03 December 2010

Say My Name!

Truth is, I can't pronounce my husband's name. 

Believe it or not, he has one of the most common names in the world...Michael.  But in Swiss German, it is pronounced Mick-ai-el.  When making the ck sound in Mick you must pull the sound from the back of your throat; as if you are gurgling.  The sound is not too hard and there is sort of a hiss to it.  Mi(soft-gurgle, slight hiss)ck-ai-el. 

It's not just me. Americans are known for not being able to make this sound.  My kiddies always laugh at me because of my pronunciation shortcomings.  But I love it when they say my name (soft-gurgle,slight hiss) Ki(soft-gurgle, slight hiss)Ki.  I love it!

3 comments:

Balanced Melting Pot said...

LOL! See, I knew German would be a hard language to learn ;-)

Chic Noir said...

I dated a foreign born man and had the same problem. Kiki we had to practice his name for a few weeks before I could pronounce it and then I only got it half right.

KiKi said...

@ chic noir
That's funny!