Pronunciation watch

[gurnemanz]

I once learnt that all Finnish words are stressed on the first syllable. Surely not a difficult rule to master. Nitpicker I may be but I have just got irked by Suzy K's repeated reference to the Swan of Tuanela rather than Tuonela. If you are a professional radio presenter, especially on a staion with reasonably high cultural aspirations, I would have thought that you would regard it as part of your job get such things right.

[vinteuil]

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... she prob'ly thinks there is assonance between Tapiola and tapioca too


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[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

I once learnt that all Finnish words are stressed on the first syllable. Surely not a difficult rule to master. Nitpicker I may be but I have just got irked by Suzy K's repeated reference to the Swan of Tuanela rather than Tuonela. If you are a professional radio presenter, especially on a station with reasonably high cultural aspirations, I would have thought that you would regard it as part of your job get such things right.

I agree - but doesn't the name of the composer of that piece suggest that the "rule" isn't always applicable? ("Sybil Yus", anyone?)

[vinteuil]

I agree - but doesn't the name of the composer of that piece suggest that the "rule" isn't always applicable? ("Sybil Yus", anyone?)

Sibelius of course a Swedish name (Latinization in c.1800 of Swedish Sibbe, name of a farmstead near Loviisa)



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[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

Sibelius of course a Swedish name (Latinization in c.1800 of Swedish Sibbe, name of a farmstead near Loviisa)

Ah, yes! I should've remembered that - and the fact that he didn't start to learn Finnish until he was a teenager! (Ironic, though: like Pacius' Kung Karls Jakt - the first opera written in Finland by a Finnish composer - had a libretto in Swedish.)

[Serial_Apologist]

Ah, yes! I should've remembered that - and the fact that he didn't start to learn Finnish until he was a teenager! (Ironic, though: like Pacius' Kung Karls Jakt - the first opera written in Finland by a Finnish composer - had a libretto in Swedish.)

Well well! - I didn't know that, either! So, thanks, vints and ferney!

[Stanfordian]

Heard regularly - mainly on commercial radio:

Lottery - Lot-er-ee

Wembley - Wem-ber-lee

[LMcD]

Heard regularly - mainly on commercial radio:

Lottery - Lot-er-ee

Wembley - Wem-ber-lee

The chant 'We're all going to Wem-ber-lee' is often heard from supporters at FA Cup matches and other fixtures that might eventually lead them and their club to North London. When Ipswich Town were relegated last season, their fans changed the destination to Shrewsbury.

[Stanfordian]

The chant 'We're all going to Wem-ber-lee' is often heard from supporters at FA Cup matches and other fixtures that might eventually lead them and their club to North London. When Ipswich Town were relegated last season, their fans changed the destination to Shrewsbury.

[jayne lee wilson]

I once learnt that all Finnish words are stressed on the first syllable. Surely not a difficult rule to master. Nitpicker I may be but I have just got irked by Suzy K's repeated reference to the Swan of Tuanela rather than Tuonela. If you are a professional radio presenter, especially on a staion with reasonably high cultural aspirations, I would have thought that you would regard it as part of your job get such things right.

Goodness.... I've been pronouncing it Tuonela all my life..... I can't recall ever hearing it in that authentic manner on Radio 3 either.... I think I would have noticed it...
But doesn't English often sound awkward, less flowing, with first syllable stresses...? My ear prefers the sound & the spoken feel of the wrong Tuonela....(sorry )

Here's the Google anyway...

https://forvo.com/word/tuonela/

[vinteuil]

"But doesn't English often sound awkward, less flowing, with first syllable stresses...?

... what was that about Awkward English first Syllable Stresses?




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[Judith Robbyns]

Tuonela: think Basingstoke.

[LMcD]

Tuonela: think Basingstoke.

'Basingstoke it is!' (We attended a performance of 'Ruddigore' last week in which that fine Hampshire town was replaced by 'Felixstowe'. There was also a topical reference to climbing onto the roof of a train in a list of supposedly evil deeds).

[LeMartinPecheur]

Leonard Bernsteen?

An interviewed UK orchestral player pronounced him thus on air a few days ago. Did Lennie?

I'd always assumed the German vowel sound was correct, IIRCC that's the way he's usually said over here, and was preparing to throw something at the radio when I realised that the -steen pronunciation in similar names is common, maybe even standard, in the USA.

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

... as in "Elmer".

IIRC, in the (sensationalist and not very reliable) Peyser biography, it was suggested that Lennie's preferred "stine" pronunciation was an affectation that he himself introduced to the family name. I'm sure that there are Forumistas herabouts who will be able to confirm/contradict this with much greater authority than I.