Help needed on British/French words!
 

As an American who has never traveled to Europe before, I was wondering how to pronounce districts in both London and France properly (haven't found these in my translation book).<BR><BR>One example is that Leicester is actually pronouced 'Lester', and in France, Montmarte is actually pronouced 'Momart'.<BR><BR>Anyone can help me say correctly the areas in france (Marais, Montparnasse, Invalides, ect.) and areas in London??<BR><BR>I'm not a troll, just an ingnorant tourist :)

I may be wrong, but I think that most French place names follow the rules of French pronounciation - i.e. generally "losing" the last consonant, and consistent (but often different from English) vowel sounds.<BR><BR>English place names can be much less logical (e.g. "worrick" = Warwick, "norridge" = Norwich, "barclay" = Berkeley) and we do tend to swallow the final syllable ("stratfud" = Stratford) - but you get plenty of regional variation in pronounciation anyway. Do you know, some folks don't know how to pronounce Featherstonehaugh! (Fanshaw, of course)<BR><BR>Seriously - don't worry too much - at worst you will provide the locals with some innocent amusement while they try to work out where you are trying to get to.

And if you don't want to provide amusement or want information faster have a name written on a piece of paper - even if you can't pronounce you'll get help.

Mon-martr ... equal accent on each syllable. The "r" is gutteral. Everything in the upper back of the mouth.

Mah-ray. Again, "r" is gutteral. Keep the sounds up high in your mouth. Equal emphasis on syllables.

Beauchamp in London is pronounced <BR>Beecham.<BR>When in Paris once, I asked for directions to the the opera house..two people had no idea what I was talking about, although we were actually a matter of a couple of blocks away, finally someone said "Oh, O-pera..(hard O)...so even when you pronounce it correctly-you don't! :0)<BR>ps&gt; I have found that generally, the Parisians enjoy your attempts even when you butcher the language,and they really do appreciate your caring enough to try.c

Any advice on how to pronouce Marais and Montparnasse?

HT said it well, I think,<BR>Mah ray - marais<BR> and <BR>Moh mar- Montmarte<BR>don't pronounce the s in Marais or the n and t in Montmarte<BR>Ha! I hope I sound better than I spell, when I attempt to speak French!

&lt;&lt;Any advice on how to pronouce Marais and Montparnasse?&gt;&gt;<BR><BR>Le Marais would be more or less le (rhymes with duh, sort of) marrAY, with the r's being pronounced at the back of the throat.<BR><BR>Montparnasse is more complicated. The Mon part is like "moan" except with a nasal not-quite-n at the end, not a full "n", then parnasse is parn (rhymes with barn, except again the r is at the back of the throat) -ass. Moan-par-NASS would approximate it.

Mon par nahce and mah ray; emphasis on last syllables.

Pahh -doan- ay mwa<BR>see- voooo- play<BR><BR>bow -swa , au -vwa<BR>

Growing up in New England, I did learn some of the wore-ick, lestah, wuh-stah, leminster (aka Leominster) pronunciations, but I really blew it on Salisbury - I asked for the train to Sal-izz-berry (SALZbree). And I still mess up Mahblahch. I'm also not sure when to pronounce Saint as Sin.<BR><BR>Anglo-Saxon/Teutonic pronunciations tend to slam into consonants; Gallic pronunciations (other than that mystical "r") tend to avoid consontants like the plague. So if Monmartre was in New Jersey, it'd be pronounced "Mahnmarter", and rightly so. In France, it's Moh(swallow the "n" just before you're done)Marrr&lt;-nearest pronunciation I can think of for that darned "r", then swallow the "t" and add a gurgle.<BR><BR>So come to Arizona where Mogollan and Canyon de Chelly are so easy to pronounce.

Anna,<BR>Don't even consider trying to figure out English pronunciations, they'll give you fits: Cholmondeley - Chumlee; In Virginia, Fort Belvoir is pronounced Bellvwah; in England Castle Belvoir is pronounced Beevah. When in London, keep your ears perked for the pronunciation of "Marylebone".

Well, knock me down and call me Shirley-Hi Elvira!!<BR>I always look for something posted by you...have resorted to reading old posts that have been brought up...cannot wait until YOU go on another trip and I can be entertained by your report:) candice

Any more tips?

In English names ending in -wick, the w is usually silent, as in Warwick (Worrick) and Keswick (Kezick). Don't forget that Derby (as in the town and county) is pronounced Darby, and Worcester and Gloucester are "Wusster" and "Glosster".<BR><BR>French pronunciation is rather more difficult to express. The various explanations people have already given for the "on" sound in Montparnasse could be fairly safely applied to most words containing the "en", "an" and even "om" and "am" combinations, eg. Champs Elysees = "chonz ayleezay", and Centre Pompidou = "sontr ponpydu". <BR>The "in" sound is more like a short nasal "a" with the "n" again barely expressed, eg jardin = "zhardan", oh yes and J is zh.<BR><BR>Actually, this is a whole subject in itself. French pronunciation is (arguably) more regular in its rules than English. I would recommend getting hold of a good dictionary, such as Collins-Robert (Roberr) which contains a pronunciation guide, and consulting it along with a French language tape to hear a native speaker.<BR>Bonne chance, mon amie!

I am reminded of a friend of mine who asked an elderly man if she was on the right road for Mousehole. She pronounced it as it looks. The old boy said, "Mouse 'ole yew mean Mowzle moi maid." She loved the "moi maid".