Message: "French Jeanne" - Behind the Name

French Jeanne

by treetops

6/30/2011, 10:27 PM

Hi, I have a question about the French pronunciation of Jeanne.
According to this site it's pronounced "zhan," but I wonder how they differentiate between Jeanne and the masculine Jean? "zhan" just seems a bit masculine for a female name. Does anyone know of an alternate French pronunciation or a way to phonetically differentiate between Jeanne and Jean? Thanks!

#French

Replies

- Orsino (bananarama)

7/2/2011, 12:20 PM

I'm pretty sure they are different. Jean and Jeanne being pronounced the same is more of an Anglophone thing.

- Norah Namenerd

7/1/2011, 2:52 PM

You don't really pronounce the last N much in Jean, where is in Jeanne, you do.

Here are some examples:
JEAN: http://hearnames.com/name-categories/french-names/jean.html

JEANNE: http://hearnames.com/name-categories/french-names/jeanne.html

- Anneza +1

6/30/2011, 11:15 PM

In French the -n of Jean really exists only as a signal that the vowel is nasalised. For practical purposes, one doesn't hear it. But the -nne of Jeanne definitely sounds as if it's there! Same, in French, with Simon and Simone.

- Fiammetta (lady murasaki)

7/2/2011, 11:52 AM

Yes, Jeanne and Jean don't really sound that similar at all in French.

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