# The Queen's English pronunciation of "Maurice." **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 21, 2021, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-queens-english-pronunciation-of-maurice/944790 "2021-06-21T19:40:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2021, 6:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-queens-english-pronunciation-of-maurice/944790/22 "2021-06-22T06:49:07Z")
I guess there are two answers. Do people in the UK use the pronunciation “more- EES”; clearly yes they do, if referring to someone whose name is pronounced that way. But people in the UK generally do not use that pronunciation for themselves, but rather the “MORE-iss” pronunciation. The name is of French origin, and was originally pronounced “more-EES”. It was adopted into the UK where they changed the pronunciation. ---
**Author:** ![GreenWyvern](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/greenwyvern/32/2834_2.png) [@GreenWyvern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreenWyvern)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2021, 6:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-queens-english-pronunciation-of-maurice/944790/23 "2021-06-22T06:58:20Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > The link has 147 different pronunciations of “Maurice” from British speakers. That’s not what I get. > [@PatrickLondon](#): > > Links me to a YouTube piece on Hitler and a ton of clickbait, but no recordings of people pronouncing “Morris”. On the other hand, it does include an IPA transcription, which does correspond to my perception as a native BrE speaker - that I’ve never heard of a UK pronunciation other than with the stress on the the first syllable and shorter, flatter vowels than seem to be more usual in the US. MO-rris it is. Yes, I see exactly the same. Screenshot: [![](https://i.ibb.co/mFD1L58/youglish.jpg) ](https://i.ibb.co/mFD1L58/youglish.jpg) Weird. ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2021, 7:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-queens-english-pronunciation-of-maurice/944790/24 "2021-06-22T07:45:47Z")
> [@ratatoskK](#): > > It’s pronounced Morris, unless you’re French or think you have to pretend to be. I think this in the crux of it, to be honest. Put it down to the 100 Years War perhaps, but we tend to anglicise pronunciations, and frenchified Moh-REES sounds terribly pretentious to my British ears. Morris all the way. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2021, 7:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-queens-english-pronunciation-of-maurice/944790/25 "2021-06-22T07:48:10Z")
> [@GreenWyvern](#): > > > [@PatrickLondon](#): > > > > Links me to a YouTube piece on Hitler and a ton of clickbait, but no recordings of people pronouncing “Morris”. On the other hand, it does include an IPA transcription, which does correspond to my perception as a native BrE speaker - that I’ve never heard of a UK pronunciation other than with the stress on the the first syllable and shorter, flatter vowels than seem to be more usual in the US. MO-rris it is. > > Yes, I see exactly the same. Screenshot: > > [https://i.ibb.co/mFD1L58/youglish.jpg](https://i.ibb.co/mFD1L58/youglish.jpg) > > Weird. No, that’s what the site looks like. But you’re supposed to click the blue button with the arrow and line to get to the next example. There are, as it says, 147 of them. That’s what the site is. It goes through videos, finding the word in the closed captions, and then shows the clips. I agree the way it is put together isn’t all that intuitive. The UX (user interface) is not good. I would have designed it with a list of each of the 147 options on the side, where you click to change the video to show the video for that particular one. I remember having the same issue when I first discovered the site. ---
**Author:** ![Cugel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cugel/32/1199_2.png) [@Cugel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cugel)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2021, 7:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-queens-english-pronunciation-of-maurice/944790/26 "2021-06-22T07:54:16Z")
Even Striner would be Mozza ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2021, 8:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-queens-english-pronunciation-of-maurice/944790/27 "2021-06-22T08:18:22Z")
> [@UDS1](#): > > BrE anglicises them - “garazh” versus “garridge”; “filay” versus “fillet”, and so on. This may be an instance of that phenomenon. Any "BrE person talking about their g’razh or ordering a filay steak would be seen as a pretentious snob. Valet is an interesting outlier. We say vallet when sending the car in for a good hoover out, but the guy who brings my breakfast in bed and lays my clothes out is a valay (I wish). ---
**Author:** ![Brayne\_Ded](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Brayne\_Ded](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brayne_Ded)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2021, 8:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-queens-english-pronunciation-of-maurice/944790/28 "2021-06-22T08:49:18Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > The only thing I can conclude is that it is pronounced either way in the UK, despite the site claiming it is definitively pronounced like “Morris”. My WAG is that it depends on what part of the UK the speaker is from. Agreed. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2021, 8:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-queens-english-pronunciation-of-maurice/944790/29 "2021-06-22T08:51:18Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > You should probably check out the link I provided earlier then, if that’s your impression. I don’t click on links that have Hitler on the cover. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2021, 8:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-queens-english-pronunciation-of-maurice/944790/30 "2021-06-22T08:55:21Z")
> [@SanVito](#): > > I think this in the crux of it, to be honest. Put it down to the 100 Years War perhaps, but we tend to anglicise pronunciations, and frenchified Moh-REES sounds terribly pretentious to my British ears. > > Morris all the way. See, to me, “Maurice” is a French name. I had no idea English-speakers even used it. Pronouncing it “Morris” would be like pronouncing “Jacques” as “Jackass”. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2021, 8:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-queens-english-pronunciation-of-maurice/944790/31 "2021-06-22T08:58:26Z")
> [@md-2000](#): > > and in Canada, Maurice “Rocket” Richard I think this is a big part , at least in Canada. We’re more used to French pronunciations of names because of the French-Canadian influence. Maurice Richard was a huge hockey star and that’s probably where most Canadians of an older generation got to know the name (and note that his last name was also pronounced French-style: « Ree - shar », not English pronunciation.) I’ve only known one fellow named Maurice and he was French-Canadian, pronounced the French way. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2021, 9:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-queens-english-pronunciation-of-maurice/944790/32 "2021-06-22T09:08:44Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > Pronouncing it “Morris” would be like pronouncing “Jacques” as “Jackass”. In _As You like it_, there’s one character named « Jacques ». The name is pronounced two different ways in the play, depending on the scansion of the line: sometimes monosyllable, sometimes bi-syllable. Neither is the French pronunciation: > [@](#): > > In _The Oxford Dictionary of Original Shakespearean Pronunciation_ , [David Crystal](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Crystal) writes that the name has two different pronunciations in the play. The [scansion](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scansion) of the [blank verse](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blank_verse) requires it to be “Jayks” ([/ˈdʒeɪkz/](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA/English))) at some points and “Jayqueez” ([/ˈdʒeɪkwiːz/](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA/English)) at others.[[n 3]](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jaques_(As_You_Like_It)#cite_note-19) The monosyllabic version is used for comic effect at times: “jakes” was 16th-century slang for “[privy](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Outhouse)”, and in one scene Touchstone refers to Jaques as “Master What-ye-call’t” rather than say the coarse word “jakes” in mixed company.[[16]](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jaques_(As_You_Like_It)#cite_note-crystal-18) ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2021, 9:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-queens-english-pronunciation-of-maurice/944790/33 "2021-06-22T09:08:49Z")
Well, English is the bastard child of French, so it’s hardly surprising. MANY names appear in both languages. William the Conqueror, anyone? And of course, to your example, the English pronunciation of Jacques is just Jack (hard J). ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2021, 9:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-queens-english-pronunciation-of-maurice/944790/34 "2021-06-22T09:11:11Z")
True, but that’s a name where the spelling has been anglicised, as well as the pronunciation: « Guillaume » =\> « William ». ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2021, 9:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-queens-english-pronunciation-of-maurice/944790/35 "2021-06-22T09:11:22Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > In _As You like it_ , there’s one character named « Jacques ». The name is pronounced two different ways in the play, depending on the scansion of the line: sometimes monosyllable, sometimes bi-syllable. Neither is the French pronunciation: Interesting. It’s like how Byron’s _Don Juan_ is supposed to be pronounced “Don JOO-un”. ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2021, 9:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-queens-english-pronunciation-of-maurice/944790/36 "2021-06-22T09:13:40Z")
Well, my name is Catherine, but I don’t pronounce Kat-ter-reen. Really, I don’t see what’s so surprising about different languages/nations pronouncing words differently. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2021, 9:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-queens-english-pronunciation-of-maurice/944790/37 "2021-06-22T09:13:57Z")
> [@SanVito](#): > > And of course, to your example, the English pronunciation of Jacques is just Jack (hard J). Really? As an English speaker, I’d never pronounce Jacques with a hard J. ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2021, 9:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-queens-english-pronunciation-of-maurice/944790/38 "2021-06-22T09:15:00Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > Really? As an English speaker, I’d never pronounce Jacques with a hard J. Yes really. A soft ‘zzzacque’ is not remotely english pronunciation. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2021, 9:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-queens-english-pronunciation-of-maurice/944790/39 "2021-06-22T09:20:01Z")
And the person who is the source for the name under discussion, the Byzantine Emperor, Flavius Mauricius Tiberius, wouldn’t recognise either the French or the English versions of his name. 😀 ---
**Author:** ![UDS1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/e47774/32.png) [@UDS1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UDS1)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2021, 9:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-queens-english-pronunciation-of-maurice/944790/40 "2021-06-22T09:20:50Z")
> [@bob\_2](#): > > Valet is an interesting outlier. We say vallet when sending the car in for a good hoover out, but the guy who brings my breakfast in bed and lays my clothes out is a valay (I wish). In BrE "vallet’ used to be the dominant pronunciation both for the noun, the gentleman’s personal attendant, and for the verb, to clean. “Vallay” for the manservant has only gained in popularity comparatively recently, now that actual valets are rarely found in the wild and people mostly encounter the word in print. I think the class of people in England who still have valets call them “vallets” and not “vallays”. But as I am not myself a member of that class I am willing to be corrected by any Doper who is. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2021, 9:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-queens-english-pronunciation-of-maurice/944790/41 "2021-06-22T09:22:12Z")
> [@SanVito](#): > > Yes really. A soft ‘zzzacque’ is not remotely english pronunciation. That’s because “Jacques” is not remotely an English name. As a rule, you’re supposed to pronounce foreign names the way they’re spoken in their native tongues. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-queens-english-pronunciation-of-maurice/944790.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-queens-english-pronunciation-of-maurice/944790.md?page=3)