How do you pronounce the last name of Emmanuel Levinas? [more inside]
posted by AngerBoy on May 22, 2009 - 10 answers

The 'w' in 'Keswick' is silent. So is the 'w' in 'Southwark'. And the 'h' in 'Pakenham'. Is there a name for this and is there a rule to apply it? [more inside]
posted by awfurby on Feb 24, 2009 - 36 answers

How do you pronounce "Le coeur a ses raisons, que la raison ne connaît point?" [more inside]
posted by disillusioned on Nov 19, 2008 - 24 answers

I'm looking for historical examples of shibboleths used in electoral politics. Got any examples? [more inside]
posted by dkg on Oct 10, 2008 - 6 answers

Is there any native speaker of English reading this for whom "broth" is pronounced the same in the words broth and brothel ? No joke. They aren't the same in my dialect, but maybe in yours?
posted by cogneuro on Sep 26, 2008 - 82 answers

How is fureai pronounced?
posted by coizero on Sep 10, 2008 - 11 answers

What's the excruciatingly correct pronunciation of Berlin-based academic publisher Walter de Gruyter? [w] or [v]? What about their subsidiary, Mouton de Gruyter? Bonus points for IPA.
posted by ormondsacker on Aug 4, 2008 - 10 answers

I'm looking for words which can have different meanings, depending on how they are pronounced. [more inside]
posted by booksprite on Jun 2, 2008 - 25 answers

How do you pronounce the word 'read' when used in the following context? -- 'John is dry (read: boring).' /rɛd/ or /rid/ Thanks!
posted by gman on May 29, 2008 - 122 answers

I have a desperate need to gain some basic command over Sanskrit terms written in the English alphabet (i.e. with the diacritical marks). Can someone point me to a no-nonsense pronunciation guide, as I am having difficulty finding one that doesn't assume preexisting linguistics knowledge.
posted by aletheia on Mar 22, 2008 - 3 answers

How best can a teacher address an ESL student's lisp or other speech impediments? [more inside]
posted by msbrauer on Oct 23, 2007 - 5 answers

AccentFilter: What makes a New England accent recognizable? [more inside]
posted by gregb1007 on Sep 1, 2007 - 22 answers

I'm looking for a good Czech pronunciation guide. [more inside]
posted by vernondalhart on May 17, 2007 - 4 answers

A question about languages. [more inside]
posted by TiredStarling on Apr 16, 2007 - 58 answers

How do you pronounce the last name Vafai? I think that it is Iranian.
posted by ND¢ on Feb 12, 2007 - 8 answers

I know some people who just can’t seem to get the hang of correctly pronouncing uncommon words, no matter how many times they hear the correct way. These are intelligent, educated people, and at least one is an avid reader, but for some reason they constantly, repeatedly, stumble over certain words. Is there a name for this? [more inside]
posted by mauglir on Jan 29, 2007 - 72 answers

I am called upon, with short notice, to deliver the Address to a Haggis. I know the words, but I want to make it sound as good as possible; can you point me to a pronunciation guide or - better - a credible recording?
posted by Wolfdog on Jan 26, 2007 - 5 answers

Need help pronouncing some Cantonese (preferably audio) [more inside]
posted by beammeup4 on Sep 5, 2006 - 10 answers

I have three (linked) questions: According to this page, On the Road was adapted to radio for France Culture. I'd like to get my hands on a recording of this. I looked for a while, but Radio France doesn't seem to provide a way to buy radio shows on disc, and it looks like it was only aired once. [more inside]
posted by devilsbrigade on Feb 28, 2006 - 3 answers

GermanLanguageFilter/TheologyFilter. What is the correct pronunciation of the American theologian Reinhold Niebuhr's name? Definitive opinions sought. [more inside]
posted by foxy_hedgehog on Feb 26, 2006 - 10 answers

Speakin' Rightwise, I am talking funny lately. Anyone else? [more inside]
posted by mrs.pants on Jul 15, 2005 - 22 answers

A friend of ours reads Us Weekly (tabloid news magazine). That's not the problem, I like me some celebrity gossip as well. However, she pronounces it "You Ess Weekly" (ike U.S. News and World Report) vs "Us Weekly" (which I would assume from the spelling/punctuation). I figured this was an aberration, until I heard someone on TV using the same pronunciation. So - how is it actually pronounced? I'd like to keep laughing on the inside when she says it. Bonus points if you can tell me how to google for this - I'm stumped.
posted by true on Feb 9, 2005 - 23 answers

I'm sure I'm mangling the pronunciation, and I'm sure I misheard a few syllables, but last night while waiting for a bus in Brooklyn, a man came up to me and more than once said something that sounded like "Sheh-deh-mah-shen-see." Does it mean anything?
Some clues: He was polish, also spoke -- in english -- about having just gotten out of a hospital, about how he was crazy, about how his wife was in poland, not america, about how he hadn't eaten, about how he was crazy, about "oh my god" (x3). I gave him some food and a cigarette: he walked a few paces away, looked up at the windows of a second-floor gym, laughed, and did a little dance that mimicked the man on the treadmill. Oh, and he kept apologizing: "I'm so sorry. I so crazy. Oh my God." (x3). Any ideas? I hope to see him again, and I hope to be able to reply appropriately.
posted by nobody on Feb 8, 2005 - 15 answers

Pronunciation/Definition Filter: The "word" merc. (+) [more inside]
posted by mygothlaundry on Dec 17, 2004 - 21 answers

How do you pronounce the German name Mies, as in Mies van der Rohe? Does it rhyme with keys?
posted by strangeleftydoublethink on Sep 24, 2004 - 13 answers