Pronounciation of Hohenzollern

[Atlas14]

How do pronounce "Hohenzollern", the Prussian family of royalty. Im writing a paper about Frederick the Great, and I need to be able to effectively pronounce his name. Thanks .

 

[nonconformist]

When I did Bismarck, we used the anglicised "Ho-wen-zoll-en"

I assume the Gemranic pronunciation is a short "Ho" as in "hot", the "hen" should be a cross between "hen" and "en" the "zoll" should be slightly "tzoll" and the "ern" is as it's spelled.

 

[Verbose]

When I did Bismarck, we used the anglicised "Ho-wen-zoll-en"

I assume the Gemranic pronunciation is a short "Ho" as in "hot", the "hen" should be a cross between "hen" and "en" the "zoll" should be slightly "tzoll" and the "ern" is as it's spelled.

Seems to work, mostly.

Don't skimp on the "tz" in "zoll" though. That's how the Germans do it.

And the final "ern" isn't like in "Ernie" or "Ernest" — the "e" i more like the one in "Expect". (Maybe not the most common combination of sounds in English; pointed e followed by rn.)

 

[Stefan Haertel]

A good pronounciation key is:

Hoehentsollan

The first 'o' is long, the second is short. Also, try not to roll the 'l's in the English way.

 

[Atlas14]

Hoehentsollan

So the "ern" is not even really a distinct sound in the pronounciation?

Is ho-hen-za-lern -> "ho henzalern" anywhere close to being correct?


Im still confused by the differing suggested methods of pronounciation.

 

[Stefan Haertel]

So the "ern" is not even really a distinct sound in the pronounciation?

The "r" does not get distinctive intonation. If you pronounced he r in German, it would sound very artificial.

[q]Is ho-hen-za-lern -> "ho henzalern" anywhere close to being correct?
[/q]

No. The first 'o' is long, and pronouncing the secon 'o' as an 'a' just sounds wrong.

Please also note that many Germans don't pronounce the first "e", but it doesn't really matter if you do or do not.

 

[Atlas14]

The "r" does not get distinctive intonation. If you pronounced he r in German, it would sound very artificial.

No. The first 'o' is long, and pronouncing the secon 'o' as an 'a' just sounds wrong.

Please also note that many Germans don't pronounce the first "e", but it doesn't really matter if you do or do not.

Thanks for explaining it. I realize my American methods are terrible when applied to European names. This will definately help tomorrow when I have to present to the class.