You are viewing an archived version of the site which is no longer maintained.
Go to the current live site or the Adventure Gamers forums
Adventure Gamers

Home Adventure Forums Misc. Chit Chat Pronouncing Scandinavian Names


 
 
LinkBack Thread Tools
Old 02-26-2007, 09:47 AM   #1
Explode the Universe!
 
SnorkleCat's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: USA
Posts: 586
Send a message via MSN to SnorkleCat Send a message via Yahoo to SnorkleCat
Default Pronouncing Scandinavian Names

Hi all...I need a couple of pointers on how to correctly pronounce the names of some Scandinavian composers and musicians. Perhaps write them to rhyme with English words?

Norwegian composer: Geirr Tveitt

Finnish Composer: Taneli Kuusisto

Finnish Composer: Leevi Madetoja

Swedish Composer: Gunnar de Frumerie

Swedish Composer: Ture Rangstrom (with dots over the O)

Thanks in advance! I hate butchering people's names, especially on the radio.
SnorkleCat is offline  
Old 02-26-2007, 10:33 AM   #2
DAVE
 
Catbert's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: Portugal
Posts: 1,326
Default

Just make fun of their names. It works if you can't read them.
__________________
IS THAT DAVE?
Catbert is offline  
Old 02-26-2007, 10:36 AM   #3
The Greater
 
Giligan's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: Kentucky
Posts: 6,541
Send a message via AIM to Giligan
Default

Quote:
Swedish Composer: Gunnar de Frumerie
That reiminds me, every time Gunnar Harboe posts an article, I'm always sent into a state of wondering at how you pronoune it. Is it "Gunn-er?" "Gunn-ar?" "Goo-nar?"
__________________
Success is going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm.
-Cliff Bleszinski
Giligan is offline  
Old 02-26-2007, 10:37 AM   #4
Lazy Bee
 
Jelena's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Sweden
Posts: 7,518
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by SnorkleCat View Post
Hi all...I need a couple of pointers on how to correctly pronounce the names of some Scandinavian composers and musicians. Perhaps write them to rhyme with English words?

Norwegian composer: Geirr Tveitt

Finnish Composer: Taneli Kuusisto

Finnish Composer: Leevi Madetoja

Swedish Composer: Gunnar de Frumerie

Swedish Composer: Ture Rangstrom (with dots over the O)

Thanks in advance! I hate butchering people's names, especially on the radio.
My previous attempts of explaining Swedish pronunciations here on the forum have been quite a disaster, but I'll give it a try.

Gunnar: [guh-naar]
de Frumerie: looks Frech to me. Go with their pronunciation.

Ture: [tuh-reh]
Rangström: [raang] is a good start. The ö sounds somewhat like the e in service. I think 3: is the phonetic spelling. So
[raangstr3:m] will do fine.

I know some of our sounds are tricky for you but I don't think you'll butcher anything. Nice though that you're interested in givining it a try.
__________________
Temporary guest in your life
Jelena is offline  
Old 02-26-2007, 10:38 AM   #5
Lazy Bee
 
Jelena's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Sweden
Posts: 7,518
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Giligan View Post
That reiminds me, every time Gunnar Harboe posts an article, I'm always sent into a state of wondering at how you pronoune it. Is it "Gunn-er?" "Gunn-ar?" "Goo-nar?"
It's Gunn-ar.
__________________
Temporary guest in your life
Jelena is offline  
Old 02-26-2007, 12:53 PM   #6
Super Moderator
 
Melanie68's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: Ohio
Posts: 8,907
Default

I just can't help myself... (forgive me Snorkle)


"Yorn desh born, der ritt de gitt der gue, Orn desh, dee born desh, de umn børk! børk! børk!"
Melanie68 is offline  
Old 02-26-2007, 01:26 PM   #7
Game Creator Hobbyist
 
Trumgottist's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: Stockholm (or Gotland)
Posts: 2,609
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Jelena View Post
My previous attempts of explaining Swedish pronunciations here on the forum have been quite a disaster, but I'll give it a try.
And it seems like a good attempt, too, but I recorded myself saying the names anyway. Like you, I'm not sure of how de Frumerie should be pronounced. I've always just pronounced his name the way it looks, but have no idea how he said it himself.

My recording is here: http://trumgottist.com/tmp/names.mp3
__________________
Play my game: Frasse and the Peas of Kejick. The Special Edition is now available! (Mac OS X or Windows.)
Trumgottist is offline  
Old 02-26-2007, 01:31 PM   #8
Lazy Bee
 
Jelena's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Sweden
Posts: 7,518
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Trumgottist View Post
And it seems like a good attempt, too, but I recorded myself saying the names anyway. Like you, I'm not sure of how de Frumerie should be pronounced. I've always just pronounced his name the way it looks, but have no idea how he said it himself.

My recording is here: http://trumgottist.com/tmp/names.mp3
Excellent idea Trumgottist!

Being kind of geeky when it comes to accents I find it intriguing the way you pronounce Rangström. One could assume you are from the north of Sweden and not from Gotland.
__________________
Temporary guest in your life
Jelena is offline  
Old 02-26-2007, 07:15 PM   #9
Senior Member
 
lumi's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: Washington, USA
Posts: 2,120
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by SnorkleCat View Post
Finnish Composer: Taneli Kuusisto

Finnish Composer: Leevi Madetoja
Finnish can sometimes sound like Japanese words, but said slower. That might give you a starting point. Another point to make is that there's only one way to pronounce things. I'll see it phonetically mixing english words.

Taneli: say "done" but with a soft t for the d, and then add "Ellie"
Kuusisto: "Coo" but with a soft k + "sis" + "to(w)" but with a soft t and no w.

Leevi: "Le(t)" but extend the e sound + "vi(ola)
Madetoja: start with a "mud" and quickly add an "eh", the a "to(w)" like above, and then a "ya(rn).
lumi is offline  
Old 02-26-2007, 09:13 PM   #10
Elegantly copy+pasted
 
After a brisk nap's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2005
Posts: 1,773
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by SnorkleCat View Post
Hi all...I need a couple of pointers on how to correctly pronounce the names of some Scandinavian composers and musicians. Perhaps write them to rhyme with English words?

Norwegian composer: Geirr Tveitt

Finnish Composer: Taneli Kuusisto

Finnish Composer: Leevi Madetoja

Swedish Composer: Gunnar de Frumerie

Swedish Composer: Ture Rangstrom (with dots over the O)

Thanks in advance! I hate butchering people's names, especially on the radio.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Giligan View Post
That reiminds me, every time Gunnar Harboe posts an article, I'm always sent into a state of wondering at how you pronoune it. Is it "Gunn-er?" "Gunn-ar?" "Goo-nar?"
Unfortunately there's no way to pronounce it "correctly" in English, because the Scandinavian languages use different sounds that don't exist in English. I tend to say "GUNNer" with the E tending slightly towards an A, but I have friends who use "gooNAAR", and I'm fine with either.

In comment on Trumgottist's audio clip, the pitch pattern would be slightly different in Norwegian, and the U would be less like a short "oo" and a bit more like the French "une".

As for "Geirr Tveitt", the "ei" diphthong falls somewhere between "Gyre Tvyte" and "Gayr Tvayt". Norwegian dialects differ somewhat on this point, but in Oslo it's pronounced "æi", as the vowel in "bad" followed by an I. In some southern English dialects (cockney?) you would hear a very similar diphthong in "bathe".
__________________
Please excuse me. I've got to see a man about a dog.
After a brisk nap is offline  
Old 02-26-2007, 10:35 PM   #11
Explode the Universe!
 
SnorkleCat's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: USA
Posts: 586
Send a message via MSN to SnorkleCat Send a message via Yahoo to SnorkleCat
Default

Thanks so much all of you.

I am putting together an all Scandinavian program for these folks for March 6

...and I'd rather not sound like the Swedish Chef...; )

Last edited by SnorkleCat; 02-26-2007 at 11:08 PM.
SnorkleCat is offline  
Old 02-27-2007, 07:42 PM   #12
Senior Member
 
lumi's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: Washington, USA
Posts: 2,120
Default

I made an audio file of the Finnish names. There doesn't seem to be as many Finnish posters here as there used to be, but hopefully one of them can correct me if I did something wrong.
Attached Files
File Type: zip finnish.zip (66.5 KB, 144 views)
lumi is offline  
Old 02-27-2007, 08:25 PM   #13
female animal lover
 
Panthera's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Norway
Posts: 1,480
Send a message via MSN to Panthera
Default

Thanks for explaining the Norwegian name Aabn. I didn't have a clue how to describe how it's pronounced, and I don't like to record my voice.. It's so difficult to describe how you pronounce the "æ" sound, since we're almost the only ones who use it..

and I have never seen anybody called Geir with two rr's.. strange..
__________________
Pennies are never the healthy end, risk all!
The Panthera Effect
If you can't beat Panthera, join Panthera..

My sporadically updated blogs:
Animation enthusiast, Sci-fi enthusiast and Snark, pedantry and random geekery
Panthera is offline  
Old 02-28-2007, 04:35 AM   #14
Doctor Watson
 
Wormsie's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: The Catacombs
Posts: 4,736
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Spider Crusoe View Post
I made an audio file of the Finnish names. There doesn't seem to be as many Finnish posters here as there used to be, but hopefully one of them can correct me if I did something wrong.
Ooh, I'll get onto it straight away.

A very basic thing to remember, though, is that Finnish is a totally different language from Swedish and Norwegian, so knowing either of those is of no help, unfortunately. Except that many Finns have Swedish surnames - but those are often pronounced in a more Finnish way (pronoun)

EDIT: Quite a good pronounciation, especially of the word Madetoja.
__________________
Don't worry, I'm a doctor.
Wormsie is offline  
Old 02-28-2007, 06:22 AM   #15
The Reggienator
 
Kolzig's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: Vaasa, Finland
Posts: 5,519
Send a message via ICQ to Kolzig Send a message via MSN to Kolzig
Default

Yeah, Spider Crusoe did a good job at pronouncing the names correctly.
__________________
"The old standby, that never got old in the first place. We come back to them weekly, nightly, for hours at a time--and they always deliver. They are pure, timeless, and often taken for granted." - Nick Breckon - Shacknews

My gamesale list *updated 26.8.2007*
Hey, dear people please buy my games, I need money to conquer Europe! Or do something similar.
Kolzig is offline  
Old 02-28-2007, 07:39 AM   #16
Explode the Universe!
 
SnorkleCat's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: USA
Posts: 586
Send a message via MSN to SnorkleCat Send a message via Yahoo to SnorkleCat
Default

Interesting how the Finnish names seem to require stress on the first syllable...that's a bit unusual. I see what you mean about the speech pattern being reminiscent of Japanese.
The Swedish names seem to be much more sing-songy...less choppy.
SnorkleCat is offline  
Old 03-03-2007, 06:08 PM   #17
Game Creator Hobbyist
 
Trumgottist's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: Stockholm (or Gotland)
Posts: 2,609
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by SnorkleCat View Post
The Swedish names seem to be much more sing-songy...less choppy.
People often say that about Swedish.
__________________
Play my game: Frasse and the Peas of Kejick. The Special Edition is now available! (Mac OS X or Windows.)
Trumgottist is offline  
Old 03-04-2007, 07:31 AM   #18
Fop
Epsilon-Minus Semi-Moron
 
Fop's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Oulu, Finland
Posts: 863
Default

All Finnish words have stress on the first syllable. Spider Crusoe's pronounciation was fine, although it did sound a bit foreign.
__________________
If there's one thing you can say
About Mankind
There's nothing kind about man
Fop is offline  
Old 03-08-2007, 08:49 AM   #19
Doctor Watson
 
Wormsie's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: The Catacombs
Posts: 4,736
Default

Finnish can be one of the most monotonous languages there is. Then again, some say the wovels are beautiful - "alavilla mailla hallanvaara" and so on.
__________________
Don't worry, I'm a doctor.
Wormsie is offline  
Old 03-09-2007, 03:05 AM   #20
Senior Member
 
aries323's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: Denmark, Europe
Posts: 577
Default

Although I'm Danish and so also Scandinavian (sort of), I too, has a hard time, (sometimes ) pronouncing Norwegian & Swedish names. This has to do with the fact the Swedish & Norwegian have some sounds that is totally different from the sounds in Danish. [And where the Danish word for doctor would be 'læge', the Swedish word would be 'läke', meaning that you get a 'harder' k sound than the more soft g sound in Danish].

When I went to university I had to take Swedish and Norwegian since I studied Nordic Litterature (Danish). I didn'y think much of tit except that Norwegian has a sort of ch sound (I think) like in Lasse Kjus and Swedish has the the sound in 'sju' (seven) which the Danes simply can't say - and this amuses the Swedish people very much

On the other hand, most Norwegians and Swedish people can't say
*rødgrød med fløde*. (it sort of strawberry mash with fresh cream).
Not because they can't, but because this sentence simply have to
many soft sound in them. The d in fløde and rød is soft like the english 'th' .

This is exactly why the Swedish is somewhat easier to learn as a foreigner
than the Danish language is.

Last edited by aries323; 03-09-2007 at 03:05 AM. Reason: spelling
aries323 is offline  
 




 


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.11
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions Inc.