How to pronounce Goudey and Bowman?

[Snapolit1]

How someone pronounced their name is obviously a different question than how others would pronounce it. If you ask people who speak Italian how my family name is pronounced I suspect few of them would accurately say how my name is commonly pronounced in the US among non Italian speakers. And I'm sure this was even more true 100 years ago when foreign names were probably not considered particularly desirable in many parts.

[profholt82]

Yes, Lajoie is a French-Canadian name. They pronounce it Lah-zhwah. You could say Lah-jwah as well, but it's usually said a little softer than that. There is a popular Canadian comedian who used to be on the tv series 'The League' who is named Jon Lajoie, and that's how he pronounces it as well.

For the others, I used to say Goo-Dee when I was a kid, but over the years I've heard just about everyone else say Gow-Dee. And Bowman is pronounced like Bo Jackson or a bow in your hair, not the bow of a ship.

[bobbyw8469]

I always heard GOW - Dee (like rhyming with Cow Pee)

and BO - Man (Like rhyming with Roman)

[mrreality68]

Never thought of how it was pronounced.

Very interesting

These threads are unique and entertaining.

[BillyCoxDodgers3B]

Yes. Correct French enunciation is La-zhwah, but he was always called La-joe-way by any contemporaries whose voices I've heard.

Eddie Cicotte is "SEE-cott" as per the player's own phonetic spelling of it when asked the question.

Wagner's nickname(s) were mangled more than they should have been. You have his own teammates, rivals and younger players he coached using Hans, HAHN-uss, HOE-nuss, etc. I think most of us know it's the latter, although that's really strange, as it was a bit of a play on Johannus, which has never been pronounced Yo-HOE-nuss.

[Ricky]

As a fellow Rhode Islander (Nap was born in Woonsocket, RI, where there is a large French-Canadian population), everyone here pronounces it La-joe-way, with a soft j.

[darwinbulldog]

Gowdy
Bowman
Lazhaway

[Mark17]

Originally Posted by Snapolit1

How someone pronounced their name is obviously a different question than how others would pronounce it. If you ask people who speak Italian how my family name is pronounced I suspect few of them would accurately say how my name is commonly pronounced in the US among non Italian speakers. And I'm sure this was even more true 100 years ago when foreign names were probably not considered particularly desirable in many parts.

Originally Posted by BillyCox3

Eddie Cicotte is "SEE-cott" as per the player's own phonetic spelling of it when asked the question.

The Italian language is very phonetically pure - that is, the spelling tells you exactly how it's pronounced. There are some regional variations of course (in parts of Tuscany, the word "Casa", meaning "house", sounds like "Hasa", with the "C" eaten, as they say.)

But Cicotte, in Italian, is pronounced: Chee-CO-tay.

So, applying to Lajoie, how his name was pronounced in France or French Canada might not be what was used in the English speaking USA.

[nolemmings]

Originally Posted by Mark17

The Italian language is very phonetically pure - that is, the spelling tells you exactly how it's pronounced. There are some regional variations of course (in parts of Tuscany, the word "Casa", meaning "house", sounds like "Hasa", with the "C" eaten, as they say.)

But Cicotte, in Italian, is pronounced: Chee-CO-tay.

Really?
https://www.howtopronounce.com/italian/cicotte

[Seven]

Originally Posted by Snapolit1

How someone pronounced their name is obviously a different question than how others would pronounce it. If you ask people who speak Italian how my family name is pronounced I suspect few of them would accurately say how my name is commonly pronounced in the US among non Italian speakers. And I'm sure this was even more true 100 years ago when foreign names were probably not considered particularly desirable in many parts.

Many Foreign names were butchered when people immigrated over here as well. My Mothers family comes from Calabria, their last name, whatever it was, got changed to the town they were from in Italy, which was Longobardi.

[egri]

Originally Posted by Seven

Many Foreign names were butchered when people immigrated over here as well. My Mothers family comes from Calabria, their last name, whatever it was, got changed to the town they were from in Italy, which was Longobardi.

Same thing happened to Vito Andolini, of Corleone.

To add another butchered French-Canadian name, my maternal grandfather's last name, Martineau, is pronounced "Mart-no". Everyone outside the family who I've heard pronounces it "Mart-in-oh".

[Seven]

Originally Posted by egri

Same thing happened to Vito Andolini, of Corleone.

To add another butchered French-Canadian name, my maternal grandfather's last name, Martineau, is pronounced "Mart-no". Everyone outside the family who I've heard pronounces it "Mart-in-oh".

My reaction to whenever the topps project cards ruin an iconic art design: