Pronunciations

[passenger]

Hi all,

 

I'm new to fountain pens and I've been reading the threads in this forum to familiarize myself with FPs so that I can find one that suits me.

 

But before I hold my very first FP (which is in the near future), I would like to know how to pronounce a couple of brands: Sheaffer and Lamy.

 

Is Sheaffer pronounced SHAY-fer? I have a feeling it is not SHEE-fer.

 

And it is LAM-ee? Or la-MY? When I say it in my head, it's the former.

 

Sorry if my question sounds pathetic, but it would be more pathetic if I was asking for a specific ink cartridge at a FP shop and I mispronounded the name

[BMWRT]

Welcome to the board.

 

Shay-fer And La-mee

[Titivillus]

Welcome to the board.

 

Shay-fer And La-mee

I've always said Lamb - ee and never had a problem

 

 

K

[Judybug]

Dear Passenger,

 

Don't feel bad about having to ask about pronunciations. I'm waiting for two new pens to be delivered in the mail. I can't pronounce either one of them. I would ask for help, but - without looking at my e-mail order - I'm not sure I can SPELL them!

 

By the way, BMWRT, I'm still confused about Lamy. Is it LA-mee or la-MEE?

 

Judybug

[Richard]

Lamy is correctly pronounced LAH-mee.

 

And while I'm being pedantic, rOtring is correctly pronouced ROTE-ring (as if it were two separate words but without any pause between them), not RO-tring. (In German, the name means "red ring.") Yes, I know, the automatic phone answering system in Janesville says it wrong.

[Slush99]

Thank you, Mr. Binder.....that's interesting to know.

 

Rote-ring, not Ro-tring. Ahhh, got it.

[Dr.Grace]

Well, if LAMY is a German company, the Y would be pronounced as "ue", the u with an umlaut. Kinda like "Camus" in French, I think. That's a tough one for English-speakers, because there's no equivalent vowel.

[Dillo]

Well, if LAMY is a German company, the Y would be pronounced as "ue", the u with an umlaut. Kinda like "Camus" in French, I think. That's a tough one for English-speakers, because there's no equivalent vowel.

Hi,

 

Lamy is a German company, but the name stems from France.

 

I do know how Rotring is pronounced since I know only a little German. Red Ring.

 

Dillon

[KCat]

Lamy is correctly pronounced LAH-mee.

 

And while I'm being pedantic, rOtring is correctly pronouced ROTE-ring (as if it were two separate words but without any pause between them), not RO-tring. (In German, the name means "red ring.") Yes, I know, the automatic phone answering system in Janesville says it wrong.

thank you! I asked for a Rotring at a local Art Supply store and was "corrected" with "Oh, you mean Ro-tring." No, I mean Rote-ring. I have also heard it fall somewhere between "rote-ring" and "rot-ring" - hard to describe but i'm sure you know what I mean.

 

You should hear how our company name is butchered. Even by my Hubby of German descent.

[passenger]

Thanks to all who replied

 

I was also unsure of Rotring, but I forgot about it.

[andyc]

thank you! I asked for a Rotring at a local Art Supply store and was "corrected" with "Oh, you mean Ro-tring." No, I mean Rote-ring.

That reminds me of the time I ordered a "hogh-aarden" (that's as close as I can phonetically spell it) in a pub in the UK, expecting to have to mispronounce it to get what I wanted.

 

As the glass of Hoegaarden (which is how you spell it) was placed on the bar, I asked "So how many people in here know that's how you pronounce it?", and handed over the money.

 

"Err... you and my Uncle", came the reply.

[HyperCamper]

Who garden?

Edited August 16, 2006 by HyperCamper

[BillTheEditor]

"Oh, you mean Ro-tring."  No, I mean Rote-ring.

That reminds me of the time I ordered a "hogh-aarden" (that's as close as I can phonetically spell it)

As long as we are OT wrt fountain pens ...

 

In East Texas there is a town named Mexia. Nobody knows how to pronounce it correctly except for the locals. Even Texas natives generally only approximate the pronunciation.

 

An old joke tells about two travelling salesmen (it's an old joke, so it's not gender-neutral) who were NOT from Texas (we suspect they were Yankees). They saw a sign on the highway while driving from Dallas to Houston, indicating that Mexia was five miles ahead. They got into an argument about the way the town name should be pronounced. Since it was mid-day, they decided to stop for lunch in Mexia and ask a local. They pulled into a fast-food establishment, went inside, were seated, and they ordered their food. When the waitress brought them their iced tea (it was summer), one of the salesmen asked her, "Say , lady, how do you pronounce the name of this place?" She leaned over the table and said, very clearly and slowly, "DAY-ree KUH-ween."

 

 

(If you live outside the US, Dairy Queens are a very common roadside hamburger joint -- more common in small Texas towns than MacDonald's if you can believe that.)

 

Mexia is pronounced "Mah-hay-ah" by most Texans. The locals say it, "Muh-hayr" (as if they were saying "My hair", as in "Muh hayr is on fahr!") Outlanders almost always try to say "mecks-ee-ya." Except for Oklahomans, who are generally rendered speechless by the challenge of saying a word that appears to have more than two syllables in it, and has an X in the middle.

[Johnny Appleseed]

Well my wife works in the town of Puyallup WA.

 

Takes about two years of living round here to figure out how to say that one.

 

John

[*david*]

Many US place names are so confusing because they are foreign words that have been given Englishified pronunciations. Examples include Bwahz, Idaho (which the locals mispronounce as Boyzee).

 

And then the ones that have accidentally NOT been Englishified, such as Yachats, become even more difficult - because you sit there trying to figure out the best way to murder it, when all you have to do is pronounce it correctly.

[Dr.Grace]

One of my favorites is Chili, New York, near Rochester.

 

It's pronounced chai-lai, not chilly.

[Margana]

Mexia is pronounced "Mah-hay-ah" by most Texans. The locals say it, "Muh-hayr" (as if they were saying "My hair", as in "Muh hayr is on fahr!") Outlanders almost always try to say "mecks-ee-ya." Except for Oklahomans, who are generally rendered speechless by the challenge of saying a word that appears to have more than two syllables in it, and has an X in the middle.

I could take or leave the joke, Bill, but your take on the pronounciations is priceless. :roflmho:

[BillTheEditor]

pronounciations

Just be glad that you can't hear my accent.

[Taki]

How do you pronounce Diamine? Is Dia- part pronounced like "dear" or "dai"(as in diamond)? And the second part "meen" or "mine"(as in possessive form of first person or as in gold mine)?

 

I was calling it "dai'a-meen"(I guess from my chemistry class) but I've heard it is "dear-mine"

Edited August 17, 2006 by Taki

[Chris]

On the pronunciation of words, there is a jest that a couple of Aussies were asking how to get to Loogah-burroogah and it was some time before anyone figured they wanted Loughborough.

 

Whether it is true or not, I can't say, but I'm sure our cousins from the other end of the earth have similar tales about the English trying to wrestle with their local names.

 

So long as we can all joke about it...

 

Oh, and I say "Diamine" - which is not much help

 

Chris