Pronunciations

So there's a more than a few shaving products I have no idea how to pronounce.. I invite other people to add things to this list, and If anyone knows any of these pronunciations, please help out.

Speick - pronounced speak? spike? Speck?

Tabac - Tah-back? Tah-bach?

Erasmic - Erazmick? Erase-mick?

I'm sure I'll think of more, but these are good starters..

Shpike
Tah-bach

TheRuckus13 said:

Shpike
Tah-bach

Click to expand...

I knew I should have payed attention in German class in school..

"Erazmick"

"eerish moess" (or thereabouts)

eric.huntley said:

I knew I should have payed attention in German class in school..

Click to expand...

Haha, tell me about it man. The only reason why I know this is because I just asked about three days ago

eric.huntley said:

Tabac - Tah-back? Tah-bach?

Click to expand...

Go here: http://www.tabac-original.de/zeitreise.php and listen to one of the German Tabac Original TV spots. ("TV spot" in German = Fernsehspot.)

thats totally unamerican of you to want to know the correct pronunciation of foreign words. just give it your best approximation and if that's not correct, just say it louder!


marty

htownmmm said:

thats totally unamerican of you to want to know the correct pronunciation of foreign words. just give it your best approximation and if that's not correct, just say it louder!

Click to expand...

That seems about right... *ahem* sorry... THAT SEEMS ABOUT RIGHT!!!!!!

Thanks for sharing the link to the ads and commercials. Very cool.

htownmmm said:

thats totally unamerican of you to want to know the correct pronunciation of foreign words. just give it your best approximation and if that's not correct, just say it louder!

Click to expand...

I was queued up to pay to go into Versailles and there was an elderly couple in front of me - I had them marked out as Americans since he had the most ill-disguised toupee and a rather "striking" checked jacket (he was about 300lbs and there were a total of 6 checks on his entire back).

Anyway, they got to the ticket window, and he turns to his wife and says to her "ask him for entry for 2 adults". At this point I'm expecting her to ask in french with us being in France. "TWO............. ADULTS....... PLEASE". The guy in the kiosk replied in perfect English, and her husband says "ask him for a guidebook" "CAN........ WE....... HAVE......".

I nearly died laughing.

When I moved to Japan (the first time) I was out for dinner with a group of friends. A little Japanese lady approached us to take our order. She rattled something off lightening fast in Nihongo (Japanese) and we all looked at each other like oh crap, what now.

The little old lady repeated what she said the first time about 5x as loud.

My buddy’s wife immediately burst into laughter (which I suspect pissed off the Japanese lady). We all gave her dirty looks and asked what was so funny, she laughed again and said, "We are the foreigners".

Well duh, but it was funny to be on the other end of this common communication error!

How about Muhle? How do you say that one?

Like "mule"
or like mu-eh-le?

huntmol said:

How about Muhle? How do you say that one?

Like "mule"
or like mu-eh-le?

Click to expand...

I've wondered about that one, too. While we're at it: Thiers Issard...(?)...

eric.huntley said:

So there's a more than a few shaving products I have no idea how to pronounce.. I invite other people to add things to this list, and If anyone knows any of these pronunciations, please help out.

Speick - pronounced speak? spike? Speck?

Tabac - Tah-back? Tah-bach?

Erasmic - Erazmick? Erase-mick?

I'm sure I'll think of more, but these are good starters..

Click to expand...

"Tabac" is the French spelling of tobacco, so it'd be pronounced "tah-bah"

Bluestaco said:

While we're at it: Thiers Issard...(?)...

Click to expand...

That name can only be spoken correctly out of the side of a cigarette laden mouth. It's a fact.

huntmol said:

How about Muhle? How do you say that one?

Like "mule"
or like mu-eh-le?

Click to expand...

It's Mühle, not Muhle in German, these two dots are called an 'umlaut'. The word Mühle should be pronounced as MUUhle. Since the English language does not know the umlaut, many German words are written with an 'e' to replace the umlaut. So to be correct, Mühle is the right German spelling, Muehle is the right spelling for languages that do not know the umlaut, the right pronunciation is MUUhle.

My name also contains an umlaut, in letters and emails to Dutch or German speaking people, I always write 'Jürgen' which is the 'official' spelling of my name that is also in my birth certificate and passports. Whenever I communicate in English, I always write it as 'Juergen'.

Jürgen aka Juergen

Howard Newell said:

"Tabac" is the French spelling of tobacco, so it'd be pronounced "tah-bah"

Click to expand...

Strictly speaking, that is correct. However, it is a very German Brand so it could be argued you have to use a German pronounciation of this French word.
So I'd still say 'Taa-bach'.

Stauff said:

Strictly speaking, that is correct. However, it is a very German Brand so it could be argued you have to use a German pronounciation of this French word.
So I'd still say 'Taa-bach'.

Click to expand...

Ummm...But you're a walloon, so you pallatalize everything.
There's no "ch", so it's a hard "k", like "taa-baack".

(Sorry, MA in German Linguistics coming through there...)

JimR said:

Ummm...But you're a walloon, so you pallatalize everything.
There's no "ch", so it's a hard "k", like "taa-baack".

(Sorry, MA in German Linguistics coming through there...)

Click to expand...

Pardon me, but I'm very much Flemish (aka Dutch-speaker). pretty sensitive issue here in the Low Countries... (unless you were joking, in which case: )

I am indeed a humble, barely educated Dutch speaker without a degree in linguistics trying to explain the German pronounciation of a French word to an English speaking crowd .
I probabely got the phonetics wrong, just trying to avoid the sound of 'back' as in 'I have a sore back'. So yeah, I agree: 'baack' it is.