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In almost every source I know, Euler has been pronounced as /ˈȯi-lər/ . Nevertheless, in a number of books translated to other languages, it is mentioned as: /ˈjuːlər/ . I doubt in it incorrectness, but have not found any source to prove it. Is this pronunciation correct or not?
Furthermore, pronouncing the word Leonhard, are we supposed to say the h letter, too?
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Thank you in advance
So which pronunciation is standard for the [ʊ] sound? Rounded or unrounded?
Certainly there is some rounding, but because roundedness is not phonemic in this position, there is also considerable variation in how much of it actually occurs in any given word and speaker.
For example, you will find that it is generally somewhat more rounded in pull and full than it is in put and foot respectively. That’s because having an r or an l right next to it rounds it off a bit — which is why it is a bit more rounded in root and rook than it is foot or cook. Same with rookie versus cookie, where the first version is a bit more rounded than the second. And of course, a w helps: compare how wool is even more rounded than full, and also moreso that wood.
I believe English has no words with [ʊw], as that seems redundant. However, it can occur in phrases, especially in some dialects, where something like I knew it full-well may approach that.
However, it is still perceived as the very same phoneme in all those words and cases I’ve just listed above.
I said that I thought English had no words with [ʊw] in them. And at the end of the day, I still believe that. However, I have discovered that grepping the OED yields the apparent existence-proof counterexample of Rauwiloid, which means:
A proprietary name for a hypotensive preparation containing a number of alkaloids extracted from Rauvolfia serpentina.
You also have compound words whose first element ends in [aʊ] (rather than [aw], as it is sometimes spelled) connecting to something that begins with [w], and which have in effect a “double w” in them, you expand the list to include such things as:
bow-wow, powwow, skeow-ways, wow-wow
Finally, if you consider the sound in words like no and micro to be an [oʊ] diphthong rather than [ow], then you get all these, most of which were originally compounds of some sort:
froward, frowardly, frowardness, glow-worm, Holloway, hollowwort, Howeitat, Khowar, meadow-wink, microwave, microweld, Moldo-Wallachian, nowise, Oldowan, Parowax, powan, shalloway, slow-worm, swallowwort, werowance, yellow-wood, yeowoman.
For example, yeowoman theoretically yields /ˈjoʊwʊmən/, at least in North America. Still, there is a reasonably convincing argument to be made that that one is better written as simply /ˈjowʊmən/.
Slightly less uncommon is nowise, which is a compound of one word ending in a diphthong connected to another starting with a triphthong, so /ˈnoʊˌwaɪz/.
But I am still highly dubious of the existence of [ʊw], because I think it fuses into the semi-consonantal glide, [w]. After all, nowise and no eyes are homophonic, so I think this idea of [ʊw] is very hard to justify, and so I stand by my initial statement.
Even towel is usually pronounced with just one syllable, /taʊl/, thereby rhyming with cowl /kaʊl/. Even with folks who work very hard to put two syllables into that, with /ˈtaʊ.wəl/, I submit that you could write that /ˈtawːəl/ and avoid the whole controversy of whether a semi-vowel/semi-consonant/off-glide is really /ʊ/ or really /w/. However you write it, it seems like the same sound to me, such that bisyllabic towel just has a geminate [w]: /ˈtaw.wəl/.
If you want to be strict then Lady C's maiden name is 'A' going by the definition of maiden.
However, in this specific case the lady has changed her surname from A to B through choice, not marriage, possibly using a system similar to the UK Deed Poll. In the UK a clause given by the UK Deed Poll Service would apply which explicitly disallows the use of a previous registered name.
From UK Deed Poll Service
Two of the declarations you make on your Deed Poll are that you will entirely abandon the use of your old name and you will only use your new name in future. [http://www.deedpoll.org.uk/OtherFAQs.html]
In that case Lady A would be forced to use Lady B as her maiden name, however it is rare that birth certificates are changed after a Deed Poll name registration so her birth surname would remain as A. (This restriction may vary from country to country depending on local laws and regulations.)
In a more general case...
Of course, any lady can choose what she wishes to write as her maiden name but the meanings and uses of the word maiden, suggest otherwise.
Unless otherwise noted all quotes are from OED1.
Maiden : 1. A girl; a young (unmarried) woman. 2. A virgin 3. An unmarried woman, spinster [and some others not related directly to women or marriage]
adj. (from appositive and attributive uses of the n.). Cf. virgin. I. Literal uses. 1. Appositive uses. a. Unmarried; now chiefly in maiden lady, maiden sister: see also maiden aunt. †b. Of a child: Female; see maiden-child (obs.). c. Virgin; sometimes said of men (obs.). 2. Of or pertaining to a maiden, or to maidenhood; befitting a maiden, having the qualities of a maiden. maiden name: the surname borne by a married woman before her marriage.
Unmarried here is the issue does it mean was married and now no longer is? ... the definition isn't entirely clear.
Unmarried : 1. Of persons: Not married, unwedded. 2. Lived free from marriage.
Maiden defn2. A virgin has spawned a couple of maiden ..... words
Maidenhead : 1. The state or condition of a maiden; virginity; said occas. of a man. [and one more about the first crop of fruit]
Maidenhood : The condition of being a maiden; the time of life during which one is a maiden. in phrases to have, hold, keep, lose, etc. (one's) maidenhood.
Fairly clear that maiden here means a virgin, but that doesn't stop Miss A marrying Mr B and still remaining a virgin (much to Mr B's dismay one would imagine and possibly the reason why Mr B might file for divorce making Mrs B unmarried again and free to tie the knot with the unwitting Mr C) but Miss A is now called Miss B so when she marries Mr C is her maiden name A or B?
More maidenish things could sway me towards her maiden name being A. These are some of the other definitions for Maiden that I skipped earlier on.
Maiden : (figurative) 4. That has yielded no results. 5. That has not been conquered, tried, worked etc. [the etc. runs to "A castle that has never been taken;'virgin'. [stuff about fruit again]. Of soil or metals, that has never been disturbed ploughed, or worked. Of a soldier or his weapon: untried. 6. That is the first of its kind; made, used, etc. for the first time. Occas. in sense early, earliest.
Excluding the recurring fruit mentions, defn. 5 seems pretty much the same as virgin to me - not been conquered, tried, worked, disturbed, ploughed all could easily sound a little like euphemistic terms.
But it is defn.6. that seals it. The first of it's kind and there are a number of Maiden .... firsts.
Quotes from Wikipedia
Maiden flight - the first occasion on which an aircraft leaves the ground under its own power.
Maiden voyage - the first journey made by the craft after shakedown. A number of traditions and superstitions are associated with it.
Maiden speech - the first speech given by a newly elected or appointed member of a legislature or parliament.
I think a combination of unmarried, virgin, and first pretty much marks maiden name down as the first surname a lady had.
Interestingly, defn.4 : That has yielded no results gives us
A maiden over : Cricket, of an over: One in which no runs are scored.
A maiden horse : one which has won no prizes.
A maiden tide : one where no vessels enter or exit a harbour
A maiden circuit : Of an assize, circuit, session: Formerly, one at which no prisoner was condemned to death; now, one at which there are no cases for trial.
Wikipedia attribution:
Wikipedia contributors, "Maiden speech," Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Maiden_speech&oldid=626049739 (accessed September 27, 2014)
Wikipedia contributors, "Maiden voyage," Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Maiden_voyage&oldid=620824032 (accessed September 27, 2014).
Wikipedia contributors, "Maiden flight," Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Maiden_flight&oldid=619347591 (accessed September 27, 2014).
Best Answer
In 1905, according to the Century Dictionary, Eulerian was pronounced /juˈliːrɪən/ (rhyming with Shakespearian). So presumably, in 1905 Euler was pronounced /ˈjuːlər/. (Yooler, for those who can't read IPA.)
The English-speaking mathematical community has long since realized the error of its ways, and started pronouncing Euler's last name using the modern German pronunciation, /ˈɔɪ.lər/. We still usually leave out the /h/ in his first name, and put a /d/ on the end. (The German pronunciation is more like /leːɔnhart/.) But from the OP's comments, this newer pronunciation has not spread to other languages that borrowed the English pronunciation when it was still Anglicized.