# Pronunciation Wouthuysen



## Lorenc

Hello, there was a Dutch physicist called Siegfried Wouthuysen. I would like to know how his last name should be pronounced (in the nearest English approximation). Thanks.


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## triptonizer

wout => English loud
huy => no English equivalent I'm afraid, it's a diphthong starting from French eu in jeune and ending in [y]

phonetically it would be something like: [wɑuthœyzə] final n not pronounced (unless for emphasis), s is voiced (z)
wikipedia has a page on "dutch phonology" with audio samples of the diphthongs, hope this helpes.


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## Lorenc

Thanks a lot triptonizer! I'd suggest the following (British) anglicisation:

1) vowt-hoser /vaʊt'həʊzə/


2) vowt-houser /vaʊt'haʊzə/


3) vowt-herser /vaʊt'hɜːzə/

Which one do you think it preferable?


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## HKK

I would pronounce the final -n in this case, since it's "Wouthuysen" is not a commonly known word. 
Try Wowt-housen. /aʊ/ is not all that close to /œi/ but I think the etymological connection* makes up for that, and it sounds better than the alternative.

*Wouthuysen (modern speling woudhuizen) is Dutch for wood/forest houses.


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## Kayla321

Try this one, Lorenc: http://www.oddcast.com/home/demos/tts/tts_example.php?sitepal
Type wouthuisen instead of Wouthuysen and choose Dutch - Claire.


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## Lorenc

Thank you Kayla321. I had already tried some TTS program but then given up on them... the thing is that Claire (and Xander even more so) say something which to my (untrained) ears sounds more like vow-tashen than vowt-housen! In particular i hear a "sh" sound, not an "s" sound at the end...


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## triptonizer

sh: Claire and Xander have some sort of northern accent (Netherlands as opposed to Belgium), they pronounce the s/z a bit "thicker" than they do in the south, but still clearly distinguished from sh/zh.
You should have Claire pronounce "wouthui*z*en" in stead of with *s* to come closer to how it should sound like; as to the uy it also sound better with z; actually for a virtual girl with a weird obsession for computer mouse movements she come very close overall.


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## Kayla321

triptonizer said:


> ... a virtual girl with a weird obsession for computer mouse movements ...


Whahaha!


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## killerbees

Lorenc said:


> Thanks a lot triptonizer! I'd suggest the following (British) anglicisation:
> 
> 1) vowt-hoser /vaʊt'həʊzə/
> 
> 
> 2) vowt-houser /vaʊt'haʊzə/
> 
> 
> 3) vowt-herser /vaʊt'hɜːzə/
> 
> Which one do you think it preferable?



If you're intent on finding an English approximation, I've found that ui/uij/uy (/œy/) is generally subsituted with /ai/ by English speakers (Huygens, Kuiper, Stuyvesant, and so forth). I think it's the result of a partially logical thought process (/ai/ -> /ɛi/ -> /œy/), though I found, especially in the beginning, that 'ui' sounded more like 'ow' (/aʊ/) to me than anything else (which leads me to agree with HKK's suggestion or possibly Vowt-housen.)


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## inter1908

You can hear something like /ai/ in place of /œy/ in, for example, Vlissingen in Zeeland. Pronounce it like *ie* in d*ie* and you'll be understood. Pronouncing both ou and ui as ou can lead to some misunderstandings.


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