Bela has created a wonderful set of audio files over at Frag Name of the Day — find out how to pronounce everything from Serge Lutens to Chant d'Arômes to Hermessence Collection. Plus, she's taking requests: just leave a comment.
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I loved checking out that site a couple weeks back. Yay, Bela! Leave a comment here? Or there? Or both?
The one I was most interested in was Mugler, because I’m never sure with non-French names whether the final ‘r’ is silent or voiced.
I’d love to hear her prounounce “fee-awn-egg-wee-(uh)”.
There are others where I have trouble figuring out if there’s a phonetic “liaison”, but I can’t think which at the moment.
Oh, leave a comment there!
She has Poivre Samarcande up today. I wouldn’t even try to say it.
I guess this will help keep me from sounding like an ignorant southerner! Ha! I do like the way she says, “Des Filles a la Vanille.” It’s so much more rhythmical than me stumbling over it!
Yet another I would probably never say aloud. Thank heavens for the internet!
My trouble, of course, is not that I don’t *know* how to pronounce them (I can pronounce them in my head), but that my mouth flat-out refuses to make those sounds. Especially anything with a U or an R. After 5 years of it, I gave up and took Russian instead.
Don’t worry, I can’t say them either
Boojum, too funny! Even though my grandfather was a native speaker of French, I never could get my mouth to speak French either. So ….. I learned Russian!
C’est très bien
Oui.
I always say that I wish I had taken French instead of Spanish – so Bela’s site is a treasure for me!
It’s a shame we can’t swap…I wanted Spanish, but it wasn’t offered at my school.
Ha – go figure!
It’s both fun & horrifying…boy, can I butcher French.
I’d be willing to go back to French class if Bela wrote the curriculum. So many months wasted asking “my uncle where to find the library.” The two that I didn’t speak correctly were Rochas and L’Occitane. Many thanks, Bela.
Perfume French 101.
The SAs at the l’Occitane store here in Vancouver pronounce their own company’s name wrong: they say LOCK uh tan. Sheesh. And French is one of our two official languages, even.
Thanks, Bela and Robin!
Aaaargh!
You’re welcome.
Wow! I had no idea. Thank you all so much for your kind words.
Until today Thierry Mugler was the name that had had the greatest number of hits, but, funnily enough, Rochas has overtaken it now.
The liaison is indeed a tricky thing. There are rules, but, as usual, lots of exceptions to them too.
I am adding Fille en Aiguilles to my list. Keep the requests coming – here (I read Robin’s blog religiously every day), on Slap or Frag Name of the Day… it doesn’t matter: I will see them.
Thanks Bela!
I got my French covered, but I still love your site Bela, especially since my French language education comes from a long line of French instructors with regional accents. It’s fun identifying the subtle (and not so subtle) differences! Incidentally, my German is the same way because I learned it primarily from dear family friends in Bavaria and one fabulous Austrian college professor.
I spent my teenage years (and beyond) in Nice so I should have an accent, but I don’t. I love that particular one (there are others that I can’t stand), but I somehow managed to avoid acquiring it.
I’m in a minority these days, but I really think having a regional accent is a bit of a handicap for a language teacher.
Bela, I need your help:
How do you pronounce “Maison Francis Kurkdjian”
Thanks!
Oh, gosh, a challenge! Although the guy is French, his name is Armenian and difficult to pronounce. I’m adding it to my list and will do my best.
What a wonderful resource. Thanks, Bela!
Embarrassment-saving idea: Load an iPod with these and use them to ask for what you want at those fancy fragrance boutiques.
Thank you, Haunani!
That’s a great idea. Maybe someone can create an app for that. LOL!
That’s so rad! Thank you for sharing : )
That’s pretty great – I have been saying sillage a little wrong all this time. I had a few years of French but some things are so subtle!
Words containing the letters ‘ill’ are a minefield. You can never tell whether the sound is ‘ll’ or ‘y’.
Thank you very much, Bela! Your site is very useful for me.
You’re welcome.
Please tell me how to pronounce the last name of Gianfranco Ferre. Thank you!
Gianfranco Ferré was Italian and I’m afraid I’m only qualified to advise on French pronunciation. However, since he ran Dior for a number of years and therefore could be considered a French designer – and since there is no English equivalent for ‘é’ and I can’t transcribe it easily, I will add this name to my list.
So funny to hear about the opposite side of the coin.
As a native French speaker “Des filles en aiguilles” is a cinch, but I struggled for years over how to properly produce the English “th” sound. It didn’t help that my teachers (who were French themselves) kept insisting that “th” was to be pronunced exactly like a “z”
“Ze Squ-oui-ril is rue-ning op ze trrree” was one sentence we had to practice…
I was very lucky: for the first two years, I was taught English by a native speaker so I bypassed the painful ze-ze-ze stage. I cringe when I hear my fellow country(wo)men struggle with the English language – sometimes after spending years and years in the UK (or other English-speaking countries). English is not congenial to the French tongue (the organ) and vice versa. I think it probably helped that my parents spoke at least two languages other than French at home (not English, though).
Help, Bela! I never know how to pronounce Balmain’s Ivoire. I love your site. Thanks for the link, Robin.
Your wish is my command, as they say. Added to the list (will probably appear next week).
lol, i’m glad i never needed that. even the SAs at the Hermes boutique mentioned how well i pronounce the names. years and years of french in highschool paid off!
Well done!
Dear Bela, please say “Fifi Chachnil”. Thank you!!
Sure. Thank you.
Does anyone know what is the correct way to pronounce Bois 1920? Most SAs pronounce it the french way, but the brand is italian, so I’m not convinced
No idea, sorry!