4 ms·

One data point: To my American English tongue, I find a slight word aversion to Galilei due to the final vowel construction. Galileo presents no aversion to me

One data point: To my American English tongue, I find a slight word aversion to Galilei due to the final vowel construction. Galileo presents no aversion to me. For more on word aversions, check out these many Language Log posts: http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla%3Aen-US%3Aofficial&hs=qTV&q=site%3Alanguagelog.ldc.upenn.edu+word+aversion&aq=f&oq=&aqi= http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&client=firefox-a&...

davidw 17y ago
It's not that difficult: Gal ee lay ee
- kevindication 17y ago
  I didn't say it was difficult. I said that, for whatever phonetic reason, I don't like to pronounce it, and I can't exactly articulate why. That's the root of the research on word aversions.
  - davidw 17y ago
    Ah, I see... weird, but I guess it's a matter of taste. There are a few words in Italian that really are tricky. Not many, but I took a while to get this one right: ammortizzatore it really twists your mouth around if you're saying it right.
    - andreyf 17y ago
      Some hypothesize it isn't taste, but the way our minds treat language: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Optimality_Theory http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Optimality_Theory I'd pronounce it Gal lee lay
      - ido 17y ago
        > I'd pronounce it Gal lee lay Unfortunately, you'd be wrong.
        deleted 17y ago
        [deleted]
    - jacquesm 17y ago
      Try Szeczin (town in Poland) Polish has some of the best tongue breakers in the world, there is the word for toothbrush that I won't even try to spell because I'll mess it up.
      - sp332 17y ago
        Toothbrush is szczoteczka, according to Google. You might break some teeth trying to pronounce it!
        paulbaumgart 17y ago
        It's a lot scarier looking than it is... 'sz' and 'cz' are both phonemes, somewhat similar in sound to the English 'sh'. Still not easy to pronounce, sure.
        sp332 17y ago
        Is it onomatopoetic? The sound of brushing one's teeth?
        anatoly 17y ago
        No, it comes from a common Slavic root of unclear origin chet- or shet- with meanings, in various languages, of "comb", "picket fence", "bristle", "fir needles", etc.
        pietro 17y ago
        Fresh chocolate is like a tender charming cayote.
      - pietro 17y ago
        It's Szczecin, and it's not entirely impossible to pronounce, but it does require practice. The inital szcz is pronounced about the same way as sh ch in fresh cheese.
        jacquesm 17y ago
  - kyro 17y ago
    I think it's because the final two vowel sounds, 'e' and 'i', are created using the same basic mouth/tongue positions, and thus, to differentiate the two sounds, you exert more force in controlling your muscles. On the other hand, with 'e' and 'o', the mouth positions are so different, that you can be a lot more loose with the vowel sounding and still get the final vowel combination to come out right. I hope that makes sense.
- WilliamLP 17y ago
  If it were spelled "Galilay" it would be nearly the right sound, but wouldn't be so strange to English speakers. (Having sung a lot in Italian, I'm very used to the "ei" dipthong, but it just doesn't occur like that in English with that spelling.)
- astine 17y ago
  As an American who spent a few months in Italy, I can attest unless you spend a lot of time with the language, Italian phonemes are weird. Italian is incredibly easy to pronounce, but feels strange to an American used to different (and more varied) vowel sets.

davidw 17y ago

It's not that difficult: Gal ee lay ee

kevindication 17y ago
I didn't say it was difficult. I said that, for whatever phonetic reason, I don't like to pronounce it, and I can't exactly articulate why. That's the root of the research on word aversions.
- davidw 17y ago
  Ah, I see... weird, but I guess it's a matter of taste. There are a few words in Italian that really are tricky. Not many, but I took a while to get this one right: ammortizzatore it really twists your mouth around if you're saying it right.
  - andreyf 17y ago
    Some hypothesize it isn't taste, but the way our minds treat language: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Optimality_Theory http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Optimality_Theory I'd pronounce it Gal lee lay
    - ido 17y ago
      > I'd pronounce it Gal lee lay Unfortunately, you'd be wrong.
      - deleted 17y ago
        [deleted]
  - jacquesm 17y ago
    Try Szeczin (town in Poland) Polish has some of the best tongue breakers in the world, there is the word for toothbrush that I won't even try to spell because I'll mess it up.
    - sp332 17y ago
      Toothbrush is szczoteczka, according to Google. You might break some teeth trying to pronounce it!
      - paulbaumgart 17y ago
        It's a lot scarier looking than it is... 'sz' and 'cz' are both phonemes, somewhat similar in sound to the English 'sh'. Still not easy to pronounce, sure.
        sp332 17y ago
        Is it onomatopoetic? The sound of brushing one's teeth?
        anatoly 17y ago
        No, it comes from a common Slavic root of unclear origin chet- or shet- with meanings, in various languages, of "comb", "picket fence", "bristle", "fir needles", etc.
      - pietro 17y ago
        Fresh chocolate is like a tender charming cayote.
    - pietro 17y ago
      It's Szczecin, and it's not entirely impossible to pronounce, but it does require practice. The inital szcz is pronounced about the same way as sh ch in fresh cheese.
      - jacquesm 17y ago
- kyro 17y ago
  I think it's because the final two vowel sounds, 'e' and 'i', are created using the same basic mouth/tongue positions, and thus, to differentiate the two sounds, you exert more force in controlling your muscles. On the other hand, with 'e' and 'o', the mouth positions are so different, that you can be a lot more loose with the vowel sounding and still get the final vowel combination to come out right. I hope that makes sense.
WilliamLP 17y ago
If it were spelled "Galilay" it would be nearly the right sound, but wouldn't be so strange to English speakers. (Having sung a lot in Italian, I'm very used to the "ei" dipthong, but it just doesn't occur like that in English with that spelling.)
astine 17y ago
As an American who spent a few months in Italy, I can attest unless you spend a lot of time with the language, Italian phonemes are weird. Italian is incredibly easy to pronounce, but feels strange to an American used to different (and more varied) vowel sets.