# Pronunciation of the surname "Boehner" **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 4, 2010, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronunciation-of-the-surname-boehner/559442 "2010-11-04T12:30:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**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:** [November 7, 2010, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronunciation-of-the-surname-boehner/559442/61 "2010-11-07T19:01:17Z")
> [@Norse](#): > > Boy, you Americans have some weird pronunciations 😉 My native language is one of the Germanic ones, and I use the following pronounciations: > > “oe” ligature: ö (German, Swedish) / Ăž (Danish, Norwegian) / Ɠ (French) like the “u” in “burner”. I can’t speak to Danish, Norwegian, or Swedish, because I don’t know their phonologies well enough, but as to English, German, and French – German _ö_ indicates - [Ăž] before a single consonant or _h_ or [Ɠ] before a double vowel French _eu_ or _Ɠ_ indicates [Ăž] However, in general rhotic American English, “burner” is [bɝnɚ] and in British English RP it’s [bɜnə]. Very different vowel. In some English accents, you could see the rounded [Ăž] popping in here, especially in northern England and the Antipodes, but not in the standard American and British accents. > [@](#): > > “ae” ligature: Ă€ (German, Swedish) / ĂŠ (Danish, Norwegian) like the “a” in “can” (or US English, “can’t” as well). German’s _Ă€_ is [ɛ], which in standard American English and British RP is the vowel in bet, let, set, get, met, jet, pet, etc. But the [ĂŠ] vowel is different. It’s lower (“flatter”). It’s used in bat, sat, Gatt, mat, pat, can, etc. ---
**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:** [November 7, 2010, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronunciation-of-the-surname-boehner/559442/62 "2010-11-07T19:19:22Z")
If you’re matching the German a-umlaut tomthe vowel in “can” it’s possible you’re shifting the “Ken” vowel up to [e], which manifest as a diphthong in standard American English and British RP. ---
**Author:** ![Floater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/dc4da7/32.png) [@Floater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Floater)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2010, 10:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronunciation-of-the-surname-boehner/559442/63 "2010-11-08T10:12:12Z")
> [@acsenray](#): > > The reason you can equate these sounds us that your pronounciation of English is different from ours. No, the reason is our pronunciation of Swedish is different from our pronunciation of English. > [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](#): > > I didn’t know this. Do you mean that in BrE, _can_ and _can’t_ don’t have the same vowel sound? > > Or is the difference between _can_ meaning a container and _can_ the verb? Both _cans_ are pronounced the same, but _can_ and _can’t_ have two distinctly different sounds. > [@acsenray](#): > > If you render burner like German boehner then you’re using a different sound than the r colored vowel used in American English, which is not rounded like the German umaluted vowel. True, but that’s the closest approximation I can get. There is the same difference in Swedish pronunciation, too, between _â€˜Ă¶r’_ and _â€˜Ă¶+whatever’_, except for some cases where an original _â€˜Ă¶r’_ has turned into _â€˜Ă¶l’_. > [@acsenray](#): > > As to the other, English distinguishes the vowels between Ken and can. A umlaut is like Ken not can. It’s the other way round. _c **a** n_ is a fair approximation of the pronunciation of _â€˜Ă€â€™_. _K **e** n_ has got nothing to do with it. ---
**Author:** ![Norse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a9adbd/32.png) [@Norse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Norse)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2010, 10:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronunciation-of-the-surname-boehner/559442/64 "2010-11-08T10:39:32Z")
> [@Floater](#): > > No, the reason is our pronunciation of Swedish is different from our pronunciation of English. 😃 > [@Floater](#): > > Both _cans_ are pronounced the same, but _can_ and _can’t_ have two distinctly different sounds. I take it you mean that “(BE) _can’t_ and (AE) _can’t_ have two distinctly different sounds.” 🙂 ETA: I’ve alwayd had problems with metal bands using the umlaut for no apparent reason. To me, “Mötorhead” should be pronounced “MĂžtĂžrhead” (think Peter Sellers in "Pink Panther), and “HĂŒsker DĂŒâ€ is really, really weird, since “husker du” means “do you remember” in Scandinavian ---
**Author:** ![Norse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a9adbd/32.png) [@Norse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Norse)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2010, 10:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronunciation-of-the-surname-boehner/559442/65 "2010-11-08T10:46:59Z")
Darn, missed some stuff when I tried to make the edit window. The last sentence should read “To me, “Mötörhead” should be pronounced “MĂžtĂžrhead” (think Peter Sellers’ “a bÞÞmb” in “Pink Panther”), and “HĂŒsker DĂŒâ€ is really, really weird, since “husker du” means “do you remember” in Scandinavian” ---
**Author:** ![Floater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/dc4da7/32.png) [@Floater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Floater)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2010, 11:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronunciation-of-the-surname-boehner/559442/66 "2010-11-08T11:09:34Z")
One of the worst cases of umlaut abuse I know is when Swedish brewery Pripps (now in the Carlsberg group) tried to introduce a beer on the international market called “Nördik Wölf”. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![ratatoskK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ratatoskk/32/2987_2.png) [@ratatoskK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ratatoskK)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2010, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronunciation-of-the-surname-boehner/559442/67 "2010-11-08T13:23:01Z")
Oh well, time to go to wörk. ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Panda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ee7513/32.png) [@Darth\_Panda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Panda)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2010, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronunciation-of-the-surname-boehner/559442/68 "2010-11-08T13:44:30Z")
> [@Si\_Amigo](#): > > In the eighties everybody in Ohio referred to him as Boner; including himself. But that shouldn’t be a surprise if you come from that area of Ohio, they pretty much bastardize all foreign names. For example, people look at you strange if you don’t pronounce the Ohio town of Versailles as Ver-Sales.:smack: And they will correct you until you pronounce the correct way.:smack::smack: Likewise Lima is pronuced Lie-Ma and Russia is pronounced Roo-sha. :eek: So it’s no wonder the guy just gave up and let the hicks call him Boner; I’ve known other Boehner’s in Ohio that gave up as well. I don’t care for SOB, but I have other bones to pick with him and don’t don’t need to resort to name calling. “Man, what the hell is this mmmm-loud bullshit you talkin about?” “Yeah, whatever, just call me Boner.” ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2010, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronunciation-of-the-surname-boehner/559442/69 "2010-11-08T13:59:29Z")
My gf has a friend with this last name. She pronounces it kinda like “Beaner” but not exactly. So her friends all call her “Beaner”. Which almost led to a problem when we saw her at a music festival and my gf yelled, “Hey Beaner!”. ---
**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:** [November 8, 2010, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronunciation-of-the-surname-boehner/559442/70 "2010-11-08T14:10:57Z")
> [@Floater](#): > > It’s the other way round. _c **a** n_ is a fair approximation of the pronunciation of _â€˜Ă€â€™_. _K **e** n_ has got nothing to do with it. The “can” vowel is not part of the standard German phonology – [Standard German phonology - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_phonology#Vowels) ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2010, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronunciation-of-the-surname-boehner/559442/71 "2010-11-08T15:44:30Z")
> [@ratatoskK](#): > > I would pronounce this name “Boner.” But U.S. Senator John A. Boehner pronounced it “BAY-ner.”
 He’s a Congressman, not a U.S. Senator, and very likely to become Speaker of the House in January. ---
**Author:** ![BwanaBob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bwanabob/32/2985_2.png) [@BwanaBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BwanaBob)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2010, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronunciation-of-the-surname-boehner/559442/72 "2010-11-08T16:41:44Z")
> [@C.Montgomery\_Burns](#): > > Hey! We pronounce it Ver-sales in Illinois, too! I’m from the town of Versailles. It was names after a town in Kentucky, also pronounced Ver-sales, by the founders of the town. That _is_ the way it’s pronounced! It has nothing to do with France. And just where do you think the founding fathers of Versailles got that name; random letters? Be reasonable, they took the name from the French and anglicized it. ---
**Author:** ![ratatoskK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ratatoskk/32/2987_2.png) [@ratatoskK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ratatoskK)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2010, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronunciation-of-the-surname-boehner/559442/73 "2010-11-08T17:44:45Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > He’s a Congressman, not a U.S. Senator, and very likely to become Speaker of the House in January. Thanks for the correction! ---
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2010, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronunciation-of-the-surname-boehner/559442/74 "2010-11-09T15:12:37Z")
Quote: Originally Posted by C. Montgomery Burns Hey! We pronounce it Ver-sales in Illinois, too! I’m from the town of Versailles. It was names after a town in Kentucky, also pronounced Ver-sales, by the founders of the town. That is the way it’s pronounced! It has nothing to do with France. > [@BwanaBob](#): > > And just where do you think the founding fathers of Versailles got that name; random letters? Be reasonable, they took the name from the French and anglicized it. Thank for responding to him; I gave up trying to deal with “people” from Ver-Sales long ago. Boehners that they are! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2010, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronunciation-of-the-surname-boehner/559442/75 "2010-11-09T16:38:23Z")
> [@Si\_Amigo](#): > > In the eighties everybody in Ohio referred to him as Boner; including himself. But that shouldn’t be a surprise if you come from that area of Ohio, they pretty much bastardize all foreign names. For example, people look at you strange if you don’t pronounce the Ohio town of Versailles as Ver-Sales.:smack: And they will correct you until you pronounce the correct way.:smack::smack: Likewise Lima is pronuced Lie-Ma and Russia is pronounced Roo-sha. :eek: So it’s no wonder the guy just gave up and let the hicks call him Boner; I’ve known other Boehner’s in Ohio that gave up as well. Those aren’t the same dynamic at all. Those places in Ohio _are not_ the places in Europe whence their names derive. There’s nothing intrinsically wrong with them having different pronunciations. > [@BwanaBob](#): > > Be reasonable, they took the name from the French and anglicized it. Of course. And that makes it a different name, for a different place. Whereas Boehner’s own name, like everyone’s, is _his_–any pronunciation other than the one he favors _is_ wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2010, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronunciation-of-the-surname-boehner/559442/76 "2010-11-10T14:44:23Z")
> [@spark240](#): > > Those aren’t the same dynamic at all. Those places in Ohio _are not_ the places in Europe whence their names derive. There’s nothing intrinsically wrong with them having different pronunciations. And of course when you leave the farmland and pronounce Versailles as Ver-Sales people don’t look at you like your a hick because the world is so understanding. 😉 The town in Ohio was named after the town in France, it’s just that over the years the French influance dwindled and the German farmers became dominant; I always beleived that the change in pronunciation was due to the Germans being disrespecful to the French. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2010, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronunciation-of-the-surname-boehner/559442/77 "2010-11-10T14:45:40Z")
There’s a major street in Pittburgh named after the French palace, and it’s pronounced Ver-Sales there, too. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2010, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronunciation-of-the-surname-boehner/559442/78 "2010-11-10T15:42:25Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > There’s a major street in Pittburgh named after the French palace, and it’s pronounced Ver-Sales there, too. [North Versailles Township, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Versailles_Township,_Allegheny_County,_Pennsylvania) Been there a few dozen times. Pronounced Ver Sales. ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2010, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronunciation-of-the-surname-boehner/559442/79 "2010-11-10T15:49:07Z")
> [@Si\_Amigo](#): > > And of course when you leave the farmland and pronounce Versailles as Ver-Sales people don’t look at you like your a hick because the world is so understanding. 😉 I’m not sure what you’re saying. The name of the French city is correctly pronounced one way, no matter who or where you are. The name of the Ohio village is correctly pronounced another way, no matter who or where you are. In either case, someone looking askance at you for using the correct pronunciation is themselves uninformed. > [@Si\_Amigo](#): > > I always beleived that the change in pronunciation was due to the Germans being disrespecful to the French. Or, folks of German extraction just tended to speak differently. ---
**Author:** ![wintertime](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c68b51/32.png) [@wintertime](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wintertime)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2010, 11:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronunciation-of-the-surname-boehner/559442/80 "2010-11-11T11:16:38Z")
If you are interested to hear the German pronunciation of a couple of our words or names that are well-known in the English speaking world, you could check out “[How Do You Say ‘Porsche’?](http://german.about.com/library/blaudio_porsche.htm)” The online dictionaries “www.dict.cc” and “[leo.org](http://leo.org)” provide sound samples of almost all words, including the German ones. It sounds rather robotic, but it gives you an idea how an umlaut is pronounced in different words. If you want to hear the â€œĂ¶â€, search for words like “Böhmen”, “Öse” or a verb like “verblöden”. The [Phonetics Flash Animation Project](http://www.uiowa.edu/~acadtech/phonetics/) of the University of Iowa might help you articulate words in German (or Spanish), although it’s not perfect because the sound of the German letters, including the “Umlaute” _Ă€ - ĂŒ – ö_, changes with the letters surrounding them. Im my experience, quite a lot of Americans don’t even recognize the sound of an umlaut at first, simply because they are not used to it. So if you have any trouble to identify the sound or hear differences among words that contain an umlaut, don’t feel bad about it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronunciation-of-the-surname-boehner/559442.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronunciation-of-the-surname-boehner/559442.md?page=5)