This is a reply within a larger thread: view the whole thread

Re: Catalan names
Hello Miss Caprice:Let´s see if I can help you:Donat: Dú-nát.
Enric(Henry): Enrrík
Higini: eeyeenee
Jaume(James,Jakob): Yáuma
Jaumet (little Jauma: Yaumét
Jordi(catalan version for "George",Catalonia´s Patron Saint, a very usual male name: Yórdi
LLorenc(Lawrence): Yuréns
Meritxel(female): Marychél. The letter "é" sounds like the "e" of the word "ebony". for instance.Yours sincerely, Toni
vote up1vote down

Replies

NoPerò ni per casualitat.Donat, the only stressed syllable is the last: doo-NAHTIn unstressed syllables, E and A has not é/è/a sound, but a relaxed sound called "vocal neutra", which is represented in English figurated pronunciation as UH (it is the sound of above). So Enric, Jaume, Jaumet, Meritxell have not the sound that you had written.The G+e,i or the J has not a Y sound. They have the same sound as G+e,i or J in French. So your transcriptions of Jaume, Jaumet, Jordi are erroneus.The O in Jordi is open (as in French "robe"), not closed (usually transcripted as OH).The E in Jaumet is open (as in French "père"), not closed (usually transcripted as EH).The LL of Llorenç is a sound different from Y. This sound is found in Italian, in Occitan and in Portuguese, among other languages, and it is present in some Spanish dialects.Obviously, Meritxell has the same LL sound at the end. Meritxel? This spelling is a mistake. And the pronunciation with -EL instead of -ELL is a common error among Spanish speaking people who don't know pronounce LL, specially in ending position.Lumia
http://onomastica.mailcatala.com
vote up1vote down