Výslovnost maďarských jmen u českých mluvčích: korespondence předchozí znalosti a realizované výslovnosti
Pronunciation of Hungarian Names by Czech Speakers: Correspondence of Previous Knowledge and Implemented Pronunciation

Summary/Abstract: This article illustrates the tendencies in pronouncing selected Hungarian names by Czech speakers. When choosing the names, two main criteria were considered: 1) that the names were likely to be familiar to Czech speakers and simultaneously 2) that they contained a sound with problematic pronunciation. The selected names were incorporated in test sentences, which the respondents recorded on a voice recorder. The number of respondents was 65. After the recording, the respondents marked the names they had already known. The aim of my analysis was to find the extent to which previous knowledge influences pronunciation. In most cases, respondents with previous knowledge were more successful compared to those without any knowledge and achieved the appropriate pronunciation more frequently when employing the principle of phonological approximation, e.g. Sándor Petőfi [ʃaːndor pɛtɛːfɪ] and sometimes when employing the original pronunciation, e.g. [ʃaːndor pɛtœːfɪ]. However, in the case of the toponym Harkány, surname Rákóczi and first name Lajos, the previous knowledge did not play any role, and both groups of respondents pronounced these names almost equally, most frequently [harkaːnɪ], [raːkoʧɪ], [laːjoʃ]. The most frequent principle employed was the spelling (graphic) pronunciation, e.g. Frigyes [frɪgɪjes], Sólyom [soːlɪjom], Arany [aranɪ], Harkány [harkaːnɪ], including a variety of modifications such as frequent changes in the vowel length, e.g. Sándor [saːndoːr]. Respondents without any previous knowledge of the names often showed a wide range of pronunciation varieties.

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