Bizarre pronunciation question

*Rooish* · 03-07-2007, 07:19 AM

So, it seems that Leonardo's and Donatello's names have pronunciations that are pretty much universally used ... lee-oh-NAR-doh and don-uh-TELL-oh.

Then there's Michelangelo, who I think most people pronounce mike-uhl-AN-juhl-oh, despite this not being how the artist's name was pronounced.

What about Raphael, though? I've heard it so many ways:

ra-fay-EHL (with the a in the first syllable sounding like the a in "cat")
rah-fay-EHL (with the a in the first syllable sounding like a short o, like in "dog")
ra-fie-EHL
rah-fie-EHL
ra-fee-EHL
rah-fee-EhL
rah-FAY-uhl (this one has the emphasis on the middle syllable)

How do you guys say it?

03-07-2007, 07:19 AM	#1
Rooish Devil's Advocate Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Toronto, Ontario Posts: 2,130	Bizarre pronunciation question So, it seems that Leonardo's and Donatello's names have pronunciations that are pretty much universally used ... lee-oh-NAR-doh and don-uh-TELL-oh. Then there's Michelangelo, who I think most people pronounce mike-uhl-AN-juhl-oh, despite this not being how the artist's name was pronounced. What about Raphael, though? I've heard it so many ways: ra-fay-EHL (with the a in the first syllable sounding like the a in "cat") rah-fay-EHL (with the a in the first syllable sounding like a short o, like in "dog") ra-fie-EHL rah-fie-EHL ra-fee-EHL rah-fee-EhL rah-FAY-uhl (this one has the emphasis on the middle syllable) How do you guys say it? __________________ Thanks evan2000 for the sig!