menhir

[jaap toorenaar]

thank you, Invisifan! Next question: how do british people pronounce the word "menhir"? Does -hir sound like the english word "ear" or rather like "her"? After the answer I shall explain, why I ask the question,
Jaap

[invisifan]

It's supposed to be pronounced men-hear but seeing as it's not a common word I expect actual pronunciation varies greatly ...

[shr]

I've always pronounced it Men-Here myself. There's a curious oddity in the pronunciation of Obelix. I've always said it with a short o (as in ostrich and, indeed, obelisk) but for some reason the films pronunce it Owe-belix.

[Sukisuix]

I say Men-her As for Obelix, I pronounce it the way it is written. O-bel-ix. a short O
Through out the UK you would find, alot of variations on the way we pronounce words. And the way we pronounce the names of the village/towns that we live in.

[jaap toorenaar]

thanks for the answers! I came to the question as I read The Big Fight page 16 panel 5, where Vitalstatistix says "Obelix (...) you're beginning to get on MENHIR .... ON MY NERVES!". If you pronounce "menhir" as "mean" + "her", then it sounds like the slang "me nerves",
Jaap

[shr]

I think there's anther pun on menhir, can't remember which book, when Cacofonix sings 'love is menhir splendid thing' in place of 'love is a many splendid thing' which could imply that menhir should be pronounced 'men-ear'...

[SingingGandalf]

I think there's anther pun on menhir, can't remember which book, when Cacofonix sings 'love is menhir splendid thing' in place of 'love is a many splendid thing' which could imply that menhir should be pronounced 'men-ear'...

I think that it was either 'Asterix the Gladiator' or 'Asterix and the Magic carpet'. I pronounce 'menhir' - men- hear, and I pronounce Obelix -Ow - bell - ix

[shr]

Out of interest, I had a look at the OED.

Obelisk is indeed pronounced with a short o.

Menhir is more tricky. Apparently, in its British version, its pronounced as one syllable with a silent r (men(h)ee), which would explain the 'menhir splendid thing' gag - but in the U.S. it's two syllables and the r is sounded.

I might be reading the pronounciation key wrong though.

[Christine]

Incidentally, it is the same pun in French :
Quoting from memory : "Obélix, mon ami, tu commences à menhir... à m'énerver !"
énerver : to get on someone's nerves
menhir : pronounced 'me-nir', no 'h' sound in French