Goedendag!
I live in The Netherlands and am to choose the name for my daughter. Zoë is the father’s favorite (father is Dutch). I need help to understand a few things about this name and would love to know what would you say about.
1. How do you exactly pronunce it in Dutch?
I guess that the most common pronunciation of Zoë (= zəʊi) has been taken/borrowed directly from English. In fact, as far as I know, an ë in Dutch should be pronounced as “e” and not as “i” (I know the reason of the trema, that’s not the confusing part). Provided that what I just wrote is correct, how exactly would you pronounce something written as Zoë if you were to follow strictly the Dutch spelling rules? (imagine you forget everything about English pronunciation..)
2. I am not so much into the English pronunciation, so instead of “zəʊi”, I would rather say “zoi”, or “zoii”. Wouldn’t that to the ears of a native Dutch speaker sound just as “zooi”?
(Doesn’t the diminutive of Zoë sounds a bit too much as “zooitje” anyway? I have been told that “zooi” is an old fashioned word, not much in use these days - is it correct?)
3. In my native language, we would pronunce it exactly the way it’s written: Zoe (with short vocals). But I hear the Dutch these days saying “zoo eh!” all the time. I am afraid that the way I and my original family would call the daughter would sound kinda silly to the Dutch ears (and to hers as well, one day). Doesn’t Zoe sound a bit too much as “ZOO-EH!” to you?
Any response, suggestion or opinion would be highly appretiated!
Dank je wel!
I live in The Netherlands and am to choose the name for my daughter. Zoë is the father’s favorite (father is Dutch). I need help to understand a few things about this name and would love to know what would you say about.
1. How do you exactly pronunce it in Dutch?
I guess that the most common pronunciation of Zoë (= zəʊi) has been taken/borrowed directly from English. In fact, as far as I know, an ë in Dutch should be pronounced as “e” and not as “i” (I know the reason of the trema, that’s not the confusing part). Provided that what I just wrote is correct, how exactly would you pronounce something written as Zoë if you were to follow strictly the Dutch spelling rules? (imagine you forget everything about English pronunciation..)
2. I am not so much into the English pronunciation, so instead of “zəʊi”, I would rather say “zoi”, or “zoii”. Wouldn’t that to the ears of a native Dutch speaker sound just as “zooi”?
(Doesn’t the diminutive of Zoë sounds a bit too much as “zooitje” anyway? I have been told that “zooi” is an old fashioned word, not much in use these days - is it correct?)
3. In my native language, we would pronunce it exactly the way it’s written: Zoe (with short vocals). But I hear the Dutch these days saying “zoo eh!” all the time. I am afraid that the way I and my original family would call the daughter would sound kinda silly to the Dutch ears (and to hers as well, one day). Doesn’t Zoe sound a bit too much as “ZOO-EH!” to you?
Any response, suggestion or opinion would be highly appretiated!
Dank je wel!
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