Jerry Friedman
2019-11-22 01:13:23 UTC
Almost a year ago I watched a series of video lectures about Robert and
Clara Schumann in which the lecturer pronounced "Rhenish" with the FACE
vowel in the first syllable. Today I heard a classical DJ pronounce it
the same way and with a German-style /r/, although German doesn't appear
in the etymology of the word. (I suppose it might have been a
French-style /r/.) Have other people heard that pronunciation? Inside
or outside the world of classical music? Is is one of those things
where a new pronunciation spreads within a subculture, the way many
chefs rhyme "anise" with "piece"? Is it a conspiracy? And can it be
stopped?
Clara Schumann in which the lecturer pronounced "Rhenish" with the FACE
vowel in the first syllable. Today I heard a classical DJ pronounce it
the same way and with a German-style /r/, although German doesn't appear
in the etymology of the word. (I suppose it might have been a
French-style /r/.) Have other people heard that pronunciation? Inside
or outside the world of classical music? Is is one of those things
where a new pronunciation spreads within a subculture, the way many
chefs rhyme "anise" with "piece"? Is it a conspiracy? And can it be
stopped?
--
Jerry Friedman
The air is cool and it darkles.
Jerry Friedman
The air is cool and it darkles.