Zeisel

Rainbowlight

Senior Member
Spanish
Hello,

Again, I am truly sorry for not speaking Hungarian.

I have a quite simple question concerning the pronunciation of Hungarian surname Zeisel. I have just discovered the artistic work of Eva Zeisel and nothing would me me happier than learning how her name and surname are pronounced in her native language.

Would anyone be so kind as to tell me how the Hungarian pronunciation sounds?

Also, does the word in her surname have a meaning in Hungarian?

Again, thank you so very much for your attention,

Rainbow
 
  • Hello Rainbowlight,

    I haven't heard this name pronounced yet and it is of foreign origin (so there is no obvious Hungarian meaning) which complicates the pronunciation a bit. (Forvo probably couldn't help you here.)
    My approach would be the following (as it would be usual in Hungarian): you pronounce every letter as written (hopefully they would be more or less the same in Spanish... :confused: ) except for the "s", which would be /s/ (like the "s" in soy in Spanish).
    (Normally, the "s" is pronounced as "sh" in shine in a normal Hungarian word.)
     
    The surname Zeisel is evidently of German origin and I suppose it is spontaneously pronounced [tseizel] by Hungarians, according to the Austrian pronunciation of the diphthong "ei". In standard German in should be [tsaizel].

    As German surnames are not rare in Hungary (and in other countries of Middle Europe), I don't think that this surname should be pronounced [zeišel] maintaining the Hungarian pronunciation of each letter....

    P.S. La letra "z" entre paréntesis [ ] representa una "s" sonora,, como por ejemplo se pronuncia la palabra "casa" en italiano estándar. La "š" indica lo que en inglés se escribe típicamente "sh".
     
    Last edited:
    The surname Zeisel is evidently of German origin and I suppose it is spontaneously pronounced [tseizel] by Hungarians, according to the Austrian pronunciation of the diphthong "ei". In standard German in should be [tsaizel].

    As German surnames are not rare in Hungary (and in other countries of Middle Europe), I don't think that this surname should be pronounced [zeišel] maintaining the Hungarian pronunciation of each letter....

    P.S. La letra "z" entre paréntesis [ ] representa una "s" sonora,, como por ejemplo se pronuncia la palabra "casa" en italiano estándar. La "š" indica lo que en inglés se escribe típicamente "sh".

    I found this on Forvo, but the audio and the pronunciation seem to be of poor quality.

    Pronunciación de Eva Zeisel: Cómo pronunciar Eva Zeisel en Húngaro

    Also, here

    How to pronounce Éva Striker Zeisel - PronounceItRight
     
    The surname Zeisel is evidently of German origin and I suppose it is spontaneously pronounced [tseizel] by Hungarians, according to the Austrian pronunciation of the diphthong "ei". In standard German in should be [tsaizel].
    Actually, it's the artist's married name. Her husband was Hans Zeisel, an Austrian.
    I would like to know what you think of the links I just posted. Are those words in the audio clips pronounced just like a Hungarian would do? Thank you in advance.
    d in other countries of Middle Europe), I don't think that this surname should be pronounced [zeišel] maintaining the Hungarian pronunciation of each letter....

    P.S. La letra "z" entre paréntesis [ ] representa una "s" sonora,, como por ejemplo se pronuncia la palabra "casa" en italiano estándar. La "š" indica lo que en inglés se escribe típicamente "sh".

    Actually, it's the artist's married name. Her husband was Hans Zeisel, an Austrian.
     
    Actually, it's the artist's married name. Her husband was Hans Zeisel, an Austrian.
    I would like to know what you think of the links I just posted. Are those words in the audio clips pronounced just like a Hungarian would do? Thank you in advance.
     
    I think the sound clips are good. This is how the name is pronounced in a Hungarian way.
    ("Czeizel" is a well-known surname in Hungary, which is a Hungarianized spelling variant of Zeisel.)

    Now the question is whether you want to say the name in a Hungarian, Austrian, German or American way :) (she lived in the US most of her life).
     
    Agree with Andras (post no.8 above). This is exactly why I didn't say that the name was of German origin.
    Also, whatever the origin, there are several factors that can influence the pronunciation of a foreign name and when you are not sure, you can always go back to the main rules (I described above) and - in the worst case - you will be corrected by somebody who knows how it should be pronounced exactly.
     
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