Bijvoet

[Gerard Kleijwegt]

In article <3tbsd9$n69 at uuneo.neosoft.com>, brv at indigo (bev vincent) writes:
|> j.loewe (jyl at biochem.mpg.de) wrote:
|> 
|> : May be someone can help me with the correct pronunciation of the name of
|> : Bijvoet. 
|> : I'm sure you will find a way to express it in ASCII.
|> 
|> I have heard it pronounced Bi' foot. (long 'i' as in high)

and I've heard even more terrible things ;-)

well, the Dutch simply pronounce it "bij-voet" or "bei-voet" ;-)

"ij" and "ei" are identical-sounding diphtongs
they don't have an equivalent in English, but a *short*
"I" sound (as in "eye", but cut in half) comes closest

"oe" is a diphtong as well, which sounds similar to
the English "oo" as in "hooter"

the "v" is really pronounced "v", *not* "f"

the first syllable ("bij") is stressed

as for the meaning, "bij" = a bee, "voet" = foot
so, "bee-foot" sort of covers it (maybe one of
his ancestors' shoes (clogs, more likely) made
strange buzzing sounds ?)

since the original question came from Germany:
"bei-vut" (but *no* stress on the second syllable)

--gerard kleywegt
        (^^^^^^^^ pronunciation can definitely not
         be expressed in ascii)

|> 
|> --
|> Bev Vincent
|> Molecular Structure Corp.
|> The Woodlands, TX
|> http://www.msc.com/msc.html