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What do you do when you don't know how to pronounce foreign words...


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...in a book you're reading?

 

I find this happens to me often (especially French words because I don't know *any* French) and it is very frustrating. Sometimes it even prevents me from engaging in discussion on the book with someone because I am afraid I will butcher the word so they won't even know what I'm talking about, LOL.

 

Sometimes I will try to pronounce (in my head) the best I can based on my Spanish knowledge and what little Latin knowledge I have. But more often, I can only deduce the meaning. I have found that I will hear the unfamiliar word somewhere and only by chance does it occur to me that what I heard and what I read (and pronounced completely differently in my head) are the same word, LOL. :blushing:

 

I know I can't be the only one who struggles with this, esp. on a Classical Education board. So what do you do when this happens? Do you have a particular resource you go to (there is a pronunciation guide that I really want, have wanted for years, but can't bring myself to spend the $80+ for even a used copy)? If so, what is it? A reference book? A search engine on the Internet? Or do you pronounce it in your head and don't care whether it's right? Or, better yet, do you ignore the word completely and read over it?:D

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It's the Greek that sometimes fouls me up. We read a lot of Classical myths for bed-time stories and there are time I'm simply stumped.

 

If I do guess wrong...I'll usually hear the voice of my lovely wife (the English major) float down the hall-way with a gentle correction. :001_smile:

 

Bill

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This is the one I use. http://wordreference.com/

 

eta: I'm sorry! The kids and the neighbors were running though the room when I posted, and I was thinking this site gave pronunciation. This site is good for meaning, but it doesn't pronounce words for you. I hope someone has the answer, though, as it's something I'd like to use, too! As it is, I think a mixture of Spanish and Pepe le Pew.

Edited by klmama
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