How do you pronounce Gyllenhaal...

[Katie77]

Just read an article on pronounciation of some celebrity names......and this is what Jake says......

Jake and Maggie Gyllenhaal

We're all getting it wrong! Jake has previously said the only places where people get his Swedish name right are "Sweden and IKEA". It's pronounced "Yill-uhn-hawl". No G!



http://celebrities.ninemsn.com.au/slideshowajax/441817/most-mispronounced-celebrity-names-and-how-to-say-them-right.slideshow

[CellarDweller]

I never knew that!

[Jeff Wrangler]

Just read an article on pronounciation of some celebrity names......and this is what Jake says......

Jake and Maggie Gyllenhaal

We're all getting it wrong! Jake has previously said the only places where people get his Swedish name right are "Sweden and IKEA". It's pronounced "Yill-uhn-hawl". No G!

Leave it to English-speaking Americans. ... 

So the "G" is pronounced like an English "Y," sort of like the "J" in German.

[milomorris]

Oh its Swedish. I thought it was Dutch.

[CellarDweller]

Leave it to English-speaking Americans. ... 

So the "G" is pronounced like an English "Y," sort of like the "J" in German.

Spanish is the opposite.  I have a friend named Yahaira.  For the longest time I've called her "yah Hi rah".....I later found the "y" is pronounced like a J, so it should be "Jah Hi Rah".

I once worked with a young woman who was Indian, and her name was Yojana and everyone pronounced it Yo Jah Nah.  One day I picked up an office phone call, and it was her mother calling for her.  When her mother said her name, was when I learned the correct pronunciation was "Yoj Nah".

People just need to correct someone when a mispronunciation is made.

[Sophia]

If you could record a sample on Bettermost. I would, so you could know how it sounds like. Sense that not possible...you just haft to trust me Gyllenhaal sounds soooo much better in English then Swedish. I would describe the Swedish pronunciation as very high pitched with a upper class clarity.

[Sason]

Leave it to English-speaking Americans. ... 

So the "G" is pronounced like an English "Y," sort of like the "J" in German.

Exactly. At least in this case, but not in all words.

And the 'y' isn't prounounced like an English 'i', but rather like a German 'ü', only more pointed.

[Katie77]

Well lets all be thankful, that Heath didn't stand at the top of some stairs, and yell........JAKE F***ING GYLLENHAAL......

[CellarDweller]

I know some people that would have loved to see that!

[Sophia]

Let´s forget his name for a while and focus on his upcoming event! Tickets are for sale TOMORROW!!!!



Single tickets are on sale tomorrow at noon for Manhattan Theatre Club’s upcoming Broadway productions of Constellations, the acclaimed new play by Nick Payne, directed by Michael Longhurst, starring Jake Gyllenhaal.

Tickets will be available by calling Telecharge at 212-239-6200, online by visiting www.Telecharge.com, or by visiting the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre Box Office (261 West 47th Street). Ticket prices are $67 – $140.

This winter, Manhattan Theatre Club and the Royal Court Theatre, by special arrangement with Ambassador Theatre Group and the Dodgers, will produce Constellations in a strictly limited 13-week engagement.

Previews begin Tuesday, December 16, 2014 for a Tuesday, January 13, 2015 opening night at MTC’s Samuel J. Friedman Theatre (261 West 47th Street).


Oscar nominee Jake Gyllenhaal (Brokeback Mountain, Proof) makes his MTC and Broadway debuts in the first American production of Constellations, a new play by Nick Payne (If There Is I Haven’t Found It Yet), which premiered at London’s Royal Court Theatre to tremendous acclaim. Michael Longhurst (If There Is…) directs.

This mind-bending, romantic journey begins with a simple encounter between a man and a woman. But what happens next defies the boundaries of the world we think we know – delving into the infinite possibilities of their relationship and raising questions about the difference between choice and destiny.

Production support for Constellations is provided by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation as part of the MTC/Sloan Science Theatre Initiative. For more information on the foundation, visit: www.sloan.org

Subscriptions for MTC’s 2014-2015 season are available by calling (212) 399-3050 (Monday through Friday NOON – 9 PM, Saturday 10 AM – 3 PM) or online at www.ManhattanTheatreClub.com.

[Katie77]

Yeah......lets just completely change the topic ......

[fritzkep]

And another feature of the pronunciation that is quite different from English is that of the intonation. The stress is of course on the first syllable, but unlike in English, where the pitch of the voice rises on the stress and falls on the other syllables, in Swedish the pitch goes down for the stress then rises.

[CellarDweller]

^^^^^^

Whut?

[Sason]

And another feature of the pronunciation that is quite different from English is that of the intonation. The stress is of course on the first syllable, but unlike in English, where the pitch of the voice rises on the stress and falls on the other syllables, in Swedish the pitch goes down for the stress then rises.

Really? I didn't know that!

 

[CellarDweller]

Ok Miss smarty pants!

[Sason]

I wasn't trying to be funny, I really didn't know that. Meaning I've never heard it described before.

The laughing smiley was because it's funny to hear someone non-Swedish tell you interesting facts that you didn't know about your own language.

[fritzkep]

The lowering of pitch on a stressed syllable is also true of Russian. It's what gives Swedish what to English speakers sounds like a sing-song way of speaking. Even moreso in Norwegian, which actually uses pitch to differentiate between words.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pitch_accent

For example in many East Norwegian dialects, the word "bønder" (farmers) is pronounced using tone 1, while "bønner" (beans or prayers) uses tone 2. Though the difference in spelling occasionally allows the words to be distinguished in written language, in most cases the minimal pairs are written alike. A Swedish example would be the word "tomten," which means "Santa Claus" (or "the house gnome") when pronounced using tone 2, and means "the plot of land," "the yard," or "the garden" when pronounced using tone 1. Thus, the sentence "Är det tomten på tomten?" ("Is that Santa Claus out in the yard?") uses both pronunciations right next to each other. Another example in Swedish is the word "anden", which means "the duck" when using tone 1 and "the spirit" when using tone 2. "Den heliga anden" could, in writing, be construed as either "the Holy Spirit" or "the holy duck", whereas in speech the pitch accent would convey the intended meaning.

[CellarDweller]

I wasn't trying to be funny, I really didn't know that. Meaning I've never heard it described before.

The laughing smiley was because it's funny to hear someone non-Swedish tell you interesting facts that you didn't know about your own language.

Fritz is a language guro

[fritzkep]

Languages are fun!

[CellarDweller]

[Katie77]

Languages are fun!

I agree....yes, we all know we have different accents, and its been very interesting reading about exactly how these accents are formed by the way we pronounce things......thanks for the insight Fritz.....

[Sason]

The lowering of pitch on a stressed syllable is also true of Russian. It's what gives Swedish what to English speakers sounds like a sing-song way of speaking. Even moreso in Norwegian, which actually uses pitch to differentiate between words.

Yeah, I've wondered about that, since, to my ear, Norwegian is so much more sing-song. Now I know why y'all think Swedish is too!

For example in many East Norwegian dialects, the word "bønder" (farmers) is pronounced using tone 1, while "bønner" (beans or prayers) uses tone 2. Though the difference in spelling occasionally allows the words to be distinguished in written language, in most cases the minimal pairs are written alike. A Swedish example would be the word "tomten," which means "Santa Claus" (or "the house gnome") when pronounced using tone 2, and means "the plot of land," "the yard," or "the garden" when pronounced using tone 1. Thus, the sentence "Är det tomten på tomten?" ("Is that Santa Claus out in the yard?") uses both pronunciations right next to each other. Another example in Swedish is the word "anden", which means "the duck" when using tone 1 and "the spirit" when using tone 2. "Den heliga anden" could, in writing, be construed as either "the Holy Spirit" or "the holy duck", whereas in speech the pitch accent would convey the intended meaning.

I've tried to explain this to English speaking people, but never knew exactly how to make them understand it since they can't hear the difference.

I've never seen it explained in English before. Tack Körkompis!

[Sason]

Fritz is a language guro

He most definitely is! 

Languages are fun!

Yes, they are! I once briefly considered studying linguistics, but didn't pursue it.

[fritzkep]

Alltid glad att hjälpa, Vårensdotter!

[Sason]