Please help!

[kayleen]

OK, I am extremely imbarresed to say this but I am going to see the ballet La Fille mal gardee and have no idea how to pronounce that!! could some-one please help (e.g. releves au genou = rih-leh-vay oh zhnoo) you see the problem is I've only ever read the name.

[JaneD]

Permission requested for an adult to reply - but I'm only offering help in pronunciation.

 

La Fee mal (short a as in Malcolm) Garday

 

Enjoy it - it's a fun ballet.

 

Jane

[Marga]

La Fille Mal Gardée=

 

"La" as in "pa"

 

"fille" as in "tea"

 

"mal" as in "pal"

 

"gardée" as in "car day" (with a hard "g" as in "garage")

 

I am giving you the pronunciation as rendered by most English speaking people who don't know French. My husband (the French teacher) would take issue with my pronunciation guide for La Fille Mal Gardée, but we won't tell him, will we? It's difficult to instruct someone in the correct French way to pronouce words without first teaching how to use some heretofore unused muscles in the mouth and without additional grounding in the language (for example, how a double "LL" is voiced).

 

You're from South Africa and your pronunciation is therefore different from mine for many words. I've known several people from South Africa, but can't recall how they say "pa", for instance, or "pal". In "pa" and "la", the "a" is said with the jaw dropping, as in what you say when the doctor tells you to "open wide and say aah".

"Pal" and "mal" has the mouth opening sideways, with the lips drawing toward the cheeks. "Sally, tally, rally" all use this "a".

[kayleen]

Thank-you very much for your help!

pas as in pas de deux I think us South Africans pronounce the same way as the rest of the world, like how you said the docter telling you to say aaah. just a piece of useless information.but thank-you very much for the help!!!