# Stefanie (German pronunciation)



## Whodunit

Привет, народ! 

When a girl named Stefanie asked me for a Russian transliteration of her name, I suggested _Штефани_, but when she asked someone who has learned Russian at school, she found out that they'd say _Cтефани_.

Of course, this is right, but I know that Germans pronounce the name "Stefanie" like ['ʃtɛfani:], so the initial Russian letter should actually be _Ш_ instead of _C_, shouldn't it? It's just that I want to avoid that Russians could mispronounce the name, if it's written with _C_.

Cпасибо.


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## Bosta

I would say that both are OK. Transliterating is always open to different interpretations. I prefer Штефани personally.


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## übermönch

Would the э fit better than the е after the т, since э is closer the the German e.


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## Bosta

That'a a very good point! 
I have a son called David and in letters and e-mails from friends in Russia they refer to him sometimes as Давид and sometimes as Дэвид.


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## Whodunit

übermönch said:
			
		

> Would the э fit better than the е after the т, since э is closer the the German e.


 
That's what I thought at first, but after googling, I've come to the conclusion that the э in Штэфани must be wrong. 

Thank you for your replies. So, it seems that I've been right about Штефани.


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## Bosta

Probably, but at the end of the day it's HER name, she can spell it how she wants -- in any alphabet!


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## beakman

Whodunit said:
			
		

> Привет, народ!
> 
> When a girl named Stefanie asked me for a Russian transliteration of her name, I suggested _Штефани_, but when she asked someone who has learned Russian at school, she found out that they'd say _Cтефани_.
> 
> Of course, this is right, but I know that Germans pronounce the name "Stefanie" like ['ʃtɛfani:], so the initial Russian letter should actually be _Ш_ instead of _C_, shouldn't it? It's just that I want to avoid that Russians could mispronounce the name, if it's written with _C_.
> 
> Cпасибо.


Привет!
I'm Russian and I wouldn't definitely say "_Штефани_". I would say instead "Стэфани". It sounds more natural. In Russian there is a tendency to pronounce the names as they are pronounced originally. If originally you pronounce her name like Germans, that is,['ʃtɛfani:], so you can pronounce it with initial letter _Ш. But if originally you say _[stɛfani], then in Russian let it be "Стэфани". Personally, I like the latter version of the name.
До свидания!


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## Whodunit

beakman said:
			
		

> Привет!
> I'm Russian and I wouldn't definitely say "_Штефани_". I would say instead "Стэфани". It sounds more natural.



 
According to Google, the first version is more common. What is the difference between "e" and "э" in pronunciation? If "e" isn't pronounced "ye", don't these two letters almost have the same pronunciation?




> In Russian there is a tendency to pronounce the names as they are pronounced originally. If originally you pronounce her name like Germans, that is,['ʃtɛfani:





> ], so you can pronounce it with initial letter _Ш. But if originally you say _[stɛfani], then in Russian let it be "Стэфани". Personally, I like the latter version of the name.




So, should I go with "_Штефани" or Шт_э_фани"?_



> До свидания!


 
Cпасибо и спокойной ночи!


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## Aliocha_K

> So, should I go with "Штефани" or Штэфани"?


As Bosta said, there are no "hard-and-fast" rules for this kind of transliteration. Personnaly I would spell it _"Штэфани"_, 'cause it sounds closer to the original pronounication.

However, the english (or french) pronounication of Stephany or Stephanie is commonly translitered with an "е" instead of an "э"...

So, I would say that it's up to you 

A.K.


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## beakman

Whodunit said:
			
		

> [/font]
> 
> According to Google, the first version is more common. What is the difference between "e" and "э" in pronunciation? If "e" isn't pronounced "ye", don't these two letters almost have the same pronunciation?
> 
> Hello, Whodunit!
> First of all, I do apologise, I didn't want to disconcert you! I made a research on Russian pronunciation rules (fortunately, I still keep some books on Russian Grammer and Phonetics).
> To begin with, in Russian there are pairs of similar consonants which may be either soft or hard. For example:
> [t]-hard consonant as in the word "тест" (test) which sounds "тэст" and [t']- soft consonant as in the word "тесто" (dough, paste) which sounds "тесто". Almost all consonant can be either hard or soft. There are some which are always hard: ж, ш, ц. There are some which always soft: ч, щ, й. Sometimes the softness/ hardness of a consonant change the meaning, for example: лук (bow, onion)- люк (hatch).
> According to the Phonetic rules, generally, Russian consonants are pronounced softly in the words of Russian origin. In the words of foreign origin they can be pronounced in two different ways, either as soft or hard consonants. For example: фанера [н'э] (plywood)- soft consonant н' and it is read [фанера] or which is the same: [фан'эра] ; ателье [тэ] (studio)- hard consonant т and it is read [атэл'э].
> As for spelling generally, in the words of foreign origin after consonants we write the letter "e" as in the words: леди, Дели, Монтевидео, Лаерт Фред and they are pronounced like hard consonants, that is [лэди дэли монтэвидео лаэрт фрэд]. But there are exeptions from this spelling rule: мэр(mayor), сэр(sir), рэп(rap), and some proper names such as: Бэкон, Улан- Удэ, etc.
> 
> So, should I go with "_Штефани" or Шт_э_фани"?_
> 
> Pronounced [_Шт_э_фани _] or [Стэфани] and in written form _Штефани or Стефани. _
> Regards!


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## aazzh

Hi,
As a native russian speaker I would definitely stick with "Стефани".
 If you really want to set stress that it is a german name then it could be "_Штефани"._
I think modern russian language tends to use "e"  in translated names.


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## cyanista

"_Штефани" _is certainly a better choice than "_Стефани"_. It's the same story with lots of names. For example, Daniel: it should be spelled Дэниел(or Дэниэл!) when you talk about an Englishman/Canadian/Australian etc., but it's Даниэль/Даниель when referring to a German or a Spaniard. Robert is spelled Роберт when it's an Englisch or a German name, and Робер when it's French. And so on.

Oh, by the way, the legendary German tennis player Steffi Graf is normally referred to as *Штеффи* Граф in Russian-speaking media.


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## Whodunit

cyanista said:
			
		

> "_Штефани" _is certainly a better choice than "_Стефани"_. It's the same story with lots of names. For example, Daniel: it should be spelled Дэниел(or Дэниэл!) when you talk about an Englishman/Canadian/Australian etc., but it's Даниэль/Даниель when referring to a German or a Spaniard. Robert is spelled Роберт when it's an Englisch or a German name, and Робер when it's French. And so on.
> 
> Oh, by the way, the legendary German tennis player Steffi Graf is normally referred to as *Штеффи* Граф in Russian-speaking media.


 
Why would "Daniel" be spelled "Даниель" and not just "Данель"? I personally do not pronounce an "i", it's something like a "ye" sound.

Thanks for all the responses, by the way.


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## Jana337

Данель - the combination "не" would sound like "ňe" or "gne" (Avi*gn*on), which would not be correct, right?

Jana


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## Whodunit

Jana337 said:
			
		

> Данель - the combination "не" would sound like "ňe" or "gne" (Avi*gn*on), which would not be correct, right?
> 
> Jana


 
Actually, it would. I have recorded the way I pronounce it. Please tell me if it is pronounced like "не" then.


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## cyanista

Jana337 said:
			
		

> ...the combination "не" would sound like "ňe" or "gne" ...


Not quite. "ňe" or "gne" [nje] would correspond to the Russian "нье". "не" doesn't have this "slide", it's more similar to the German "ne" in such words as "Nebel" or "Neger".

I hope this answers your question, Daniel.


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## Whodunit

cyanista said:
			
		

> Not quite. "ňe" or "gne" [nje] would correspond to the Russian "нье". "не" doesn't have this "slide", it's more similar to the German "ne" in such words as "Nebel" or "Neger".
> 
> I hope this answers your question, Daniel.


 
That I don't understand. Wouldn't I pronounce "Нет" like "net" then instead of "njet"?


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## cyanista

Well, "Нет" is neither pronounced "net" nor "njet". An eqivalent sound combination just doesn't exist in German or English. To create a similar sounding one could take the first syllable of "Nebel" and add a "t" (a German  "t", ie from "Wer*t*").* Nee-t. It's not a perfect imitation either but at least it shows that there should only be two sounds, without a "middle" one. 

That's why I suggest you stick with Даниель. Or write it Даньель if you want to be special. But Данель is no good, sorry.

* And please note that e in N*e*bel is different from e in N*e*tz!


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