Re: How do you pronounce Huygens?

From: Brian Tung (brian_at_isi.edu)
Date: 01/20/05 

Date: Thu, 20 Jan 2005 18:15:52 +0000 (UTC)

Tim Auton wrote:
> Might some of the confusion here be over how we English-speakers say
> "HOY-gains"? To me that sounds nothing like the Dutch pronunciation,
> but I speak English with a Yorkshire accent. It wold sound somewhat
> different spoken by a Texan, a Canadian or New Zealander; in some
> instances presumably more similar to the Dutch.

I doubt it. The diphthong at the front sounds nothing like "oy" as
spoken by any English speaker I've ever heard. The g is not hard, but
rather a soft, guttural sound, like "ch" in Scottish "loch," as I've
mentioned. The last vowel sound *could* be written "ai," I suppose.

I suspect something unusual with the Radio Netherlands folks. It's
possible they are not native Dutch speakers, or have some unusual
accent.

Brian Tung <brian@isi.edu>
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