Guest stsutcliffe Posted 24 September , 2004 Share Posted 24 September , 2004 Anyone... I'm a long-time student of the Great War. But interestingly I've never heard anyone actually verbalize the name "Thiepval". Can someone let me know the correct phonetical pronunciation..... Thanks. SS Dallas, TX USA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iain mchenry Posted 24 September , 2004 Share Posted 24 September , 2004 SS, I am nearly sure it is pronounced as: "Tee-ep-val" Hope this is right Iain Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Dunlop Posted 24 September , 2004 Share Posted 24 September , 2004 Correct, depending on how one pronounces the 'eee's The 'h' is silent. Robert Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CROONAERT Posted 24 September , 2004 Share Posted 24 September , 2004 Like a lot of the pronunciations of places over there. It depends how you want to pronounce it. Like a local?, like an Englishman speaking the language?, like a Frenchman from another province? etc. etc.. (eg. my dad speaks fluent German with a Berlin accent, whereas I learnt it in a Rhineland accent (apparently!), so we pronounce words differently). An example in French is the pronunciation for the word for "one". Is it "oon", maybe it's "ern", then again, it might be "ann". They're all correct. It just depends on the accent. Dave. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Desmond7 Posted 24 September , 2004 Share Posted 24 September , 2004 Most common pronunciation I've heard over here - and it is in all honesty entirely wrong - is 'Theepvil' . Des Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max Poilu Posted 24 September , 2004 Share Posted 24 September , 2004 I am with Iain although the 'p' in 'ep' can be lightly stressed. However, some English people say 'tee val' and some say even say 'teep val'. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevew Posted 24 September , 2004 Share Posted 24 September , 2004 I'm in the Teep val camp Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Apache IP Posted 25 September , 2004 Share Posted 25 September , 2004 Wonderful thread! Would anyone care to enlighten me on "Ypres". I also have several others. Hooked on Phonics, Barry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max Poilu Posted 25 September , 2004 Share Posted 25 September , 2004 Wonderful thread! Would anyone care to enlighten me on "Ypres". Try 'ee - perr', 'ee - pur', or similar! Phonetically it's difficult to get this one across correctly. Loos is one that has confused me, I always thought it was 'Loozz' but I seem to remember when visiting the tunnels Isabelle Polowski (sp?) said it is 'loss' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Desmond7 Posted 25 September , 2004 Share Posted 25 September , 2004 CAMBRAI - is it:- Combray or Combreye? Or Cam as in Camera? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katb Posted 25 September , 2004 Share Posted 25 September , 2004 Think its the former, but used to have a history teacher who called it Cambria! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Desmond7 Posted 25 September , 2004 Share Posted 25 September , 2004 Combray it is then! Cheers. Des Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max Poilu Posted 25 September , 2004 Share Posted 25 September , 2004 I thought it was the latter! - 'com - bry'. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katb Posted 25 September , 2004 Share Posted 25 September , 2004 I thought it was the latter! - 'com - bry'. lol! Are there any french people in the house? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hooge Posted 26 September , 2004 Share Posted 26 September , 2004 The correst phonetical pronounciation is TEE-EP_VAL.Hope this helps.John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CROONAERT Posted 26 September , 2004 Share Posted 26 September , 2004 Wonderful thread! Would anyone care to enlighten me on "Ypres". Try 'ee - perr', 'ee - pur', or similar! Phonetically it's difficult to get this one across correctly. Once again, it's another of those that you can pronounce differently and still be correct . The Dutch "Ieper" is pronounced, locally as "ee - perr" with a ""cut" and "rolled" "r". However, the pronunciation of the French "Ypres" is more like "ee-pray", whereas the most common English pronunciation of "Ypres" sounds more like "eepr". Stick to "Wipers", it's easier and is just as understood! Dave. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Somme1916 Posted 29 September , 2004 Share Posted 29 September , 2004 I'm inclined to pronounce it Thee ep val, with the T.H. but I must agree the Tee is probably right. I also pronounce Ypres, eep ra, but as so many of you already know we Yanks are always screwing up everyone's language even the Queen's Jon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Borden Battery Posted 29 September , 2004 Share Posted 29 September , 2004 Many soldiers in the CEF called Ypres .... "Wipers" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest 1913Erfurt Posted 2 October , 2004 Share Posted 2 October , 2004 So I guess it would be plausible to remark that at some point during the Great War, during a torrential downpour while riding in a truck, the driver may have stated to its passengers, "Guess I better put on the Ypres........." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SPotter Posted 9 October , 2004 Share Posted 9 October , 2004 Bonjour, Je parle un peu de français, donc je voudrais vous donner mes idées. Sorry - showing off. Ypres - In my book wipers - can be nothing else. In french ee-pr. It's harder to put in phontics than say it. Should have paid more attention to my 7 year-old son's Jolly-Phonics homework! Cambrai - ai is pronounced simply 'a' as in abc... so it's cam-bray, though it can also be a nasal com-bray, just depends on how posh you are. Je vous remercie de votre attention, et bon nuit! Etienne. PS: If there are any real French speakers on the Forum, my apologies!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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