Straw Poll: how to pronounce 'Babel'

paddycorry · 01-03-2007 11:17am #1

This is annoying me: how is the word 'Babel' pronounced?

I'm thinking it's bay-bull (as in Bagel)

But the announcer at the Oscar coverage said bah-bull (as in babble)

Please don't even suggest bah-bell (as in bah bah bah, bah baby-bell)

Straw poll please!!

Rhyme · 01-03-2007 11:35am

Bey-buhl for me.

Although dictionary.reference.com (which i trust... kinda) gives both pronunications as correct.

Ghost Train · 01-03-2007 11:41am

paddycorry wrote:

This is annoying me: how is the word 'Babel' pronounced?

I'm thinking it's bay-bull (as in Bagel)

But the announcer at the Oscar coverage said bah-bull (as in babble)

Please don't even suggest bah-bell (as in bah bah bah, bah baby-bell)

Straw poll please!!

you can hear it pronounced here, both ways
http://www.m-w.com/dictionary/Babel
I would say it the second way as in babbling brook myself

dr.bollocko · 01-03-2007 11:47am

Yeah its babble like brook. I watched 5 hours or something of that oscar ceremony! 5 goddamn long hours of boring speeches, confused clapping and child actors. Ick. But the one thing I did learn is that this week, hollywood is calling it babble.
Now how about volver? Is it Volver as in revolver? Or Volvay as in faggy french sounding verb?

red dave · 01-03-2007 11:56am

babel as in ba ba blacksheep... ba ba babel

Vokes · 01-03-2007 12:16pm

I say Bay-bul.

Spanish ppl seem to call it Bah-bul.

I guess both are good.

Petey2006 · 01-03-2007 12:33pm

Bay-bell

Crucifix · 01-03-2007 12:37pm

I say it 'bay-bull', as that's always how I've heard it pronounced prior to this movie. I laughed when I first heard it said 'babble', but I keep hearing people saying it like that.

humanji · 01-03-2007 12:38pm

I say Bay-bull, as in the tower of.

paddycorry · 01-03-2007 12:57pm

dr.bollocko wrote:

Yeah its babble like brook. I watched 5 hours or something of that oscar ceremony! 5 goddamn long hours of boring speeches, confused clapping and child actors. Ick. But the one thing I did learn is that this week, hollywood is calling it babble.
Now how about volver? Is it Volver as in revolver? Or Volvay as in faggy french sounding verb?

I think the spanish for a 'v' is equivalent to our 'b', so it would be more like 'bolber'...

although i could be babbling..