Pronunciation Guide

jbc217 · Dec 4, 2004

OK, I might be totally alone on this one, but on more than one occasion now, I have mispronounced the name of a high-end desginer and had to suffer the embarrassment of a correction.

Examples:

Kiton: I said "KITE-un" but was told it is "key-TONE"
Hermes: Silly anglicizer that I am, I said "her-meez" but apparently it's "air-mez"

Anyone else have an anecdote to share to spare me/us the embarrassment of such faux-pas?

Here are a few I've been hesitating to say outloud:

Patek Phillippe (Is it "pa-TEK," "PAT-ek" or "PAY-tek&quot

Canali (Is it "ca-NA-lee" or "ca-NAH-lee&quot

There are others, I'm sure. Â Please....add your own.

tiger02 · Dec 4, 2004

I'm sure I'm guilty of the same, I thought it was KEE-ton. Good thing there's not one of those within a good 500 miles of me.

VMan · Dec 4, 2004

Varvatos: Var-vay-tos, or Var-vah-tos? I have pronounced it with the 'vay', but the guy at Marshall Fields said 'vah'

tiger02 · Dec 4, 2004

And how do you get that "bvlg" sound out anyway, in that watch company's name?

rsp1 · Dec 4, 2004

For some reason the watch companies are the hardest:

-Audemar Piguet
-Breguet
-A Lange
-Vacheron Constentin
-Bedat
-Zenith (it is NOT pronounced like the TV company...)

EDIT: I mis-spelled Breguet (I was simply listing firms, not attempting to be phonetic)

Styleman · Dec 4, 2004

Its hard for an American to pronounce anything (correctly) .

imageWIS · Dec 4, 2004

For some reason the watch companies are the hardest:

-Audemar Piguet
-Breguer
-A Lange
-Vacheron Constentin
-Bedat
-Zenith (it is NOT pronounced like the TV company...)

Refinement:

-Bregue
-Lan-ge
-Vach-eron Const-an-tin
-Zeen-it

Jon.

imageWIS · Dec 4, 2004

And how do you get that "bvlg" sound out anyway, in that watch company's name?

Yeah, those damn Romans with their damn Latin... Jon.

scnupe7 · Dec 4, 2004

Varvatos: Var-vay-tos, or Var-vah-tos? Â I have pronounced it with the 'vay', but the guy at Marshall Fields said 'vah'

I have always understood that it is pronounced "Var-vay-tos"

scnupe7 · Dec 4, 2004

Zegna is pronounced "Zenya"

rsp1 · Dec 4, 2004

"Zegna" is the easy part...how about the "Ermenegildo" portion.

Horace · Dec 4, 2004

Its hard for an American to pronounce anything (correctly) .

Um, then how to you pom's say "beauchamp"?

Styleman · Dec 4, 2004

Quote:

(Styleman @ 04 Dec. 2004, 3:28) Its hard for an American to pronounce anything (correctly) .
Um, then how to you pom's say "beauchamp"?
What is a pom?

hopkins_student · Dec 4, 2004

Er-men-uh-jil-doh = Ermenegildo

And I always thought Zegna was Zay-nyuh, that's how the owner of the boutique that sells the product in Baltimore pronounces it.

matadorpoeta · Dec 4, 2004

we had a thread about this before. i find it really annoying especial since my name is spanish and so many people completely mess it up.

i don't see what is so difficult pronouncing foreign names, especially anyhting european. english is based on latin just like the euro languages.

Er-men-uh-jil-doh = Ermenegildo

where do you get the "uh" from? ridiculous. the 'e' is pronounced like an 'e'. like in the word red, or bed, or men.

er-men-e-jeel-doh

i say var-vah-tos, because the name sounds vaguely spanish to me. i've never heard of anyone else with this name and it could be portuguese or greek. Â if you say var-vay-tos, you're not even trying.

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