How do you pronounce 'Don Quixote'?

[Santino]

I say res-tor-ont, not ray-stor-onh (unless I'm speaking French, obv).

And what if you go to a cafe for pate on a croissant? Eh? WHAT THEN?!

 

[quimcunx]

Some people are needed to pronounce it in the anglicised way - Don Kwixote. Otherwise there can be no excuse for the word quixotic which is pronounced with an x in the middle. That isn't going to be me though.

1. so pronounce quixotic kee-otic I would/probably did/it sounds better anyway

2. plenty of derivatives of words have changes in pronunciation of letters or syllables. I just can't think of any just now.


Though note that the word is pronunciation not pronounciation.

 

[Santino]

2. plenty of derivatives of words have changes in pronunciation of letters or syllables. I just can't think of any just now.

Marlow and Marlovian.

Shaw and Shavian.

Charles and Carolingian, that's just taking the piss.

 

[Epico]

It's 'Quicks Ote' obviously. No need for all this rubbish foreign speaking lark.

If English is good enought for Jesus, it's good enough for me.

 

[Diamond]

For example, Victoria Coren pronounced it Quick-zote on 'Only Connect' the other day. And I'm sure it's how, say, Tom Paulin would pronounce it on Newsnight Review.

That's because they're idiots who care more about creating a pronunciation that allows them to say "Quixotic" than anything else. Pretentious buffoons.

 

[quimcunx]

Marlow and Marlovian.

Shaw and Shavian.

Charles and Carolingian, that's just taking the piss.

Thank you.

So the quicksoat peeps are just full of it then?


Edinburgh - Athenians.

 

[berniedicters]

'Don Ki-ho-tay', or the other way?

People who reckon themselves educated (on telly at least) seem to favour to bluntly English 'Quick-zote' these days, and I don't know why.

Dom Kwik-soate. Why, is there another way?

 

[Diamond]

Thank you.

So the quicksoat peeps are just full of it then?


Edinburgh - Athenians.

We just used to call ourselves burgers when we went to university there.

 

[electrogirl]

WTF?! This thread is blowing my mind! This is like 'Hyperbole' ALL OVER AGAIN!!

 

[quimcunx]

That's because they're idiots who care more about creating a pronunciation that allows them to say "Quixotic" than anything else. Pretentious buffoons.

Except, as demonstrated, that is not necessary.

 

[quimcunx]

We just used to call ourselves burgers when we went to university there.

The rest of Scotland calls people from Edinburgh Edinburgh Snobs.

 

[belboid]

Charles and Carolingian, that's just taking the piss.

Carolingian is somethng else entirely, the derivative of Charles is Caroline

 

[Diamond]

The rest of Scotland calls people from Edinburgh Edinburgh Snobs.

That inferiority complex still going on, then?

 

[berniedicters]

How do you pronaounce 'Paris' ?

This is the problem, innit. My mum's a bit of an Indiaphile, always has been, which made for embarrassing young adult occasions when she'd be giving it the full chapati treatment on pronunciation in the curryhouse..."and which part of ಬೆಂಗಳೂರು* are you from?", patronisingly to the waiter. Who would probably usually say "Acacia Avenue, just behind the shops"

I'd actually try and pronounce it "Ki-ho-tay" if I were speaking in English, but anglicise the vowels enough to make sure nobody thought I was trying too hard to do that "look how good I does foreign" thing...give the last syllable an extra bit of Sarf London twang just to be sure, type thing...

* Bangalore, apparently.

 

[littlebabyjesus]

It is key-hoe-tay.

Otherwise it wouldn't rhyme with 'What do you say?'

 

[berniedicters]

And what if you go to a cafe for pate on a croissant? Eh? WHAT THEN?!

By then more of the words you're speaking are French rather than English, so you're technically speaking French and the point is moot

 

[quimcunx]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don_Quixote#Spelling_and_pronunciation

Unless we are also going to petition to go back to centuries old mispronunciation of a variety of words I'll stick with Kee oh tay.

QE1 used to pronounce ''Theobalds'' ''Tibbles''.

 

[foo]

kee-ho-tay

but i'm probably wrong.

 

[quimcunx]

That inferiority complex still going on, then?

Superiority complex I think you mean.




I have to say I found Athenians a lot more objectionable when I visited there from Dundee than when I visited from London when I found them much friendlier.

But that may have more to do with the difference between trying to get served as a 16 year old and being a respectable lady tourist 20 years later.

 

[cesare]

I really don't know if I can be bothered to start introducing that ch sound in the middle. Too much of a mouthful. I'm going to carry on doing it wrong.

Who actually does do the 'ch' thing?

 

[quimcunx]

I think I do it with an h in the middle with maybe a hint of loch ch in it. That's being Scottish for you.

 

[cesare]

I think I do it with an h in the middle with maybe a hint of loch ch in it. That's being Scottish for you.

That's how wiki says it should be done, a "voiceless velar fricative". Scots might find that easier to do.

 

[Hocus Eye.]

We had one of those but the gearbox packed up and we traded it in for a Ford.

 

[quimcunx]

That's how wiki says it should be done, a "voiceless velar fricative". Scots might find that easier to do.

Yeah. I wouldn't go out of my way to do it.


I'm now saying it over in my head and I can't think whether I do it or not.

 

[cesare]

We had one of those but the gearbox packed up and we traded it in for a Ford.

Yeah. I wouldn't go out of my way to do it.


I'm now saying it over in my head and I can't think whether I do it or not.

I bet most people just leave the h out altogether, especially if they're saying it quickly

Say it out loud quickly and see what happens.

 

[Gromit]

I once went on this long quest to discover the secret of how to pronounce 'Don Quixote'.



But it turned out to be fool's quest in the end.

 

[quimcunx]

I've got a copy of it in the house, I think. Should I bother?

 

[Jazzz]

*makes mental note for scrabble*

The highest-scoring game of all time features 'quixotry' for 365


830! How a Massachusetts carpenter got the highest Scrabble score ever.

 

[Gromit]

I've got a copy of it in the house, I think. Should I bother?

Only if its in the original spanish.

 

[Dillinger4]

There is no settled pronunciation.

Some people say 'Key-ott'
Some people say 'Quicks-ott'
Some people say 'Key O T'

Among a lot of other ways.

I personally say something close to 'key-ott'.

I don't think it is massively important though.