Thread: Pronounce "Solingen"

Can someone spell this out phonetically?

It is my understanding that it is pronounced, "Saul-Engine." Hope this helps.

Kyle

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/solingen

Pronunciation: \ˈzō-liŋ-ən, ˈsō-\

There's a ton of different ways to pronounce sounds within the many English dialects.
So I suspect the same holds true for German as well. Go with what you feel is right and if enough do the same its just as valid as anything else.

Actually. This is not so true for the German language. German is a lot more phonetically solid.

Solingen is an area/city. It's pronounced like So (as in So so) Ling (as in the way a chinese name would sound) en. (the sounds is close to And....but without a D so like "an" I suppose.

Thanks Alex.

I've been saying Sol (rhymes with Moll) - in (rhymes with tin!) - gen (rhymes with hen).



No one expects Aussies to pronounce anything correctly, but it's nice to know the right way anyway.

James.

I believe in German, the S would also have more of a "Z" pronunciation, and the G would have a little harder sound (i.e., you'd hear it a little).

Zol - ing - gen

Originally Posted by xChris

I believe in German, the S would also have more of a "Z" pronunciation, and the G would have a little harder sound (i.e., you'd hear it a little).

Zol - ing - gen

+1 Zol - ing - gen

+1 for ZO-ling-en

ZOL (cap indicate where the stress is)

Z like "Zoo"
o similar to "coat", almost like the "o" in "show"
l - as in "like" not as in "pill" (referred to as the "light" L)
ng - as in "sing" (Sing...from the German singen - "to sing"). This is not a dipthong, but a specific consonant grouping which does not follow the rules for voiced/voiceless consonants (the "G"). Without the "N" in front of it, the "G" would be hard, as in "get", as it is followed by a vowel; if it were at the end of a word, as in the word for "day" (Tag), it takes on the sound of a slightly swallowed "K".
en - as in "enter"

Das Raziermesser war in Solingen hergestellt - This razor was made in Solingen.

Originally Posted by xChris

I believe in German, the S would also have more of a "Z" pronunciation, and the G would have a little harder sound (i.e., you'd hear it a little).

Zol - ing - gen

Thats the way they pronounce it in Japan and they do their best to mimic the words they borrow. With the exception that the ge part is pronounced similar to the ge in get, so I would guess that xChris is right.

Just a thought.