Thread: Famous names once and for all

Originally Posted by Marcus

I don't know what you mean, saying about zebra pronounced sebra.

I picked this up from native English speakers, they were claiming that we have it
I tried to think about it and I have to say that it is partially true

Originally Posted by Marcus

I'm not sure about overpronounced "r".

Maybe the word isn't good. But you gotta agree that Russian "Р" is not the same as English "R". Americans compare it to Spanish "R"

Originally Posted by Marcus

Don't Americans always pronounce the hard L?

It's probably better to ask them

One thing I can never decide when introducing myself to Russians in speech -- should I say Меня зовут Robert (i.e., with the normal English pronunciation of my name) or Меня зовут Роберт (with the Russified pronunciation)? And what if I'm introducing a friend with an unusual name that doesn't have a "standard" Russian version like Роберт? My last name is a problem, too, because in English the "c" is silent (in contrast to names like "McDonald" or "MacLeod") and it's closer to Мги than Макги (but Макги was the Cyrillicized spelling used on my visa).

Originally Posted by Throbert McGee

One thing I can never decide when introducing myself to Russians in speech -- should I say Меня зовут Robert (i.e., with the normal English pronunciation of my name) or Меня зовут Роберт (with the Russified pronunciation)? And what if I'm introducing a friend with an unusual name that doesn't have a "standard" Russian version like Роберт? My last name is a problem, too, because in English the "c" is silent (in contrast to names like "McDonald" or "MacLeod") and it's closer to Мги than Макги (but Макги was the Cyrillicized spelling used on my visa).

I think you should stick to the language rules thus say "Меня зовут Роберт"
Also to say "Меня зовут Robert" might be hard because you need to switch from one language to another and back, I find this particularly hard to do, especially in fast speech

Originally Posted by Throbert McGee

My last name is a problem, too, because in English the "c" is silent (in contrast to names like "McDonald" or "MacLeod") and it's closer to Мги than Макги (but Макги was the Cyrillicized spelling used on my visa).

I don't think pronouncing Маги would be any problem to any Russian, however be ready for jokes
But generally if you write is as McGee Russians will say МакГи nobody would even think of possibility of different pronunciation. In fact I haven't even noticed the difference until you write about it, even after watching one particular McGee playing - Timothy McGee - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Originally Posted by Throbert McGee

One thing I can never decide when introducing myself to Russians in speech -- should I say Меня зовут Robert (i.e., with the normal English pronunciation of my name) or Меня зовут Роберт (with the Russified pronunciation)? And what if I'm introducing a friend with an unusual name that doesn't have a "standard" Russian version like Роберт? My last name is a problem, too, because in English the "c" is silent (in contrast to names like "McDonald" or "MacLeod") and it's closer to Мги than Макги (but Макги was the Cyrillicized spelling used on my visa).

That is the common rule to localize the pronunciation of your name when introducing to foreigners in their language. It applies to any language I think.
When introducing myself to Americans, I say: "My name is Constantine" with the first syllable stressed, American "o" in "Con" and American "t"'s.

If you pronounce "Меня зовут Robert" to Russians, you make their life harder:
1) they would most likely have difficulties with hearing it correctly unless they are fluent in English;
2) they would definitely have problems with repeating your name.
"Роберт" is a well-known name in Russia, we also have people with this name. But the American pronunication can make it even unrecognizable to the Russian ear: the American "o" sounds almost like Russian "а", and the American retroflex "er" sound is something competely alien and unpronounceable to Russians. If not to say that many Russians hear the American alveolar aspirated "t" as "ч".

As for the "Mc" part, it is just a well-known tradition to Cyrillize it as "Мак".

Don't worry If you had to introduce yourself to a Japanese, you would have to say "Watashi-no namae-wa Robaato desu". And in the case of Chinese, it would be something like "Wo jiao Luo-Bei".

Originally Posted by Throbert McGee

One thing I can never decide when introducing myself to Russians in speech -- should I say Меня зовут Robert (i.e., with the normal English pronunciation of my name) or Меня зовут Роберт (with the Russified pronunciation)? And what if I'm introducing a friend with an unusual name that doesn't have a "standard" Russian version like Роберт? My last name is a problem, too, because in English the "c" is silent (in contrast to names like "McDonald" or "MacLeod") and it's closer to Мги than Макги (but Макги was the Cyrillicized spelling used on my visa).

Роберт is probably the closest Russian variant for Robert.
The English language usually ignores the pronunciation of loan-words in the languages they came from.

Originally Posted by Throbert McGee

(but Макги was the Cyrillicized spelling used on my visa).

did you have a say how your name should be transliterated into Russian on your Visa?

Originally Posted by LXNDR

did you have a say how your name should be transliterated into Russian on your Visa?

I don't think it is possible

Originally Posted by LXNDR

did you have a say how your name should be transliterated into Russian on your Visa?

This came up in another thread... Apparently all Russians nowadays are forced to transliterate their names in the English style.

That's a pity, because the Russian names look much more stylish and interested when they are transliterated in the French or German style. Not sure exactly why.... perhaps because of all the glamorous people who fled the Russian revolution who still have surnames that are transliterated in this way.

But it's funny how the same Russian name can look and feel SO different depending on how it is transliterated.

It would be much more interesting for Russian people if they had a choice in this matter, I think.

Originally Posted by Marcus
I don't know what you mean, saying about zebra pronounced sebra.

Originally Posted by Doomer

I picked this up from native English speakers, they were claiming that we have it
I tried to think about it and I have to say that it is partially true

That surprizes me too. Rather than arguing pointlessly, I suggest that we find out the reason.

Personally, I would hardly believe that the Russian word-initial "з" can ever sound as "s" to English-speakers.

Here's my explanation:
Yes, we do devoice our word-final voiced consonants:
"коз" and "кос" do sound the same, as well as "без" and "бес", "паз" and "пас" etc.

But as to the word-initial position, Russian voiced consonants are fully voiced, they involve an intense vocal chord activity, more intense than in English. So, it is more likely that a native Russian would hear English "zebra" as "sebra", "zone" as "sone", "zoo" as "soo". The reason is the English word-initial "z" has somewhat "a weaker voicing".
That's why the opposite cannot work: how can English-speakers hear a Russian saying "zebra" as "sebra"?

I can think of two possible explanations:
1. Some native Russians, maybe, do not know how the English "zebra" has to be pronounced and they might think there is a "S" sound in it.
2. Another possibility is a Russian may try imitating a native English pronunciation of this word. The difference between English "S" and "Z" is subtler than in Russian. A Russian hearing an English-speaker pronouncing "zebra" may perceive it as "sebra" and then repeat what he hears.