**Harve Presnell **enjoyed a very commendable career as a performer on stage, television, and the big screen. I was always a little unsure about how to pronounce his name. In a couple of days I will give a presentation during which I will need to say his name. I want to get it right. Is it like this?
Harve = rhymes with “carve”
Presnell = “prez” + “knell”
If not, how should it be pronounced?
Thanks all, in advance.
Pruh-nell. And Harv like carve. At least that is how I would Americanize the pronunciation.
I’d say Harve (rhymes with “carve”) Presnell (stress on the second syllable), but that may not be right. The correct way to pronounce someone’s name is they way he or she pronounces it.
Examples:
Edmund Halley = Haulley (stress on Haul);
Franklin and Theodore Roosevelt = Rose-evelt (not Rooze-evelt);
Stephen Colbert = Colbere (the T is silent).
Hmm, I feel inclined to pronounce it the Dutch way: rooze-felt.
I may be wrong, but I keep remembering him being introduced on talk shows as “Harvey Prez-nell”.
You can hear his daughter pronounce his name here. Sounds like “Harve” that rhymes with “carve” and then “prez-nell” with fairly equal accents.
I pronounced it that way until my Forensics professor corrected me in my Public Speaking class.
Thanks for all the input so far.
For those of you who want to argue/discuss the pronunciation of “Roosevelt,” may I suggest you open another thread on the subject? I’m sure you’ll get plenty of comments and you can turn it into a very lively debate. I’d like to keep this thread about Harve Presnell. Thank you.
I’ve always heard it rhyming with “carve press nell,” with the accent on “press.”