arid sense), and in this case seems more likely to be of the first sense. This usage persists in the English phrase “desert island”, which doesn’t necessarily have to be dry and sandy.
That’s true, but désert in this sense is an adjective, and requires a noun, which you don’t find in the phrase vieux désert. I guess Lac vieux désert could mean “old and deserted lake”, but it sounds odd; I’d rather go with Vieux Lac désert. In any case, it’s probably a reference to some element of local lore, and probably not to a literal old desert or old deserted place.
Being a non-Francophone I am uncertain of it’s proper pronunciation. Being a born-and-raised Wisconsinite I can tell you that here we pronounce it :
Lack VIEW diz-AIR