amc80
Ideal_Rock
- Joined
- Jun 18, 2010
- Messages
- 5,765
princesss|1361911489|3391063 said:I've always pronounced them "can-uh-pay" and "mis-e-rahbl" - I think there is a tendancy for English speakers to omit the "l" in "miserables" just like they ignore the "r" in "Louvre," and when I listen to native French speakers I hear both the "l" and the "r." Not being a French speaker, though, I could be way off the mark!
megumic|1361913357|3391107 said:princesss|1361911489|3391063 said:I've always pronounced them "can-uh-pay" and "mis-e-rahbl" - I think there is a tendancy for English speakers to omit the "l" in "miserables" just like they ignore the "r" in "Louvre," and when I listen to native French speakers I hear both the "l" and the "r." Not being a French speaker, though, I could be way off the mark!
Princess, the correct French pronunciation does omit the -les and the -r in Louvre. French is a funny language with lots of silent syllables.
nkarma|1361918345|3391186 said:megumic|1361913357|3391107 said:princesss|1361911489|3391063 said:I've always pronounced them "can-uh-pay" and "mis-e-rahbl" - I think there is a tendancy for English speakers to omit the "l" in "miserables" just like they ignore the "r" in "Louvre," and when I listen to native French speakers I hear both the "l" and the "r." Not being a French speaker, though, I could be way off the mark!
Princess, the correct French pronunciation does omit the -les and the -r in Louvre. French is a funny language with lots of silent syllables.
I was actually told by a Parisienne that they do say the r in Louvre. Same thing miserables is pronounced mizerob -le. English speakers just don't hear it well. Hopefully there are some native french speakers on here.
YT|1361949135|3391605 said:I can't think of any words right now but I do know that for the longest time, when I was a child, I said unique like
u-nee-queue. And no one corrected me! I even made a presentation in front of my elementary class and the teacher didn't even correct me. I don't remember how I figured it out... But it was embarrassing.
megumic|1361913357|3391107 said:princesss|1361911489|3391063 said:I've always pronounced them "can-uh-pay" and "mis-e-rahbl" - I think there is a tendancy for English speakers to omit the "l" in "miserables" just like they ignore the "r" in "Louvre," and when I listen to native French speakers I hear both the "l" and the "r." Not being a French speaker, though, I could be way off the mark!
Princess, the correct French pronunciation does omit the -les and the -r in Louvre. French is a funny language with lots of silent syllables.
mayerling|1361960315|3391635 said:megumic|1361913357|3391107 said:princesss|1361911489|3391063 said:I've always pronounced them "can-uh-pay" and "mis-e-rahbl" - I think there is a tendancy for English speakers to omit the "l" in "miserables" just like they ignore the "r" in "Louvre," and when I listen to native French speakers I hear both the "l" and the "r." Not being a French speaker, though, I could be way off the mark!
Princess, the correct French pronunciation does omit the -les and the -r in Louvre. French is a funny language with lots of silent syllables.
I'm not sure I agree. French pronunciation does include the /r/ and actually includes a neutral vowel (what we call a schwa) after it, almost making it into two syllables.
princesss|1361973557|3391688 said:mayerling|1361960315|3391635 said:megumic|1361913357|3391107 said:princesss|1361911489|3391063 said:I've always pronounced them "can-uh-pay" and "mis-e-rahbl" - I think there is a tendancy for English speakers to omit the "l" in "miserables" just like they ignore the "r" in "Louvre," and when I listen to native French speakers I hear both the "l" and the "r." Not being a French speaker, though, I could be way off the mark!
Princess, the correct French pronunciation does omit the -les and the -r in Louvre. French is a funny language with lots of silent syllables.
I'm not sure I agree. French pronunciation does include the /r/ and actually includes a neutral vowel (what we call a schwa) after it, almost making it into two syllables.
Yeah, I mean, I definitely don't hear "Next stop, Loo-ver" with a really pronounced "r" sound when I'm on the Metro in Paris, but I do hear something that resembles "Loo-vruh" where the "ruh" part is quiet and almost swallowed. Same with "miserables" - I hear the very last sound in that word like a swallowed version of the "bl-" in "blow."
mayerling|1361975132|3391708 said:princesss|1361973557|3391688 said:mayerling|1361960315|3391635 said:megumic|1361913357|3391107 said:princesss|1361911489|3391063 said:I've always pronounced them "can-uh-pay" and "mis-e-rahbl" - I think there is a tendancy for English speakers to omit the "l" in "miserables" just like they ignore the "r" in "Louvre," and when I listen to native French speakers I hear both the "l" and the "r." Not being a French speaker, though, I could be way off the mark!
Princess, the correct French pronunciation does omit the -les and the -r in Louvre. French is a funny language with lots of silent syllables.
I'm not sure I agree. French pronunciation does include the /r/ and actually includes a neutral vowel (what we call a schwa) after it, almost making it into two syllables.
Yeah, I mean, I definitely don't hear "Next stop, Loo-ver" with a really pronounced "r" sound when I'm on the Metro in Paris, but I do hear something that resembles "Loo-vruh" where the "ruh" part is quiet and almost swallowed. Same with "miserables" - I hear the very last sound in that word like a swallowed version of the "bl-" in "blow."
Oh yeah, it's definitely not 'Loo-ver', it is more like 'Loo-vruh'. Also, with my professional hat on (I'm a speech scientist), the 'e' in canapé is not pronounced like the vowel in 'pay'. It is pronounced like the vowel in 'bed', 'pet', 'red', 'met', etc. If you say 'met' and 'mate' out lout you'll hear the difference. However, since English doesn't allow the vowel in 'met' to occur without a consonant following it, to most speakers of English words like 'ballet', 'fillet', 'canapé' sound like they have an 'ay' sound in them.
Edit: 'miserables' in French definitely has the 'l' sound, usually followed by a neutral vowel again.