Pronunciation

Originally posted by petrovitch
Zugzwang (TSOOKS-vahng), position in which the move makes a worse result

Zwischenzug (TSVEYE-shun-tsook) - in-between move

I always love to hear English-speaking people say "zugzwang", but the correct German pronunciation is close to "TSOOK-tsvoung" ("-oung" as in "young" ). And "Zwischenzug" is "TSVIshen-tsook" (with an "i" like in "wish" ).

Originally posted by timmydoza
Just quickly, how is 'fianchetto' pronounced? And what about 'Giuoco piano'?

I think it's pronounced "Wooster."

Oh wait, never mind...








Any Dave Barry fans here? 🙂

I generally make an attempt to pronounce chess words correctly, but I draw the line at pronouncing Ruy Lopez as "Rue-y Lopeth". (I pronounce Ruy correctly - It's Lopez that's the problem.) If I did that at my club, they'd either think that I had a severe lisp, or they'd haul me off to the funny farm.

Originally posted by Nordlys
I always love to hear English-speaking people say "zugzwang", but the correct German pronunciation is close to "TSOOK-tsvoung" ("-oung" as in "young" ). And "Zwischenzug" is "TSVIshen-tsook" (with an "i" like in "wish" ).

Yeah, those are two I took problem too.

The thing is the z in german is a sound that isn't really in the EPA. We don't use it, despite it being in the IPA. That being said, even German, with its small speech base (after Hoechduetsch killed many dialectical differences) has many variable sounds. Russian is just the same and the Great Britain is just a catastrophe for standard sounds.

Originally posted by tamuzi
Yeah, those are two I took problem too.

The thing is the z in german is a sound that isn't really in the EPA. We don't use it, despite it being in the IPA.

EPA = English Phonetic Alphabet (is there even such a thing)?

What really surprised me was the "EYE" in the suggested pronunciation of "Zwischenzug". "I" is never pronounced as "eye" in German. If it's long (which it isn't in "Zwischenzug" ), it sounds like "ee".