# What's the correct way to pronounce Ramanujan? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 10, 2016, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-correct-way-to-pronounce-ramanujan/754504 "2016-05-10T21:03:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2016, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-correct-way-to-pronounce-ramanujan/754504/1 "2016-05-10T21:03:27Z")
I’ve heard English people call him rama-NEW-jin, but most Americans I’ve heard call him ra-MON-uh-jon. Which is correct? (Or is it neither?) ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2016, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-correct-way-to-pronounce-ramanujan/754504/2 "2016-05-10T21:07:48Z")
The [wiki](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Srinivasa_Ramanujan) leads me to believe that the english pronunciation is closer, but I don’t know on what basis, wiki is making its choice regarding pronunciation. ---
**Author:** ![Dendarii\_Dame](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bbce88/32.png) [@Dendarii\_Dame](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dendarii_Dame)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2016, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-correct-way-to-pronounce-ramanujan/754504/3 "2016-05-10T22:52:05Z")
On the TV series Numb3rs, one of the characters was named Amita Ramanujan. They pronounced it rah-man-oo-zhahn, accent on the second syllable. ---
**Author:** ![Walken\_After\_Midnight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b487fb/32.png) [@Walken\_After\_Midnight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walken_After_Midnight)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2016, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-correct-way-to-pronounce-ramanujan/754504/4 "2016-05-10T22:53:54Z")
[Here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BqYo798siNo&feature=youtu.be&t=214)’s Ramanujan pronounced by an Indian speaker in an Indian documentary. Here’s how Ramanujan is written in the Devanagari script: रामानुजन् Which breaks down as: रा = र + ा = r(a) + aa (long _a_) = raa मा = म + ा = m(a) + aa (long _a_) = maa नु = न + ु = n(a) + u (short _u_) = nu ज = j(a) (short _a_ - if vowel is not written it’s short _a_) = ja न् = n(a) (+ _virama_, which is the little diacritic line at the bottom of the letter which cancels the inherent vowel of the _na_ consonant, making it Ramanujan and not Ramanujana) = n So “rama-NEW-jin” would be a closer approximation of the pronunciation, although _i_ is a different vowel altogether. The Devanagari small _a_ of the “-nujan” part of the name is the sort of default vowel and is weakly pronounced, perhaps comparable to the sound of the _a_ in “human”. ---
**Author:** ![Dendarii\_Dame](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bbce88/32.png) [@Dendarii\_Dame](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dendarii_Dame)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2016, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-correct-way-to-pronounce-ramanujan/754504/5 "2016-05-10T22:58:26Z")
Missed edit window. On **Numb3rs** a character with this name pronounced it rah-MAH-noo-zhahn. ---
**Author:** ![Walken\_After\_Midnight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b487fb/32.png) [@Walken\_After\_Midnight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walken_After_Midnight)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2016, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-correct-way-to-pronounce-ramanujan/754504/6 "2016-05-10T23:09:26Z")
> [@Dendarii\_Dame](#): > > Missed edit window. On **Numb3rs** a character with this name pronounced it rah-MAH-noo-zhahn. His name could be Rahman Uzan. Rahman is an Arabic name with the stress on the “-man” as heard [here](https://youtu.be/82N4KNYa5Xk?t=4). Uzan is, I think, a West Asian surname. Googling “Rahman Uzan” brings up people with that name. ---
**Author:** ![Walken\_After\_Midnight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b487fb/32.png) [@Walken\_After\_Midnight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walken_After_Midnight)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2016, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-correct-way-to-pronounce-ramanujan/754504/7 "2016-05-10T23:47:54Z")
IMDB shows the character in _Numb3rs_ to be Ramanujan (rather than Rahman Uzan!). Clearly the pronunciation of someone’s surname can change, especially in a different country, Charlize Theron being one such example. An Indian pronunciation of Ramanujan would have both the _a_’s in “Rama” as equally stressed. One can hear the pronunciation of “Ramayana” (रामायण), the Indian epic poem, [here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VTbJ-fyd_MA&feature=youtu.be&t=7). Ramayana uses the same letters (रामा) for “Rama” as Ramanujan does, and one can hear that they have equal weight. The Devanagari small _a_ is transliterated as “uh” in this example. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2016, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-correct-way-to-pronounce-ramanujan/754504/8 "2016-05-11T00:38:19Z")
This article from the _Scientific American_ website says that the British pronunciation is Raman-UJ-an, but the Tamil pronunciation is Ra-MAN-ujan, and Tamil is the language that Ramanujan grew up speaking: > **[Srinivasa Ramanujan](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Srinivasa_Ramanujan)** > > Srinivasa Ramanujan FRS (/ˈsriːnɪvɑːsə rɑːˈmɑːnʊdʒən/; born Srinivasa Ramanujan Aiyangar, IPA: \[sriːniʋaːsa ɾaːmaːnud͡ʑan ajːaŋgar\]; 22 December 1887 – 26 April 1920) was an Indian mathematician. Though he had almost no formal training in pure mathematics, he made substantial contributions to mathematical analysis, number theory, infinite series, and continued fractions, including solutions to mathematical problems then considered unsolvable. > Ramanujan initially developed his own mathemati... ---
**Author:** ![Walken\_After\_Midnight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b487fb/32.png) [@Walken\_After\_Midnight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walken_After_Midnight)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2016, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-correct-way-to-pronounce-ramanujan/754504/9 "2016-05-11T01:19:41Z")
> [@Wendell\_Wagner](#): > > This article from the _Scientific American_ website says that the British pronunciation is Raman-UJ-an, but the Tamil pronunciation is Ra-MAN-ujan, and Tamil is the language that Ramanujan grew up speaking: > > [Srinivasa Ramanujan - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Srinivasa_Ramanujan) Here’s a couple of Indians saying Ramanujan’s name, one [North Indian](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxKEPDMPq-s&feature=youtu.be&t=123) and the other [Tamil](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_FiHvvn-Zk&feature=youtu.be&t=48). They both pronounce Ramanujan the same way: _rAmAnujan_. The stressed vowels are the first two _a_’s, since they both use the long forms of the vowels, while the _u_ and final _a_ use short vowel forms. That said, I don’t know much about the Tamil language and maybe they have different pronunciation locally. ---
**Author:** ![Indistinguishable](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/90ced4/32.png) [@Indistinguishable](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indistinguishable)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2016, 7:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-correct-way-to-pronounce-ramanujan/754504/10 "2016-05-11T07:21:50Z")
> [@Walken\_After\_Midnight](#): > > [Here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BqYo798siNo&feature=youtu.be&t=214)’s Ramanujan pronounced by an Indian speaker in an Indian documentary. As a Tamil mathematician, I say, just listen to this clip. In particular, don’t make the last syllable “zhahn”; start it with a normal English “j” sound. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2016, 7:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-correct-way-to-pronounce-ramanujan/754504/11 "2016-05-11T07:42:27Z")
> [@Walken\_After\_Midnight](#): > > His name could be Rahman Uzan. Rahman is an Arabic name with the stress on the “-man” as heard [here](https://youtu.be/82N4KNYa5Xk?t=4). Uzan is, I think, a West Asian surname. Googling “Rahman Uzan” brings up people with that name. Her. Amita Ramanujan. She’s Tamil. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2016, 12:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-correct-way-to-pronounce-ramanujan/754504/12 "2016-05-11T12:13:12Z")
> [@Indistinguishable](#): > > As a Tamil mathematician, I say, just listen to this clip. In particular, don’t make the last syllable “zhahn”; start it with a normal English “j” sound. Thanks - sounds like the British people I’ve heard are right on the money. ---
**Author:** ![Nanoo\_Visotor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5ac83/32.png) [@Nanoo\_Visotor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nanoo_Visotor)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2017, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-correct-way-to-pronounce-ramanujan/754504/13 "2017-01-11T21:41:57Z")
A BBC commentator’s pronunciation: [COURTESY BBC DOCUMENTARY ON RAMANUJAN -Legendry Indian Mathematician -with subtitles-Ravish Physics - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y7Ufxl-zSRI) ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2017, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-correct-way-to-pronounce-ramanujan/754504/14 "2017-01-11T22:42:57Z")
Thanks, **Nanoo**. May I assume you are a fan of both the Orkans and the Bajorans? 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2017, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-correct-way-to-pronounce-ramanujan/754504/15 "2017-01-12T01:10:08Z")
The name is derived from Sanskrit “Rama” (the deity-hero of that name) + “anuja” “later-born”, i.e., the younger brother of Rama, namely the hero Laksmana. > [@WAM](#): > > An Indian pronunciation of Ramanujan would have both the a’s in “Rama” as equally stressed. […] Here’s a couple of Indians saying Ramanujan’s name, one North Indian and the other Tamil. They both pronounce Ramanujan the same way: rAmAnujan. Which is correct. That’s because, as you noted, the “a” in the syllables “Ra” and “ma” is long, so the syllable is heavy in both cases. The syllables “nu” and “jan” are light, since they have short vowels and no double consonants. So the heavy syllables get the stress. The common western pronunciation “Rama-NU-jan” probably evolved in erroneous imitation of more familiar four-syllable non-Indic names such as “Alexander”, “Amadeus”, “Obadiah”, etc. ---
**Author:** ![ashtayk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e68b1a/32.png) [@ashtayk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ashtayk)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2017, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-correct-way-to-pronounce-ramanujan/754504/16 "2017-01-12T01:27:57Z")
I have always thought his name ended with an ‘m’ not an n. That is, Ramanujam. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2017, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-correct-way-to-pronounce-ramanujan/754504/17 "2017-01-12T01:59:58Z")
> [@ashtayk](#): > > I have always thought his name ended with an ‘m’ not an n. That is, Ramanujam. That’s an attested alternate form. The Sanskrit stem form of the name is Ramanuja. Such names usually get a final nasal consonant when adopted into Tamil, and the nasal can be rendered as either -am or -an. ---
**Author:** ![ashtayk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e68b1a/32.png) [@ashtayk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ashtayk)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2017, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-correct-way-to-pronounce-ramanujan/754504/18 "2017-01-12T17:46:04Z")
I am from the same (Tamil Brahmin) community that Ramanujan comes from I can attest to the fact that for us, Ramanujan does not roll off the tongue as easily as Ramanujam. ---
**Author:** ![CurtC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ce73a5/32.png) [@CurtC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CurtC)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2017, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-correct-way-to-pronounce-ramanujan/754504/19 "2017-01-12T18:21:27Z")
> [@friedo](#): > > I’ve heard English people call him rama-NEW-jin… The trouble with expressing pronunciation in terms of other words, is that your audience may pronounce those other words differently. I would be surprised if anyone said it as rama-NEW-jin, I thought the common pronunciation was rama-NOO-jin. ---
**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:** [January 12, 2017, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-correct-way-to-pronounce-ramanujan/754504/20 "2017-01-12T20:59:50Z")
> [@ashtayk](#): > > I have always thought his name ended with an ‘m’ not an n. That is, Ramanujam. It may be spelt Ramanujan, but it’s pronounced “Throatwobbler Mangrove.” [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-correct-way-to-pronounce-ramanujan/754504.md?page=2)