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Re: Latin and commemorative names #2a :)

At 11.24 02/01/98 -0800,R. Beer <bbeer@u.washington.edu you wrote:
>I think we have a problem with phonetic systems here. :)  

i see,

>An english speaker, seeing "gn" will pronounce the "g" as a hard "g," as
>in "get".  Hence "mag-nolia."
>
>French treats "gn" as a diphthong, as you say - the nearest *english*
>spelling of this is "ny".  As in "vignette".  To write that in English so
>that a person who doesn't know french pronunciation will approximate it,
>you'd have to write "vinyet".  (Whether it is "vi-nyet" or "vin-yet" to an
>english speaker is only an academic difference.) 
>
>So saying "Mag-nol" as an american pronounces "Magnolia" would be like
>pronouncing the Italian word "gnocchi" as "g'noki".  But English speakers,
>American and British, say mag-nolia, and not ma-gn(ny)olia.  It's wrong
>according to French pronunciation, but according to Latin, it's fine.

you can be right if you relate this pronunciation to English speakers,but not
to latin,please,Magnolia like Magnus has in latin the same pronunciation;-).
in latin the "g" is soft as in italian,i recognize your difficult to pronounce
and write this diphthong;in french on the contrary the Champagne's bottle
Magnum pronounces differently with a "g" hard "Mag-nom" "um" in french
pronounces "om" like rhum(pronounces "rom"):but the names Magnol or Pagnol
pronounce with the "g" soft as in Latin or Italian ;remember,latin is
mother-tongue of French,Italian,Spanish etc..so said latin tongues.

>Bob
>
>
>
>On Fri, 2 Jan 1998, R. Beer wrote:
>
>> On Fri, 2 Jan 1998, marco favero wrote:
>> 
>> > i'm sorry to say you that in French(which i speak fluently)Magnolia
pronounces
>> > Ma-gnolia and not Mon-Yolia;
>> 
>> This is my point.
>> 
>> if you ask someone in French who was Monsieur 
>> > Mon-Yol,he cannot understand you,this is a wrong english pronunciation:-).
>> > obviously you don't know the right pronunciation of difthong -GN-.
>> > regards.
>> 
>> So you pronounce Magnol "Mag-Nol" in french?

i pronounce with a "g" soft like "Ma-nyol" but not just so.

hope this helps.

marco
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