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ArchivesRe: Pronouncing African Names
in reply to a message by Reserved
The only one from my end of Africa is Sipho, which means: Gift. You pronounce it SEEpo. The o is more like what you might call a continental (European) vowel sound than anything that occurs in English, but all the Siphos round here are very relaxed about people using the English 'oh' sound.
By the way, the ph combination doesn't make a f sound, not here. Technically, the h indicates an unvoiced p, and if you tell me that a p is voiceless in English anyway, I must agree, but the different is there if you listen carefully. You sometimes get a th combo which is the same; our currect President, Thabo Mbeki, sounds like TAHbo.
By the way, the ph combination doesn't make a f sound, not here. Technically, the h indicates an unvoiced p, and if you tell me that a p is voiceless in English anyway, I must agree, but the different is there if you listen carefully. You sometimes get a th combo which is the same; our currect President, Thabo Mbeki, sounds like TAHbo.
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