How to pronounce difficult names like Rachmaninoff and Tchaikovsky?

Comments ( 5 )

1. xuiepel epep says

   don’t sell yourself short,I worked years ago for a guy with his audio visual recording outfit,i cued up tapes,did some announcing,the boss liked to do so occasionally,,,cuing up CSO .SOLTI lp london ffrr thus
   ,,,,,’and now ,,our next selection will be ludvig van beethovens symphony # 3,
   ,,the symphony erotica’

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2. Catherine says

   @Delicious: The T in Tchaikovsky *is* necessary if one is French, or German – perhaps that’s why it stuck?

   EDIT: I don’t use “inappropriate transliterations”. I was merely suggesting, that the T had remained because it *was* transliterated by the French and Germans, and that the spelling, as we know it, has come to us via mainland Europe – or, at least, via France and Germany.

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3. del_icious_manager says

   Tchaikovsky (first ‘T’ unnecessary, but someone once put it there and there it stayed!)=
   Chye-KOF-skee (capitals show accented syllable)
   Rachmaninoff/Rachmaninov/Rakhmaninov = Rakh*-MAN-in-of

   *kh – as a German/Scottish-type hard ‘ch’ as in ‘Bach’ (German) or ‘loch’ (Scottish)
   The ‘v’ in Tchaikovsky and ‘ff’ at the end of Rachmaninov are pronounced halfway between a ‘v’ and ‘f’ sound (like a very hard ‘v’).

   EDIT: Yes I know that, but we speak English, not French or German and, therefore, shouldn’t use in appropriate transliterations relevant to foreign languages but not ours. In ENGLISH, the ‘T’ is irrelevant and unnecessary.

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4. mephistopheles says

   http://www.pronunciationguide.info/thebiglist.html

   best regards

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5. Chaz says

   The way you pronounce words depends a lot on where you are from. So don’t worry to much.

   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OTCvX2moOc4

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