| Title: | The Joy of Lex |
| Notice: | A Notes File even your grammar could love |
| Moderator: | THEBAY::SYSTEM |
| Created: | Fri Feb 28 1986 |
| Last Modified: | Mon Jun 02 1997 |
| Last Successful Update: | Fri Jun 06 1997 |
| Number of topics: | 1192 |
| Total number of notes: | 42769 |
Hi! I am not sure whether this is the right place for this note. I have just started following this conference and enjoy it a lot and I think that the knowledge out there might be able to answer a question that has been bugging me for years: How is Lech Walesa's last name pronounced? He the leader of the Solidarity movement in Poland. For years, commentators have been finding an "n" in his last name. They pronounce it va-LEN-sa. IS THIS CORRECT? Can't they do the man the courtesy of getting his name right? Thanks for letting me get this off my chest!
| T.R | Title | User | Personal Name | Date | Lines |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 515.1 | Vah-WEN-zah is also pretty good | LOV::LASHER | Working... | Wed May 04 1988 02:41 | 10 |
It's close. If you look closely, there's a little backwards cedilla
(sorry, someone here must know the correct term) under the e, which
makes for a nasalized e sound.
You can also get away with pronouncing the "l" in Walesa like a
"w" in English, because if you look closely you'll see a little
slash mark (again, someone here undoubtedly knows the correct name
for this diacritical) through the "l".
Lew Lasher
| |||||
| 515.2 | ...not in Gleb, though! | IPG::CARLILL | Dada wouldn't buy me a Bauhaus | Tue May 31 1988 22:50 | 15 |
> It's close. If you look closely, there's a little backwards cedilla
> (sorry, someone here must know the correct term) under the e, which
> makes for a nasalized e sound.
Not always as nasalized as in Walesa, however. In Gleb (as in Cardinal Gleb,
with a backwards cedilla under the e), this diacritical has the effect of
introducing an [m] sound before the final [p], rather than producing a very
nasalized [e], giving [glemp]. I believe that 'e' with a backwards cedilla
and 'a' with a backwards cedilla tend to be very nasalized nowadays mainly
before fricatives, and not elsewhere.
I'm quite prepared to be corrected on this, since my Polish is basic and
rusty!
Ceri
| |||||