(no subject)

[politicking.livejournal.com]

pronunciations of... Genevieve & Guinevere?

Comments

[politicking.livejournal.com]

i was curious because i've always heard it as gen-ah-veeve. but then on Project Runway Canada, the girl Mary Genevieve has had it pronounced both zhawn-vee-ehv & more like gen-vee-ehv. i'm sure she actually says it as the first (zhawn-vee-ehv), though.

[americandiva.livejournal.com]

Genevieve - Jen-ah-vieve

Guinevere - Gwen-ah-vere

at least that is how i pn them lol

[christhiane.livejournal.com]

My teacher who speaks French pronounced Genevieve 'shean-vee-ev,' with a voiced sh.

[0o-faerie.livejournal.com]

I'd say Jen-a-veev & Gwin-a-vere.
And in Dutch I'd pronounce Genevieve very differently but I don't think that's what you're getting at here ;)

[freezemyazaleas.livejournal.com]

JENN-uh-veev.

GWIN-uh-veer.

[th3-unicorn.livejournal.com]

Geneviève: the correct pronounciation in French is Je-ne-VEE-eh-v, where the first two syllables have a closed sound, like the vowel in the word 'search'.
It's absolutely not J-AWN-vee-ehv, nor J-AWN-vee-v

Guinevere: I could never figure it out :P

[lneef.livejournal.com]

You're right about it being properly Je-ne-vee-ehv... (where the j is pronounced zh) but in speaking French, most would slur it to Jehn-vee-ehv or even Jawn-vee-ehv.

[th3-unicorn.livejournal.com]

they would slur it to a very quick j-n sound, but they could never sound it as Jawn as if they were reading -en- as a diphthong, because the 'e' and 'n' belong to different syllables. Although in the end, to our ear, it would sound almost like that sound.

[th3-unicorn.livejournal.com]

p.s. I'm saying this because I've heard people (my mom for one) emphasyzing the -en- (awn) sound in attempt to make it properly french :P I guess it's because it's a characteristic sound in their language :P
but I'm annoyed by my own pedantry, so I'll stop :P

[lneef.livejournal.com]

Although in the end, to our ear, it would sound almost like that sound.

Yes, that's what I was getting at.

[anapology.livejournal.com]

I prefer Gen-uh-veeve to Gen-vee-ev

[sailorneptune.livejournal.com]

I like that people are posting the French pronunciation of a French name ^_^
(I'm French-Canadian and have a 100% French name)

But yeah, it's Jeuhn-vee-ev. ...but it's hard to type out the beginning of the name.
Phonetics, anyone?

[omfg----hxc.livejournal.com]

Jen-ah-veev
Gwen-ah-veer.

[tryyingtoevolve.livejournal.com]

I pronounce Genevieve as either Jen-a-veeve (American) or Jean-vee-ev [Jean like the French male name Jean] (French) depending on the circumstances. The American pr. tends to be my default since I know two girls named that who pronounce it that way, but I prefer the French way.

Guinevere I say Gwen-a-veere.

[omgzits--tam.livejournal.com]

Jhen-vee-ev.
I really can't type out the pronunciation of the first syllable, sorry.

And,
Gwen-ah-veer.

[dustkitty.livejournal.com]

Guinevere can be pronounced (and spelled) several ways. GWEN-ah-veer, GWIN-ah-veer, GWEN-ah-feer, or GWIN-ah-feer, usually. It's less often pronounced with a soft G, making it similar to Jennifer.

[straight-outta.livejournal.com]

(Jean, said as though you would for a French 'Jean,' like Zhawn)Jean-Vee-evv and gwen-ih-vayr

[hotchpot.livejournal.com]

Genevieve: either JEN-a-veev or jon-vee-EV
Guinevere: GWEN-a-veer

[soulsplinter8.livejournal.com]

I say Genevieve "GEN-ih-veev" (with a soft g, almost z-like).
I would say Guinevere either like "GWEN-ih-veer" or "GWYN-eh-veer".

[turn-it-upp.livejournal.com]

i rather like the french pronciaion of genevieve: jon-vi-ev, however, i dont know what counry you are from, but in the united states it would seem silly and pompous to impose that everyone pronounciate it like that insead of the american pronouciaion: jin-eh-veev.

i love guinevere! gwen-eh-veer.

[turn-it-upp.livejournal.com]

*country