France24 is a great news source for just about everything having to do with France, or world news from a French perspective. Frankly, since I'm not in Paris I'm somewhat rabid about keeping up with French news, cruising the French dailies' websites, trying to keep au courant.
Yet I fail. Why, you ask? Well, partially because when I start watching half-hour panel discussions such as last week's France 24 roundtable with top Anglophone journalists in Paris, I get... distracted.
I know, I know. I should be following the substance of the discussion, and ... yet... in the mean time I am swept away by one persistent thought: Why does Alison Smale of the IHT refer to the president as sar-koh-ZEE while Mark Deen of Bloomberg refers to him as sar-KOH-zee? Didn't they referee the Proper Presidential Pronunciation before going on air?
And secretly, I am delighted. I love pronunciation battles, and this one is ripe.
On the one hand, of course, in French no syllables are accented. So officially it's pronounced sar-koh-zee, equal emphasis on all syllables; but in reality it ends up sounding a bit more like sar-koh-ZEE. Americans, on the other hand, need to find a syllable to stress in English, and somehow in popular US media, it's most often pronounced à l'américaine, sar-KOH-zee.
I still recall the mild sting of being reprimanded by my dear late friend Polly Platt for saying 'sar-KOH-zee' in mid-sentence. "But, Polly," I pleaded, "I'm speaking in English right now. When I'm talking in English, for example, I don't say 'Paree,' I say 'Pariss.' So in English I should say 'sar-KOH-zee,' as Americans do."
She didn't buy that defense, and told me it sounded ill-informed. Since I deeply admired her, in all subsequent conversations with Polly I was on my sar-koh-ZEE best.
But otherwise, I was cozy with sar-KOH-zee.
Then. The ultimate revelation: French newscasters pronounce our president's name oh-ba-MAH when discoursing in French.
But of course they should.
You say 'to-MAY-toh.' I say 'to-MAH-to.'
Let's not call the whole thing off.
Tow-may-TOH
ReplyDeleteI admire your dedication!
ReplyDeleteI like the odd piss-take prog like the one on Canal+ that isn't coded in the evening, but can't always get to watch it. I watch the news too, especially the M6 news at 7.45pm cos we eat at 8.
Other than that, reading the French online papers is a chore because they are so unattractive and I often can't be bothered.
So I kinda keep up lol.
One can say sar-ko-zee without stress in American, no? Why the need to put in an emphasis? I've probably been in France too long...
I find a solution: I turn off the TV whenever I hear of Sarkozy. Ta-da!
ReplyDeleteNew town, new name. Go with whatever you like and say it like you mean it. If anyone picks you up just rattle something off about cultural imperialism. I know i like the sound of MY name better in zee French accent, i'm not going to correct anyone.
ReplyDeletePolly,
ReplyDeleteNice. And I too do enjoy France 24.
-- Jake
I always feel a tinge of guilt when discussing "Paree" with American friends and saying "Paris"... Thanks for giving me a place to rest this bit of my neurosis.
ReplyDeleteMy rule of thumb is that if there is a standard or common pronunciation in your native language, go with that when speaking in ...your native language. And vice versa. When I'm speaking in French, for example, I say Sahn Frahn-cees-co; I don't switch back to American pronunciation in mid-sentence, which would seem weird.
ReplyDeleteI love this post. I struggle mightily with French and get it wrong most often. I will say I have learned the French way to say His Royal Highness' name. :)
ReplyDeleteAnd I did love Polly Platt. I still recommend French or Foe to EVERY person going to France for the first time. I credit her with helping my southern self fit in while in Paris. I might sound southern but I never fail to feel welcome thanks to her advice.
Err. Pronunciations. The bane of my existence. The French husband "corrects" me...
ReplyDeleteI learned early on in Paris that even my own name had a new pronunciation in French. POH-LEE. Shock! I mean, if anyone knew how to properly pronounce my name,it was me, right?
ReplyDeleteBut there was a vive-la-difference moment when I finally accepted it. We all pronounce names differently in other languages. Beel Cleen-tonn, Jhorjh Booosh, and movie stars like Tahm Onks. So we anglophones massacre names like Yves St Laurent or Gerard Depardieu. Yup.
I guess we anglophones just were spoiled by a nice long period where the name Jacques Chirac was so... presidentially pronounceable!
Virginia -- I still miss Polly Platt, and think of her almost daily. What an inspiration she was!