An example of Ameri-linguo-centrism?
A great portion (especially those from the the language's homeland)
would incorrectly assume then, that her name was pronounced
sue-zed...
I don't know how a linguist would denote the phonemes, so howzabout
we try 'Suzy'?
Andrew ar929@yfn.ysu.edu dw946@kanga.ins.cwru.edu
Anglo-American centrisim? If we are talking about language homelands,
then I would like to consult a Sioux (Native American tribe member).
The name as spelled is probably a French transliteration of the name
the Sioux called themselves. I assume it was French explorers working
out of the Louisiana Purchase (before it was purchased), or
French-Canadian voyageurs who met them and gave us the spelling. The
Sioux were natives of the prairies, if I'm not mistaken. This makes an
interesting juxtaposition given the Scottish/Gaelic origin of
"banshee".
I've always hear Sioux pronounced 'Soo', but as a child I was always
trying to 'enunciate', so I pronounced it 'Sie-oo', but that seems
wrong. However, I wonder if a French pronunciation might be 'See-oo',
with a very short almost 'y'-like sound for the 'ee'. All in all, I
think it is reasonable to pronounce her name simply "Susie-Sue".
I'd be grateful to have any factual errors corrected.
Alan.