tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37675897.post1526450154490119891..comments2023-12-28T02:11:22.501+00:00Comments on The Streatham & Brixton Chess Blog: How is Topalov pronounced?Tom Chivershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09850710685193416732noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37675897.post-68835330545352683762008-03-23T07:39:00.000+00:002008-03-23T07:39:00.000+00:00Finally got round to asking my wife's best friend,...Finally got round to asking my wife's best friend, who's Bulgarian.<BR/><BR/>It's definitely pronounced Top-AH-lov, as you thought. But what's more surprising though is that it's Vesel-IN, not the more natural (to an English speaker) VES-elin.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37675897.post-77981867286305499442008-03-01T09:24:00.000+00:002008-03-01T09:24:00.000+00:00It's an interesting question, but I think the answ...It's an interesting question, but I think the answer is that normally we do try to render names as they are rendered in the original language, where those names are personal rather than, to use your example, place-names.<BR/><BR/>It's not quite clear to me why this is and it's also unclear to me why we anglicise some place-names and not others. But to some degree it's maybe possible within a small world such as chess to correct a misapprehension and get it right - so why not?ejhhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01582272075999298935noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37675897.post-45477770600637510782008-03-01T01:16:00.000+00:002008-03-01T01:16:00.000+00:00While I'd be interested to know the Bulgarian pron...While I'd be interested to know the Bulgarian pronunciation, I don't agree with your implicit premise that this is 'correct' and that the English (or Spanish) should be expected to follow suit. If TOP-a-lov sounds good in English, that's good with me.<BR/><BR/>(Likewise I'd have no respect for an Englishman who insisted on referring to the French capital as Pa-ree. Or, to take a chessier example, when did you last hear 'Alekhine' pronounced in a way that the man himself might recognise?)Davidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13388819916739249013noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37675897.post-26388406481717239742008-02-28T09:59:00.000+00:002008-02-28T09:59:00.000+00:00So the P belongs to the opening syllable?So the P belongs to the opening syllable?ejhhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01582272075999298935noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37675897.post-90067358366130151152008-02-28T07:12:00.000+00:002008-02-28T07:12:00.000+00:00It's difficult to explane lith letters, but the co...It's difficult to explane lith letters, but the correct is: Top'A'lov (with hard "A")<BR/>Best wishes: Diyan Kostad'i'nov ;)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37675897.post-57237422915217536022008-02-27T16:21:00.000+00:002008-02-27T16:21:00.000+00:00depends with an accent some people speak different...depends with an accent some people speak differently so it's same pronunciation with names! <BR/><BR/>alexeyAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37675897.post-87261820714711365532008-02-27T11:38:00.000+00:002008-02-27T11:38:00.000+00:00My intuition as a native Russian speaker certainly...My intuition as a native Russian speaker certainly suggest To-PAL-ov. It is not inconceivable that Bulgarian rules are different from Russian rules in this regard, but if anything, this should weigh heavily towards To-PAL-ov (there is a Russian surname Iv-a-NOV and a Bulgarian surname Iv-A-nov).<BR/><BR/>As for the other picture, I know for a fact that it's I-van-CHUK and not I-VAN-chuk, as the Spanish accent would seem to imply. Radjabov is correct there.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com