Help Needed pronouncing Skaters Names | Page 2 | Golden Skate

Help Needed pronouncing Skaters Names

Pamigena

Record Breaker
Joined
Feb 17, 2014
Right, Alex. You are a native German speaker (aren't you?)

What IS the correct way of pronouncing "Lutz"?

I am used to hearing the British commentators saying "loots". But, watching these livestreams recently, I have heard the Canadian commentators saying something like "lutch".

So, which way is right? (If any!)

Or, given that Mr Lutz was Austrian, does this open up another can of worms with regards differences between how Germans and Austrians pronounce things...? :eek:

Sorry for taking us away from the names of current skaters, but this was too good an opportunity to miss!

CaroLiza_fan
I haven't been asked the question but if you don't mind me answering ;)
I usually hear English commentators say it like "nuts", but with an L at the beginning. But the U sound is a bit different in German. The audio files of dict.cc are actually quite accurate in this case :) you should easily hear the difference.
I'm admittedly not familiar with every single dialect, but I don't think there would be much difference if someone from Austria said it.
 

Alex D

Record Breaker
Joined
Sep 23, 2013
Right, Alex. You are a native German speaker (aren't you?)

What IS the correct way of pronouncing "Lutz"?

I am used to hearing the British commentators saying "loots". But, watching these livestreams recently, I have heard the Canadian commentators saying something like "lutch".

So, which way is right? (If any!)

Or, given that Mr Lutz was Austrian, does this open up another can of worms with regards differences between how Germans and Austrians pronounce things...? :eek:

Sorry for taking us away from the names of current skaters, but this was too good an opportunity to miss!

CaroLiza_fan

Haha, I am so bad at explaining "pronunciations" by typing it, I prefer just saying it :D

In American "Lutz" is always pronounced as "Látz" I believe, at least that´s how other journalists said it, the example above of "nuts" is indeed a good one, but it always reminds me of how we in Germany say "bib" ;) ... and as you said in British nations something like "loóts", which always reminds me of a toilet.... or treasure that I want to steal... In German we say "Lụtz ", the u is spelled like in the name Luke and tz is like in the word "Zucker" or for you as an Italian Zucchine.

Edit:

Ok you are not from Italy, sorry! *now looks for an Irish word". I think "Princess" should work. the tz is spelled like the c in Princess.
 
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ice coverage

avatar credit: @miyan5605
Record Breaker
Joined
Feb 27, 2012
Don't worry Golden, I'm not going to re-open any of our old debates about pronouncing certain names! ;) :laugh: ...... So I assume that is the way Piper and Alexa's family pronounce it. (Come on, you can't talk about one twin without mentioning the other! ;) )

Although he didn't word it very well, I think Ted Barton had the right idea at the Riga Cup when, at the start of an interview with Icelandic skater Thuridur Bjorg BJORGVINSDOTTIR, he actually asked her how to say her name (Video).

Perhaps if more interviewers would do that it would be helpful. It could even be done in a way that the interviewee wouldn't even realise that finding out how to say their name was the intention. For example, a simple "So, could you introduce yourself to the viewers at home" would do the trick! ...

LOL, I truly had forgotten :hopelessness: our old debates, CL_fan :laugh:.

When video/audio of interviews is being recorded (not being aired live), it is common practice among old-school journalists to ask the interviewee to say and spell her/his name (before the first question is asked).
This preamble to the interview itself obviously is not included in the edited interview that eventually is broadcast. But the point is to have a recording of the correct pronunciation and spelling -- straight from the horse's mouth.

ETA:
Of course, I realize that such a practice does not help viewers like us who want to hear the correct pronunciation for ourselves. But hopefully it helps get the correct pronunciation into the heads of journalists.​

p.s. Minor nitpicking: the name of Piper's twin is Alexe (with an E at the end, not an A). I mention it partly b/c the pronunciation of Alexe is less obvious than Alexa.


The funny thing with Ioulia CHTCHETININA's name is that this whole construction 'CHTCH' is Russian means just one letter 'Щ' (almost like 'sh').

ONE LETTER???!!! That's deadly how the transliteration into Latin characters worked out then!

So, it's just a simple "Shetinina". ...

In case it helps re pronunciation:
A more common transliteration of Щ is "shch."​

(Not saying that the other transliteration is wrong ... again, any person is free to choose her/his own transliteration. But the more common one is a good reflection of the correct pronunciation.)

ETA:

"sh" is the pronunciation of the Cyrillic letter "Ш" -- not to be confused with "Щ."

That said, I can understand why Snow63 said that Щ is "almost like 'sh'" as well.
For example: Плющенко = Plushenko.
 
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sabinfire

Doing the needful
Record Breaker
Joined
Nov 30, 2014
I was hoping that fans/OP owners in fan fests, when they hear a skater pronouncing their own name, might post the link here, and some kind video editor could extract the phrase and upload it, and I could post it to the appropriate OP. After a while we would have a reasonable collection.

Is there a certain format you had in mind for these? Video or strictly audio? If video, would you want a straight cut (no effects), or would a loop be better?

For example:

Adam Rippon #1
Adam Rippon #2 (looped only)
Adam Rippon #3 (plain cut, 0:02)
 

sunnystars

#teamotherskaters
Record Breaker
Joined
Feb 14, 2014
Does anyone know how to say her name:
Thuridur Bjorg BJORGVINSDOTTIR
 

CaroLiza_fan

EZETTIE LATUASV IVAKMHA
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Oct 25, 2012
Country
Northern-Ireland
I haven't been asked the question but if you don't mind me answering
I usually hear English commentators say it like "nuts", but with an L at the beginning. But the U sound is a bit different in German. The audio files of dict.cc are actually quite accurate in this case :) you should easily hear the difference.
I'm admittedly not familiar with every single dialect, but I don't think there would be much difference if someone from Austria said it.

No problem. I just addressed the question thay way as I was pouncing on something Alex D had said.

And thank you for finding those audio files. As Alex D points out, when you are trying to describe how a word is pronounced, it is actually very hard to work out how to spell it! So having the audio versions where you can hear the difference is a god-send!

Haha, I am so bad at explaining "pronunciations" by typing it, I prefer just saying it :D

In American "Lutz" is always pronounced as "Látz" I believe, at least that´s how other journalists said it, the example above of "nuts" is indeed a good one, but it always reminds me of how we in Germany say "bib" ;) ... and as you said in British nations something like "loóts", which always reminds me of a toilet.... or treasure that I want to steal... In German we say "Lụtz ", the u is spelled like in the name Luke and tz is like in the word "Zucker" or for you as an Italian Zucchine.

I have always had an interest in all things German, and choose to do it as one of my GCSE subjects. So, I do have some knowledge about the German language. And that is why I asked, because every time I hear the British pronounciation, I think "to be pronounced like that, you need an umlaut on the u!" So, to me, the North American version actually made more sense.

But, English speakers are very bad in that we normally discard the accents when writing foreign words. So, I wasn't sure if there was originally an umlaut on it or not.

Now you know why I didn't go into this when I originally asked the question! It's getting too technical! :laugh:

Edit:

Ok you are not from Italy, sorry! *now looks for an Irish word". I think "Princess" should work. the tz is spelled like the c in Princess.

Me, Italian?! Well, I can understand where you got that from. Me being such a big fan of Carolina Kostner and Valentino Rossi. And, I just realised that my avatar probably doesn't help! (I am actually dying to go back to my Liza avatar, but I vowed to stick with Carolina until her name is cleared, so that's what I'm doing!)

When video/audio of interviews is being recorded (not being aired live), it is common practice among old-school journalists to ask the interviewee to say and spell her/his name (before the first question is asked).
This preamble to the interview itself obviously is not included in the edited interview that eventually is broadcast. But the point is to have a recording of the correct pronunciation and spelling -- straight from the horse's mouth.

ETA:
Of course, I realize that such a practice does not help viewers like us who want to hear the correct pronunciation for ourselves. But hopefully it helps get the correct pronunciation into the heads of journalists.​

You know, there's a lot to be said for the old ways of doing things! Younger people may see them as old-fashioned, but there is usally a lot of logic behind them.

p.s. Minor nitpicking: the name of Piper's twin is Alexe (with an E at the end, not an A). I mention it partly b/c the pronunciation of Alexe is less obvious than Alexa.

Oh why, oh why, do I always manage to miss spotting typos when I am having a conversation that you are involved with! :hopelessness: I always manage to spot mistakes and get them fixed quickly with everybody else!

(And the irony is, I actually had Alexe's Facebook page open in another window at the same time, as talking about her got me curious to see what she had been up to lately!)

Does anyone know how to say her name:
Thuridur Bjorg BJORGVINSDOTTIR

Well, she said it herself in the link I provided in my first post in this thread. Although, she said it so fast that it is hard for us foreigners to make it out...

Incidentally, it is nice to see that Thuridir's family are keeping strictly to the Scandinavian naming customs. I always find it a bit surreal when I come across a Scandinavian girl whose surname has the male suffix "-son" rather than the female suffix "-dottir".

But that is another topic completely!

CaroLiza_fan
 

sunnystars

#teamotherskaters
Record Breaker
Joined
Feb 14, 2014
oops I guess I didn't check properly in this thread
thanks CL_fan
gosh even hearing from her, I can't say it properly
 

dorispulaski

Wicked Yankee Girl
Joined
Jul 26, 2003
Country
United-States
Is there a certain format you had in mind for these? Video or strictly audio? If video, would you want a straight cut (no effects), or would a loop be better?

For example:

Adam Rippon #1
Adam Rippon #2 (looped only)
Adam Rippon #3 (plain cut, 0:02)

Number 3 works for me. The user can always hit replay to get a repeat. Video is great, because it is helpful to associate the face with the name. (Off to install Adam's name in his thread)

Plus IMO it is rather cool to open a fan fest with a video of the subject saying, "Hi, my name is ________." :) Kind of a video selfie.
 
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ice coverage

avatar credit: @miyan5605
Record Breaker
Joined
Feb 27, 2012
Is there a certain format you had in mind for these? Video or strictly audio? If video, would you want a straight cut (no effects), or would a loop be better?

For example:

Adam Rippon #1
Adam Rippon #2 (looped only)
Adam Rippon #3 (plain cut, 0:02)

Number 3 works for me. The user can always hit replay to get a repeat. Video is great, because it is helpful to associate the face with the name. (Off to install Adam's name in his thread)

Plus IMO it is rather cool to open a fan fest with a video of the subject saying, "Hi, my name is ________." :) Kind of a video selfie.

Thx to sabinfire :bow: for stepping right up to fulfill the vision of Dar' iss Paul line´ ah :).

Suggestion:

I would love for the "video selfie" to have an attached notation of the (approximate) date when the original source video was recorded (if known).
I mean just the briefest of notations entered into the description box on the YT page. Not a chyron edited into the video itself.

Taking Adam as an example, I can imagine someone clicking on the video selfie and thinking, "He looks sooo different now ... I'm curious how far back he made this video."
I realize that it cannot always be known when the original video was recorded -- because it is possible that the video was not originally published until long after it was recorded.
In Adam's case, he refers to the passage of almost a year since the tsunami in Japan, so "circa 2012" would be a valid conclusion.

Of course, it is oh-so-easy for me to make a suggestion -- when I am not the one doing the work of making the video selfies.
So no pressure. It is only a suggestion.​


... Oh why, oh why, do I always manage to miss spotting typos when I am having a conversation that you are involved with! :hopelessness: I always manage to spot mistakes and get them fixed quickly with everybody else!

(And the irony is, I actually had Alexe's Facebook page open in another window at the same time, as talking about her got me curious to see what she had been up to lately!) ...

I hope you know that I saw no shame in writing Alexa vs. Alexe.

If the discrepancy had been btwn Anna vs. Anne, I prob. wouldn't have mentioned it.

But IMO, Alexe is a far less common name than Alexa. In fact, I think Alexe Gilles is the only Alexe I have ever heard of.
So I wouldn't have blamed anyone for true confusion over the spelling of her name (although I now know that for you, it was just a typo).

And when I first came across Alexe's name (in print) way back when, I remember wondering how it should be pronounced.
I have never heard her say it herself, but I have heard Tom Z and Max pronounce it as Ah-lex-ee, so I think that it is correct. But I am not 100% sure -- so she is a good example of someone from/for whom a pronunciation video would be very helpful (although I don't think she has a fan thread).
 
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Snow63

Pray one day we'll open our eyes.
Record Breaker
Joined
Mar 26, 2014
I always use the 'sch' when transliterate the Russian letter 'Щ'. I think it's the closest version to Russian pronunciation.
 

Alex D

Record Breaker
Joined
Sep 23, 2013
I always use the 'sch' when transliterate the Russian letter 'Щ'. I think it's the closest version to Russian pronunciation.

Yap, this should be the right way to do it, at least based on my teacher in school. :D I actually find Russian to be a pretty easy to learn and to spell, language, but I lack the words to really put it to good use in an article. A quick question or chat yes, but more than that and its game over for me.

I always admire people who speak it fluently, as you can get quite far with it - many people in this world will speak it, many more than German for instance.

As for the topic,

I probably overcomplicated things a bit at first ;), so we only look for small videos then, not a big one with all names spelled out? Ya, that's indeed much easier to do ^^ In future, when I make interviews I will ask all the skaters to pronounce their name first, we can then use those files. We wont have a visual thing then, but an audio and I guess this should do it too, huh?
 

ice coverage

avatar credit: @miyan5605
Record Breaker
Joined
Feb 27, 2012
I always use the 'sch' when transliterate the Russian letter 'Щ'. I think it's the closest version to Russian pronunciation.

Yap, this should be the right way to do it, at least based on my teacher in school. :D ...

Очень интересно.

Agree to disagree. "Shch" is what I was taught in Russia by native speakers.
 

Alex D

Record Breaker
Joined
Sep 23, 2013
Очень интересно.

Agree to disagree. "Shch" is what I was taught in Russia by native speakers.

Hehe ya,

it is interesting isn't it? My teacher was not a Russian native though, but she traveled there a lot.

Я не знаю :laugh2:
 

Snow63

Pray one day we'll open our eyes.
Record Breaker
Joined
Mar 26, 2014
Очень интересно.

Agree to disagree. "Shch" is what I was taught in Russia by native speakers.
I'm a native speaker too, by the way. Born in Russia and live here since, so :)
 
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ice coverage

avatar credit: @miyan5605
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Feb 27, 2012
I'm a native speaker too, by the way. Born in Russia and live here since, so :)

Yes, I assumed that you are -- even before you said that you are.

That is why I am not arguing -- instead agree to disagree :).
 
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Snow63

Pray one day we'll open our eyes.
Record Breaker
Joined
Mar 26, 2014
I actually find Russian to be a pretty easy to learn and to spell, language, but I lack the words to really put it to good use in an article. A quick question or chat yes, but more than that and its game over for me.
Russian is one of the most complicated languages in the world.
 

Snow63

Pray one day we'll open our eyes.
Record Breaker
Joined
Mar 26, 2014
Yes, I assumed that you are -- even before you said that you are.

That is why I am not arguing -- instead agree to disagree :).

Okay. Let's agree to disagree. Both versions are acceptable anyway.
Didn't know I'm that obvious. :)
 

dorispulaski

Wicked Yankee Girl
Joined
Jul 26, 2003
Country
United-States
I wonder. Is spelling in Russian phonetic? Or is it as completely unpredictable and crazy-making as English spelling?
 
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