Ah-lee-zay?

[dreamer]

I was wondering: On the title page of alizee america it says her name is pronounced Ah-lee-zay. My problem is with the "zay". It seems to indicate to me that you voice should go up at the end which is not really the case, it stays flat: Alizée.

Don't you love my ability to generate nonsensical threads?

[edgar93]

Originally Posted by dreamer

pronounced Ah-lee-zay. My problem is with the "zay". It seems to indicate to me that you voice should go up at the end which is not really the case, it stays flat: Alizée.

Don't you love my ability to generate nonsensical threads?

actually it has a lot of sense . I think when it says Ah-lee-zay, it means that, when pronunciating her name, ends with an i, something like Alizei

[fsquared]

dreamer, the last time this got brought up, it all ended rather badly. I'd rather we just refer back to the original thread: http://alizeeamerica.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2701

[TheBarrett]

A-li-zeh?

[lefty12357]

Originally Posted by dreamer

I was wondering: On the title page of alizee america it says her name is pronounced Ah-lee-zay. My problem is with the "zay". It seems to indicate to me that you voice should go up at the end which is not really the case, it stays flat: Alizée.

Don't you love my ability to generate nonsensical threads?

I see things like “zay” sometimes used in American English to show pronunciation. It simply means that the zée should be pronounced “zay”, just like “day” or pay” would be. It doesn’t signify any added accent or stress or change in pitch on the syllable, just a "z" with a long "a" sound.

[Rocket]

Originally Posted by TheBarrett

A-li-zeh?

By George, I think he's got it! Now say 'The rain in Spain falls mainly on the plain.'

[Tchaikovsky]

Ally-zee..

[TheBarrett]

Or maybe say it like Ventrilo TTS voice

Uh-lee-zee

[Deepwaters]

The French "é" sound doesn't exist in English, or rather it does but never by itself. It's not quite a long A; the English long A sound doesn't exist in French, either.

The long A is actually a diphthong consisting of the French é followed by the French i (or English long E). It's almost "EH-EE" but not quite, because the English short E ("EH") sounds like the French è, not the French é.

The best way to say this sound is to start saying an English long A and then cut it short. If you say this sound, e.g. in the word "cake," you will find your mouth moving into two different positions, one to make the first part of the long A sound and then the other to make the second. Try this, but stop yourself before your mouth moves into the second position. What you will produce is the French é, or very close to it. That, with a z in front, will be the third syllable correctly pronounced.

The first syllable of Her Grace's name is similarly difficult. It's not quite an English short A as in apple, nor is it quite the English A sound as in father, but rather a midpoint between those two. Say the short A sound and note the position of the mouth, with the tongue pulled well back, and the mouth somewhat flattened; then say the A in father and note that position, with the tongue more forward and the mouth open in an O-shape. Split the difference, and you've got the A in Alizée.

The middle syllable is easier: the French i and the English long E are identical, or as close as no matter. So that middle syllable is pronounced just like the last name of a famous Confederate general from the Civil War (Lee).

Put those three together, and (as always in French) put no accent on any syllable, and you've got it.

[Tchaikovsky]

Originally Posted by Deepwaters

The French "é" sound doesn't exist in English, or rather it does but never by itself. It's not quite a long A; the English long A sound doesn't exist in French, either.

The long A is actually a diphthong consisting of the French é followed by the French i (or English long E). It's almost "EH-EE" but not quite, because the English short E ("EH") sounds like the French è, not the French é.

The best way to say this sound is to start saying an English long A and then cut it short. If you say this sound, e.g. in the word "cake," you will find your mouth moving into two different positions, one to make the first part of the long A sound and then the other to make the second. Try this, but stop yourself before your mouth moves into the second position. What you will produce is the French é, or very close to it. That, with a z in front, will be the third syllable correctly pronounced.

The first syllable of Her Grace's name is similarly difficult. It's not quite an English short A as in apple, nor is it quite the English A sound as in father, but rather a midpoint between those two. Say the short A sound and note the position of the mouth, with the tongue pulled well back, and the mouth somewhat flattened; then say the A in father and note that position, with the tongue more forward and the mouth open in an O-shape. Split the difference, and you've got the A in Alizée.

The middle syllable is easier: the French i and the English long E are identical, or as close as no matter. So that middle syllable is pronounced just like the last name of a famous Confederate general from the Civil War (Lee).

Put those three together, and (as always in French) put no accent on any syllable, and you've got it.

I still prefer Ally-zee.