I know that "Moet" as in "Moet et Chandon" is pronounced "Mow-ett". Is it true that this is a Dutch name, partly accounting for the pronunciation? And do the French generally say "Mow-ett" or "Mow-ay" (as I heard Rick Steves say on his radio show the other day)?
If I remember my high school French, you pronounce the final consonant only if the following word begins with a vowel.
So if you're saying "Moet et Chandon" you will pronounce the final "t", because the next word begins with a voewl. But if you're just saying "Moet" you don't pronounce the final "t".
So if you're saying "Moet et Chandon" you will pronounce the final "t", because the next word begins with a voewl. But if you're just saying "Moet" you don't pronounce the final "t".
Wow, it would be nice if I could type English. That should be "vowel".
Hi,
Yes it's definitely pronounced Mow-ett, whether or not it's followed by a vowel (I think the name is of German rather than Dutch origin, however). Note that you also pronounce the final T in Perrier-Jouet.
Proper names don't always fit in with the standard French pronounciation/liaison rules.
Yes it's definitely pronounced Mow-ett, whether or not it's followed by a vowel (I think the name is of German rather than Dutch origin, however). Note that you also pronounce the final T in Perrier-Jouet.
Proper names don't always fit in with the standard French pronounciation/liaison rules.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moet
It's not Dutch or German!
It's named after Claude Moet and he was French
It's not Dutch or German!
It's named after Claude Moet and he was French
However, if you read down a little further:
>>>Moët is indeed French champagne, but it is spelled with a diaeresis, and this is where the confusion lies. Claude Moët was born in France in 1683; however, his name is not French, it is Dutch.<<<
And, as Michael Scott said about Wikipedia, anyone in the world can write anything they want about any subject, so you know you are getting the best possible information.
>>>Moët is indeed French champagne, but it is spelled with a diaeresis, and this is where the confusion lies. Claude Moët was born in France in 1683; however, his name is not French, it is Dutch.<<<
And, as Michael Scott said about Wikipedia, anyone in the world can write anything they want about any subject, so you know you are getting the best possible information.
If it were to be pronounced in the Dutch way it would be (approximately) Moot, but Moët, having the umlaut implies a German name, or maybe a Frenchification of the Dutch. I can't say I've ever come across it as a surname in Holland. Moet meens must.
I pronounce Moët as Mow-ay on it's own and Mow-ayt in the Champagne name.
I pronounce Moët as Mow-ay on it's own and Mow-ayt in the Champagne name.
A dieresis mark doesn't always indicate a vowel shift to the umlaut. In this case (also as in naïve), it indicates that two adjacent vowels should be pronounced as separate syllables instead of as a diphthong. If the mark weren't there, "Moet" would be pronounced more like "meut" than "moe-ay."
Under French pronunciation rules, <i>Moët</i> would be pronounced "mow-eh," because of the dieresis, which in French means that two consecutive vowels are to be pronounced independently (as in <i>Noël</i>, the French word for Christmas). Most final consonants (including the 't' in a word like this) are not pronounced in French.
However, this being a proper name, there's no telling what the "correct" pronunciation would be according to the family that carries the name. And unfortunately I don't drink, so I don't really know how the Moët family would pronounce this.
In other languages, the dieresis is used for very different purposes, so the effect it has in French may not be anything like the effect it has in a different language (if Moët is not a French name).
However, this being a proper name, there's no telling what the "correct" pronunciation would be according to the family that carries the name. And unfortunately I don't drink, so I don't really know how the Moët family would pronounce this.
In other languages, the dieresis is used for very different purposes, so the effect it has in French may not be anything like the effect it has in a different language (if Moët is not a French name).
No matter where the name comes from when you go to Epernay and say Moe-ay you are corrected to Moe-ett. At least I was corrected. Softer than most English speakers would say it, since it's an elision.
I am told by my French wine buddy (who is a Moët wholesaler) that it is pronounced "Mwet", one syllable, although the way he actually says it when not concentrating on the pronounciation it sounds more like "Mwut".
Interesting. What linguistics training does your French wine buddy have? And is that a French buddy, or a buddy who sells French wine?
He's French, or Norman at least. Been working in the French restaurant industry for 15 years or so, now managing a wine and liquor wholesaler to restaurants and hotels, with exclusive distribution rights for Moët for the region.
A related question -- how do you pronounce the French champagne producing town of Reims? I know how it would be pronounced if it were a common noun, rather than a proper, but as has been said, the rules don't always apply to proper names.
