Friday, October 30, 2015

How do you pronounce Michel Houellebecq's last name? WELLBECK? HOOLABECK? HOWLBECK? HABECK? HEEBECK? HOLLABECK? WHO-EL-BECK?

 
 
WELLBECK?
WALLABECK? 
HOOLABECK?
HOWLBECK?
HABECK? HEEBECK?
HOLLABECK?
WHO-EL-BECK?
HOWLABECKA?
HOOBECK?
HABECK?
HEEBECK?
HULA-BECK?
Ho-ella-beck?

The French pronucuation and therefore the correct one is ''WELLBECK''.

But many TV and radio reporters worlwide outside France are mis-pronouncing his last name in a variety of ways, as listed above. You can HEAR these mis-pronunciations on several YouTube news site where Monsieur Houellebecq is interviewed or in news reports outside France.


Mr. Fernandes
 on August 31, 2006

Houellebecq = WEL BEK

Anonymous
on September 5, 2006

''OO ELL BEK,'' but it'll sound like "WEL BEK" to most English speakers because the "OO ELL" is pronounced so quickly.

(The H is silent, and "ou" in French is like English "oo".)

2 comments:

DANIELBLOOM said...


Mr. Fernandes
on August 31, 2006


Houellebecq = WEL BEK


Anonymous
on September 5, 2006


''OO ELL BEK,'' but it'll sound like "WEL BEK" to most English speakers because the "OO ELL" is pronounced so quickly.

(The H is silent, and "ou" in French is like English "oo".)

taiwan77 said...

wallabeck