Well, there really are no "correct" pronuniciations of French names in English, simply because we aren't speaking French. In French, Simplex would be pronounced sam-plex', more or less, but I have never heard an English speaker say it that way. And that is not exactly what it sounds like in French anyway. Motobecane would be Mo-to-bay-cahn', but again, no English speaker says that, because putting the accent on the last syllable isn't natural in English.
On the other hand, certain French letter groups are given their French pronunciation in English, thus Huret is generally pronounce Hyur-ay' in English, but the "u" has sound not found in English.
So, don't worry about it. Say it the way that works for you.
Louis Schulman Tampa, Florida
On Sun, 11 Jan 2004 21:31:29 EST, Mercurys43@aol.com wrote:
#CR Listers and Listees, # #One of my New Years resolutions for 2004 is to stop "butchering" the #pronunciation of French bike terms (brands and components). Would someone please step #forward and help me a bit. What are the correct pronunciations of the
#following: Motobecane, Follis, Simplex, Huret , Ideale, AVA,
Phillipe, Mafac,
#Bertin and Gitane? My spellcheck keeps suggesting I change Mafac to
Mafia!!!!
#Also, all Francophiles...feel free to add some more of your favorites.
I'll keep
#a running list and post it in a week or so.
#
#Let's get it right in 2004.
#
#David Allen
#Marietta, GA Near the Big Chicken
#
#
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