Dan Snow

Soutra there are thousands of personable, good looking young men and women with excellent degrees who don't walk into high profile presenter jobs on national television. It's not surprising that the family connections have been useful to Dan Snow. And having a good first degree in history, even from Balliol, doesn't make you an eminent historian!

What is the correct French pronunciation of Caen, please?

And what is the correct French pronunciation of the name Kieffer?

How is anyone who has never heard them said by a French speaker supposed to know the "correct" versions?

Am I still allowed to say Paris instead of Paree?

And are we still allowing French people to say Londres?

My French neighbours pronounced Caen - cong but the G was silent.

No idea re Keiffer I just pronounce it Keefer as in Keifer Sutherland.

I would only say paree if I was speaking to someone French.

Caen = Kon with the 'n' barely pronounced at all

Ooops Papaoscar, watch out here. The word/sound Kon (written with a c in French) does not mean Caen at all!!! Don't quite know how to word this, but it means 'twit' but with another vowel.... if you see what I mean.

Caen is pronounced like the French word for 'when' quand (d not pronounced). I'll put a link to a very famous sketch from the 60s, but the famous French comedian Guy Bedos. All based on the play on words 'quand est le train pour Caen' - the 2 words sounding exactly the same. He asks the train conductor 'pour Caen c'est à qualle heure' which the conductor understands as 'for when what times is it' and he replies 'how can I tell you when, when I don't know where to'....

youtu.be/nX7IeYrYdtk

The point being, papaoscar, that the two syllables, and indeed words, 'en' and 'on' are pronounced differently, e.g. 'dent' - tooth - and 'dont' - whose.

Eh?

.com!

Don't tell me that Dan Snow, if he had been a foot shorter and grotesque looking, would have got the jobs he now does. No, he's not 'just a pretty face' but it sure helps. [grin[

OK points made. Thank you for the phonetic explanation of Caen ( avoiding the pitfals p "con"!!!) * granjura*. Kieffer is pronounced with the emphasis on the last syllable "Key -fer - not necessarily the sort of thing one knows but the Beeb does have a pronunciation unit precisely for that purpose. Why so grudging about Dan Snow though? History degrees from Oxford don't get given out like Smarties!

Re on and en, I have forgotten my phonetic symbols but the two vowel sounds involved require the lips to be in very different positions. Perhaps granjuracan help.

Insert can before help in last post!

I'd stop digging if I were you, grumppa...

I agree grandmasandra all that money they are paid and they can't speak properly

I don’t find Dan Snow good looking at all I find him very nondescript and pretty irritating too but not sure why
He d probably find me the same

GrandmaSandra appears to be the OP of this thread (Sun 08 June 14), so how come it now resurfaces?