Wonderful, Wonderful Copenhagen!

mark greenhill

mark greenhill

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Our ABC radio and TV presenters have apparently been directed to pronounce it as Copenhaygen (yuk!). I prefer Copenhargen. How do the Danes pronounce it? :thinking: How do BBC presenters pronounce it? I heard Barak Obama pronounce it as Copenhargen ... but then Americans have their own way of pronouncing everything! :shrug:
 
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In danish it is spelt Kobenhavn.
 
Thanks Kev, I know how it's spelt both in English and Danish but what I don't know is what is the correct pronunciation. I tried Wikipedia who have an unsupported .ogg audio file that Windows typically doesn't want to know about.

The simplicity of what I'm asking is, is it "HARgen" or "HAYgen" ?
 
mark greenhill said:
The simplicity of what I'm asking is, is it "HARgen" or "HAYgen" ?
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My point is that the danish don't spell it with a G so they wouldn't pronounce it in either of your options in my opinion.;)
 
I guess I shall just have to wait until I hear Princess Mary pronounce it before I get the sound of the word.

She by the way is a local Tasmanian girl with whom we were aquainted before she met Prince Richard. She attended the same school as my sister.
 
As far as I'm aware just about everybody here in England pronounces it "haygen". But then again, half the country doesn't know the difference between lose and loose, bought and brought, and most of the BBC news presenters say "Mare" for Mayor instead of May-or.
 
Thanks MrE, it's 0415 and I'm listening to the BBC's World Service right now, as I do periodically throughout the night - actually, I have found the presenters speak perfect Queen's English, but maybe they are of the BBC's elite! (some guy who IDs himself as " David Grammaticus" ... great name for a broadcaster!

Our ABC presenters are a mixed bunch when it comes to pronunciation - the best of them are female ABC Classic FM presenters with seductive voices that would make any red blooded male vertebrate swoon! :love:
 
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Kathy Clugston used to be on the World Service, I believe. Her soft Northern Irish tones seduce me daily on BBC Radio 4, though her pronunciation is criticised by those with harder hearts.

I'm only aware of CopenHARgen occurring in the song Wonderful Copenhagen. Usually it's HAY in the UK, and I didn't catch any of the US coverage of recent events on any of the slots broadcast as part of the BBC's 24-hour news coverage.
 
The Danes I've met would pronounce it haygen when speaking English. Pronunciation isn't obvious, the main street through Copenhagen is Stroget pronounced Stroyal.
 
photon said:
Kathy Clugston used to be on the World Service, I believe. Her soft Northern Irish tones seduce me daily on BBC Radio 4, though her pronunciation is criticised by those with harder hearts.
I'm only aware of CopenHARgen occurring in the song Wonderful Copenhagen. Usually it's HAY in the UK, and I didn't catch any of the US coverage of recent events on any of the slots broadcast as part of the BBC's 24-hour news coverage.
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Thanks photon (any relation to Marcus Chown?)
Having just remembered it, I've edited into my last thread the BBC presenter's full name which is, David Grammaticus. and I guess the song from the Danny Kaye movie, Wonderful Copenhagen is where the American "-HARgen" pronunciation came from. I actually heard Barak Obama pronounce it, "Copenhargen" contrary to every other world leader that I've heard ... but then that's America all over, ain't it! :cool:
OneTen said:
The Danes I've met would pronounce it haygen when speaking English. Pronunciation isn't obvious, the main street through Copenhagen is Stroget pronounced Stroyal.
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Thanks there OneTen, I guess that's what I really wanted to know - how the Danes pronounce it when they speak English.
I was once corrected by my pedantic BIL for pronouncing it as -HARgen to which I took exception, insisting it was he who had it wrong ... seems like I must now eat humle pie and apologise!
 
'English' pronunciation of foreign words and especially place-names stems in part from the inverse snobbery practiced amongst Nelson's Naval Officers, most of whom were fully conversant in French and Spanish, but were at pains to 'Anglicise' all foreign names for fear of being thought too 'educated' by thier peers...
The Royal Navy of that period was hugely influential in fashionable society due to Nelson's personal cachet...dress, language etc had a noticable effect on civilian clothing fashion and idiom...

The Army's influence can be seen in other vital areas: curry.
 
CopenHAYgen to me. Then again my area do love pronouncing a the "AY" in everything: dinae, cannae, willnae :D
 
Arkady said:
'English' pronunciation of foreign words and especially place-names stems in part from the inverse snobbery practiced amongst Nelson's Naval Officers, most of whom were fully conversant in French and Spanish, but were at pains to 'Anglicise' all foreign names for fear of being thought too 'educated' by thier peers...
The Royal Navy of that period was hugely influential in fashionable society due to Nelson's personal cachet...dress, language etc had a noticable effect on civilian clothing fashion and idiom... The Army's influence can be seen in other vital areas: curry.
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Many thanks for that info, Arkady. That anecdote I have not heard before and it is amazing how language evolves. New words and anagrams are being coined constantly by events. "Chunnel", IED, Facebook (arrrgh!)
Vic said:
CopenHAYgen to me. Then again my area do love pronouncing a the "AY" in everything: dinae, cannae, willnae :D
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Re. Copenhagen, I think the consensus is that the AY's have it!
 
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