Kan't Decide!

[Seasider]

Not a totally relevant thread I know, but as I believe members of this forum to be well read, informed and sticklers for correctness, could anyone solve my problem?
Prompted by a thread here I am reading Confessions of a Philosopher by Bryan Magee. It's an engrossing book even if one has to take it slowly and with plenty of time for R&R.
He has an excellent chapter on Immanuel Kant in whom I'm becoming very interested. I have never read any Kant before or discussed him with anyone. As I read it I pronounce his name Kant with a as in Pant. However A.J Ayer, who knows more than me for sure, talking on YouTube pronounces it Kant as in Can't. A is a very tortured vowel with varying pronunciations in UK...Bath with a as in Hat in the North and Bath with a as in Part, here in the South. I won't cross the Pond for further confusion. So how is a Southerner with an RP pronunciation supposed to pronounce the great philosopher's name and maintain academic credibility??:smile5:

[Lokasenna]

It's hardly my area of specialisation, but every time I've heard it pronounced by academics, it has rhymed with pant - I wasn't even aware there was a variant pronunciation. I'm a northerner who has lived in the north all his life, but I've a near-RP accent, and I would use the 'pant' pronunciation personally.

[prendrelemick]

Perhaps this will help.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ghIoPLyJ-k

[Emil Miller]

It's a matter of anglicising the word. In German the letter a is usually pronounced as ah. I remember discussing the philosopher in Germany many years ago and the Germans pronounced it as in can't, although there may have been a slight difference of pronunciation given that it was in Bavaria.

[mal4mac]

Will you ever need to pronounce it in Eastbourne? :)

I also think "pant" is fine. If you want more southern examples, check out Bryan & Geoffrey's pronunciation here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kN5XzaWumV0

[Seasider]

Will you ever need to pronounce it in Eastbourne? :)


As a matter of fact I spoke about him to my Doctor this morning. And my doctor who is a German pronounced it Karnt. So your pronunciation may be a matter of who you are speaking to:smile5:

Anglicanisation doesn't always work either...I am still sure I missed a place at Cambridge because I pronounced Don Quixote more or less phonetically. In those days I imagine Cambridge tutors had no sensitivity training in respect of any aspirant's self-esteem or working class credentials. .:wink5:

[OrphanPip]

I've always pronounced it as the British pronunciation of can't, and that's how I learned it at university. Which is, I think, the generally accepted anglicized pronunciation. I do occasionally hear it as Kant with the a in pant.