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How to pronounce the French city Gien?
How to pronounce Gien?
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I believe that it follows normal rules of French pronunciation, and thus, rhymes with "bien". The problem is, how to represent this with ordinary English words.
Underlying is the "in" sound in French - - as in "vin". It sounds a lot like the way a five year-old pronounces the first syllable in "sandwich" - - completely omitting the "n" and "d". Now add a bit of a "yeah" in front of that - - and finally to get the soft "G", add the "zh" sound in front of that, as in azure or pleasure. But it is all pretty short - - so writing zh-yeah-aah(n) doesn't get it at all. Just ask someone when you get there. Best wishes, Rex |
Impossible to transliterate, really.
But: Ghy-ehn might be close, but it's all one syllable so you have to alldie everything. |
Gh, SC? A harg G sound? Really?
I don't/didn't know (and I even own some dessert plates, and really like them!) In any case, I assume that it would still rhyme with "bien". |
Start with "bien" from an old Frecch film. Subtract the "b" sound and substitute the "sh" from "she." Say it like you were firing a word bullet with the "n" drawn out just a bit and emphasized. That's not quite it, but close enough. But Elizabeth, why do you want to know? Briare, the next town down the tracks, is cuter!
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oh, I don't know about that pronounciation SQ-I'm going to go with Rex on this one (but definitely not on the hand sanitizer!)
The "G" sound in this place name is not a hard G- a "gi" sound in French is soft, like the French "je." The "en" is a nasal vowel-thus the n is barely voiced. |
correction: pronunciation-have got nouns on the mind!
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The G in Gien is pronounced -zh-. It's the sound in the middle of pleasure or treasure [TREH-zhur].
Gien is one syllable and rhyhmes with 'vin'. |
Wasn't there some website that lists French place names with a guide to pronouncing each one? Someone on another forum was looking for it, and I searched but couldn't find it. It would be very helpful.
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I thought there was such a web site too but I can't find it now. I hope somebody else can.
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My pronunciation would be less like the sound in "vin" and more like the sound in the number "un" or one. Put the zh sound in front of the un sound, and that's the way I would try to explain how to pronounce it, all in one sliding syllable.
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It is incorrect to say that the "G" sound in French sounds like "zh," a "G" sound in French can be hard OR soft, it is the vowel that follows that determines how it is pronounced.
"G" followed by "a" "o" "u" is a hard G sound, like "garage" "G" followed by "e" or "i" is like the "s" in pleasure, or the French "j" as in "je" Therefore, St. Cirq-the place name "Gien" could not be pronounced as "Ghy" en as you stated. |
<<My pronunciation would be less like the sound in "vin" and more like the sound in the number "un" or one.>>
I cannot imagine the basis for making such a statement, which I feel certain is totally wrong. How would you explain the pronunciation of <i><b>bien</b></i>, Wayne? Like "B" in front of "un"? Not in any French I've ever encountered! and to Spygirl - - it's probably not how you meant it to come out, but to say <<It is incorrect to say that the "G" sound in French sounds like "zh">>... I guess you left out the word ALWAYS... "zh" IS the way most people express the sound in the middle of azure or pleasure - - as you correctly pointed out - - and likewise identical to the "J" in "je" or "ge" or "gi" On an amusing sidenote, it's funny that you used the word "garage" to illustrate a "hard" G - - since it contains one of each of the G sounds - - but I think everyone knows that you meant the <i><b>first</b></i> G! The second G has a certain amount of regional variation in spoken American English - - some people pronounce a soft G more like "lodge" (with an element of "d" audible - - especially in an unaccented second syllable like garbage or cottage), but leave it more "zh" in accented second syllables like "garage" or "homage" (even "homage" gets two different pronunciations across the US). |
Rex---of course you are correct to point out that I left out the "ee" sound in my explanation. Thanks for fixing my mistake. I had meant to say a "zh" sound, followed by an "ee" sound, followed by an "un" French sound, all in one sliding syllable. Glad you caught the error; I'd hate to sound like an authority while giving out the wrong poop. Thanks.
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Spygirl/rex: I most certainly did not mean to imply a hard G sound. It's soft. It rhymes with "bien," as stated. My "Gh" was meant to show the soft "g" sound, followed by the "implication" of a "y" sound.
I HATE transliterations !! |
Soft 'g' or even more like a 'j'...I would approximate it as "Jee-uuh" (don't pronounce the 'n' at the end)
I was raised in french so the "ien" sound comes naturally to me, but it is hard to find an equivalent in english...is it 'ay'(no), is it 'uuh' (not really, but closer).. |
No, Rex, that Is EXACTLY what I meant to say. When you're speaking of the letter G, you have to know what vowel comes after in order to know whether to pronounce it as hard or soft. So t
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Broadly speaking, if the 'g' is followed by an 'e' or 'i', it is a soft 'g'..of course, always exceptions!
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I know what you meant - - but as you wrote it, it reads as if you are trying to say that "zh" is NEVER the sound of a G in French.
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disagree-the words "never" and "always" are your words, not mine.
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