How is St. Augustine's name to be pronounced?

[JDGaney]

Is is August-EEN? Or is it UH-GUST-IN? How was it originally pronounced in his Latin name and how does it translate into English?

 

[saellis]

You’ll hear both but the latter seems more common. To this day I still don’t know which is “right”

 

[MaryHelp777]

People usually pronounce it:

Awww

Gus

Tin

(not sure how the natives back in Augustine’s time pronounced his name…)

 

[Neofight]

People usually pronounce it:

Awww

Gus

Tin

(not sure how the natives back in Augustine’s time pronounced his name…)

That’s not how many of the residents in the city named in his honor in Florida pronounce it.

 

[dmar198]

Is is August-EEN? Or is it UH-GUST-IN? How was it originally pronounced in his Latin name and how does it translate into English?

If I remember my Latin correctly, the first thing to keep in mind is that each vowel gets pronounced even when joined together. Augustinus (his name in Latin form) starts with two vowels, a and u, which should be pronounced ah and oo. Together, that first syllable Aug- would be Ah-oo-g – pronounced quickly.

The -u- in the middle of the name would be pronounced like oo.

The -stin- would be pronounced like steen, and this would be the stressed syllable.

The -us at the end would be pronounced oos.

Together, the Latin pronunciation would be [Ah-oo-g]-oo-STEEN-oos.

 

[ComplineSanFran]

Have you ever been to Versailles, Kentucky?

Not pronounced Vair-sigh
but Ver-SAILS.

I’m sure the French weep over that one. LOL.

 

[SyroMalankara]

What about Chicago:

*The name “Chicago” is derived from a French rendering of the Native American word shikaakwa, known to botanists as Allium tricoccum, from the Miami-Illinois language. The first known reference to the site of the current city of Chicago as “Checagou” was by Robert de LaSalle around 1679 in a memoir.[1] Henri Joutel, in his journal of 1688, noted that the wild garlic, called “chicagoua”, grew abundantly in the area.[2] According to his diary of late September 1687:

when we arrived at the said place called Chicagou which, according to what we were able to learn of it, has taken this name because of the quantity of garlic which grows in the forests in this region.[2]*

So when the “Chicago-accent” overstates the “AW”, it’s being MORE accurate!

 

[pianistclare]

Our former (late) Archbishop chewed out our students for saying Aw Gus teen.
He said it was properly pronounced Aw GUS tin.

 

[Optimus_Prime]

Scholars are great for everything but pronunciation. They tend to British-ize everything. Here are the ones common in theological circles that make me nuts.

It is Augusteen! Not Augustin. That’s why we have the “e” at the end.

Schism is pronounced Skiz-um not Siz-um (you don’t send your kids to Sool do you?).

Breviary is Breh-vy-AH-ree. Not Breeveree.

Doctrinal is Doc-Trin-uhl not Do-Tryn-uhl.

I am going to ask the Pope to declare these pronunciations the official Catholic pronunciations… and to anathematize anyone who ever says siz-um again.

 

[Hatikvah]

I am going to ask the Pope to declare these pronunciations the official Catholic pronunciations… and to anathematize anyone who ever says siz-um again.

And what would the anathema say?: “Whoever mispronounces these words with such an intention, let him be anathema!”

 

[Optimus_Prime]

And what would the anathema say?: “Whoever mispronounces these words with such an intention, let him be anathema!”

I think that is perfect!

 

[SyroMalankara]

And what would the anathema say?: “Whoever mispronounces these words with such an intention, let him be anathema!”

“We declare, we proclaim, we define that whosoever mispronounces these words with such an intention, let him be anathema! Any clergyman that does so incurs excommunication latae sententiae, and is excluded from exercising his faculties until penalties are removed by the Apostolic See.”

 

[on_the_hill]

And in northwest PA, DuBois is DewBoyce.

I think the city in Florida is TEEN, and the Saint is UHstin.