Did Chekov ever pronounce "V's" correctly in TOS?
- Thread starter MarsWeeps
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Well, if nothing else, I think he says "Ivan Burkov" in "...Tribbles," pronouncing "Ivan" with a "v" instead of a "w."
"Ivan" is already a Russian name, though, and "Ivan Borkov" a Russified(?) approximation of the name of the English astronomer John Burke. The mispronunciation of "v" as a "w" is something you'd only expect to hear when Chekov was speaking English words.
Offhand, I can't think of any instance of Chekov failing to thus mispronounce a "v" sound, but I'll admit to not having researched it even a little bit.
Except that Chekov gave “Ivan” the anglicized pronunciation of “EYE-vun,” rather than the correct Russian pronunciation “Ee-VAHN.”
Why would anyone think Russians pronounce their “v” sounds as “w” when speaking English? Maybe it’s because the word “vodka” is written “wodka” — in Polish, not Russian. (Vodka in Cyrillic letters is водки.)
He ALWAYS pronounces the V in his own name.
It's a common mistake for people speaking english as a foreign language. Germans often pronounce a V like a W, probably just to make it sound more english, not realizing that they accomplish the exact opposite.
I remember that tv ad for "The Woice of Germany" ... they have such a big budget and can't even get someone to pronounce the title of the show right! "Like a Wirgin" is another prominent example.
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How should they have pronounced it? "Voice" is [vɔɪs] in phonetics and the [v] sound is pronounced just like the german "w" (as in "Welt" [vɛlt]). So I don't get what you are talking about.
But they pronounced the V in Voice like they should pronounce a W in Water. Woice. Horrible!
No. "Water" is pronounced [ˈwɔːtə], with a different sound at the beginning. The [w] sound is like that in the english word "wind": [wɪnd]. "Voice" however is pronounced with a [v], as in "have" [hæv], "raven" [ˈreɪvən] or "river" [ˈɹɪvə]. Not with a [w], as in "wonder" [ˈwʌndɚ] or "when" [wɛn].
But they pronounced the V in Voice like they should pronounce a W in Water. Woice. Horrible!
I know that. That was my point, wasn't it? That it's wrong to pronounce Voice like you would pronounce Water?
They are saying it correctly there, but the add that had been on air weeks before the show actually started always said "Woice" ... it almost made me throwing things at my brand new tv set!
Ha, I can understand that.
There's also the reverse situation, though: When they try to make it sound overly americanized. There's a short ad which always aired between breaks of "Grey's Anatomy". In my opinion the speaker always pronounced the title of the show as if he was some wannabe texan with a heavy accent.
Ha, I can understand that.
And don't get me started on the pronounciation of Barak Obama ...
Ha, I can understand that.
And don't get me started on the pronounciation of Barak Obama ...
OK. I also promise not to get started on your spelling...!
Doug
OK. I also promise not to get started on your spelling...!
Doug
Sorry about the missing letter, blame it on my old keyboard!
People always pronounce their own names correctly, don’t they? Besides, it would sound silly if he called himself “Chekow.”
Only talking about the "v" sound here. How Chekov pronounces the rest is a topic for a separate discussion, which you can start if you wish (I promise not to go in and attempt to drag it off on a tangent.)
Because—whether by mistake or out of confusion—some Russians do this. As Oso Blanco points out, it's also not uncommon among Germans speaking English. (One friend of my family, originally from around Recklinghausen, frequently expressed criticism of something he did not regard highly by way of saying "That is wery stupid.")
OK. I also promise not to get started on your spelling...!
Doug
Sorry about the missing letter, blame it on my old keyboard!
I was joking when I mentioned your spelling, but now that you responded, my A/R condition forces me to ask if your keyboard also caused you to misspell "pronunciation"!
Doug
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