Is it just as it appears? Which syllables are accented? Thanks in advance.

ger nee ka

I thought it was, goo urn ick uh

gwear-nicka

gwhere-nick-uh. Americans tend to pronounce it in 3 equal syllables. In Spanish, I believe there is more emphasis on the first syllable, and I have heard it pronounced with a rolled "r", and without.

If you are going to the Prado to see it, get a local guide or a museum guide to really talk about the painting --its own history as well as the complexity and symbolism are fascinating. I grew up with the painting when it was housed in NYC...at MOMA? Enjoy.

If you want the pronunciation in English, Check this out:

http://www.bartleby.com/61/9/G0300900.html

Click on the little speaker symbol to hear the pronunciation.

It appears that there is more than one accepted pronunciation in English.

My husband speaks spanish and said, in spanish, not prnounced with the W .

yes, in Spanish there is no "gwear" sound. It's GER nee ka.

That's true, cigalechanta, but is it really a Spanish name?

Guernica is a Basque town, and I have no idea how Guernica shoud be pronounced in the Basque language ( Euskara).

It is so difficult to say how some words should be pronounced, because the pronunciation differs in different languages.

Pardon the typo: it should be "should."

I know only a thimbleful of Spanish. However, I'm pretty sure that in Spanish the letter "u" after the "g" and before an "e" or "i" serves the same purpose that the letter "h" after the "g" and before "e" or "i" serves in Italian. That is, it simply serves to make the "g" a hard one, rather than a soft one. So gue- or gui- in Spanish would sound more or less like the ge- in get and the go- in goat in English. I think the "u" after a "g" is not pronounced in Spanish unless it's followed by an "a" or "o," in which case gua-/guo- would be hard "g" followed by a "u" and then the next vowel and would sound like gwa/gwo (in English), respectively. But I think the "gue-" in Guernica is pronounced like the "ge-" in "get" in English or like the "ghe-" in "ghetto" in Italian.

I've always put the stress on the first syllable of Guernica, but I can't claim to be sure that's correct.

I work in the world of art and antiques. We pronounce Picasso's painting as GWHERE KNEE KA. However, as someone who has many Spanish-speaking friends all over the world, Spanish can be spoken differently depending on where you live. For example, my friend, Alexandra, from Madrid, pronounces her "s" and "z" as "th," as in "Velathqeth" (Velasquez). My friend, Christina, from Ecuador, does not. It is funny because we all work together, and even though Christina and Alexandra both speak speak Spanish, sometimes they can't understand each other.

Besides, Picasso was Catalan, so "Guernica" should be pronounced in the Catalan dialect.

I can't imagine anyone who knows Spanish even a little bit pronouncing that with a "w" in it. I suppose they would pronounc guerrilla as "gwirila" or the word for war "guerra" as "gweara".

I just saw it a few months ago -- it's not in the Prado. It's in the Reina Sofia museum.

John Gorjus: Picasso was not Catalan. He was born in Malaga but lived in Barcelona prior to his move to Paris. Just to set the record straight...

Bravo, Mimi!!!! Actually, the Catalans also want "Guernica" to return to Barcelona. They think that since Picasso was a Catalan, not a Spaniard, the painting belongs to them, not the Spanish gov't in Madrid.

As someone who has studied English dialects at Dartmouth, I know that there are many ways to pronounce any given word in a language.

Just ask any American how they pronounce "New Orleans," and you will see what I mean.

NARLINS
NEW ARLINS
NU ORLEEEENS

There is no "GWA" sound in Spanish?? What about Iguana??????? What about Guadaloupe?????

By the way, my sister-in-law, Carin, was born in Lima, and I have heard her say "Guadaloupe" a million times and she says, "GWAD A LOOP AY." So there!!

Mimi,
Wow! Thanks for all the information!

Christina,
You say "I can't imagine anyone who knows Spanish even a little bit pronouncing that with a "w" in it."

I do speak some Spanish, and when speaking Spanish I would pronounce it one way, and when speaking English I would pronounce it another way.

Lots of us speak some French, too, but when we're speaking English we don't say Pah-ree for Paris. When speaking French we would use the proper French pronunciation (to the best of our ability)

So for Guernica, the answer for how to pronounce it depends on what language you're using.

Actually, in Spanish, there is a "gwair" sound, but it would be spelled "güer "

Thingor: No one said there's no "gwa" sound in Spanish. I think someone said there's no "gwe" sound. That's a whole different thing! The U before an E or I makes the G hard without adding a real U sound. But G is already hard before an a or o, so if there's a U between the G and an A or O, the U is actually pronounced. Someone who actually knows Spanish can explain this better.

P.S. Guernica may be the Spanish phonetic spelling of a Basque place name, written that way so Spanish speakers could approximate the pronunciation of the Basque name. In that case it is not necessary to attempt to pronounce "Guernica" in a Basque way, because that would just be ccircular....

What a curious debate!!!!!

Actually, Treesa, Picasso was raised in Barcelona (his family moved there when he was very young). He spoke Catalan and was a member of the Barcelona Modernists (school of painting). You are correct that he was born in Malaga, but the Catalans believe he was one of them. Picasso was very much against Franco, whom the Catalans hated, as he forbade the speaking of Catalan. Picasso considered himself to be Catalan.

Next, we will be arguing over dipthongs.

ThinG,
So true!
A simple question, and all of the frustrated linguists come out of nowhere!