i have always pronounced this word gee-uh-teen , yet most others pronounce it gil-uh-teen. i come from a family that has always focused strongly on proper linguistic skills and have been many many many times complimented for my extroardinary vocabulary, which was at a college level by 6th grade. when i researched this online (dictionary.com was my source) i got two pronounciation keys, saying both of us are right. yet it was confusing. could you explain? incidintily the double L makes y sound in most latin based languages , perticularly romance languages, indicating that i am correct.
2007-07-23 16:18:33 · 10 answers · asked by michael n 6 in Society & Culture ➔ Languages
In English, both pronunciations are equally correct for this word as Webster's Dictionary and Dictionary.com both illustrate below:
http://www.m-w.com/dictionary/guillotine
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/guillotine
Most English speakers do pronounce it "gill-oh-teen" but my recommendation is for you to say it however you feel comfortable.
For example, most American English speakers pronounce the word aunt as " ænt" while British and Irish speakers pronounce it as "awnt." Both pronunciations are correct.
Personally, I say "awnt" even though I occasionally get raised eye brows from people when I do. This is because that's the way my family from the East Coast always pronounced it and therefore, the pronunciation I feel most comfortable with.
In Vulgar Latin and Proto-Romance, Latin 'll' did have a strong tendency to be pronounced either as 'ly' or 'y' or to disappear entirely as in Spanish pello (peyo), French peau (po) "skin" from Latin pellis.
However, this change was not universal. Catalán and Romanian still retain the 'l' sound in their descendants of pellis (pell & piel). This is because not everyone in the Roman Empire learned or spoke Latin the same way.
2007-07-23 19:35:11 · answer #1 · answered by Brennus 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Lol, well, first of all Romance languages are all Latin Based, pretty much. And no, not all of them make the double ll into a y sound. Spanish and French do, whereas Italian, Romanian and I think Portuguese don't. Both pronunciations are right, I would say gee-o-teen is the closest to regular French, but both English pronunciations are acceptable.
2007-07-23 23:27:41 · answer #2 · answered by Timothy 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
In french it's Gee Yo Teen
2007-07-24 03:25:09 · answer #3 · answered by Sillia 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You are correct. The Guillotine was invented by a man named Guillotine in France. In the french language, "guillotine" would be said "guee-oh-teen" In english, it should be said, "gee-uh-teen"
(All the the Gs are hard consonants.)
2007-07-24 00:24:57 · answer #4 · answered by DoodleGirl 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
You are correct!
I speak French and it is definately gee-uh-teen. Although gil-uh-teen is acceptable in English, the word is French and as such should be pronounced correctly, :p.
In French, ll is pronounced as a normal L usually only in some proper names etc.
2007-07-23 23:28:33 · answer #5 · answered by wickedfan128 2 · 3⤊ 2⤋
everyone is using the "gee" which to me sounds like, "Gee... I'm sorry." You know? they all are probably saying it right, but phonetically spelling it wrong. I would do
gey(like key with a g)-ah-teen.
2007-07-24 00:11:53 · answer #6 · answered by Isabelle1799 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
We pronounce it "gil-yo-teen", however "gi-yo-teen" is also correct.
2007-07-23 23:27:53 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 2⤋
You are correct in your pronunciation.
2007-07-23 23:23:27 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
To me it is "gil-lo-tine" Either way you pronounce it, it is gruesome. Pops
2007-07-23 23:23:01 · answer #9 · answered by Pops 6 · 0⤊ 3⤋
gee-ya-teen
2007-07-23 23:36:28 · answer #10 · answered by ¾ pErFeCt™ 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋