HMS Bellerophon.

[Iron Outlaw]

Can anyone fill me in on the pronunciation of this ship's name.

Is it correctly pronounced: Bell-air-o-fon, or: Beller-off-on?

Thanks!

[TexaS]

In the audiobook of Master & Commander read by Ric Jerrom it is pronounced Bell-AIR-ofon.

[7eat51]

Thanks, Jonas. I was not pronouncing it that way; I was saying Beller-aw-fon.

[TexaS]

It's very hard to know how many names were pronounced.

I've studied both english and french in school, but I'm no native speaker.

I don't know how the British pronounced captured french ships like Impétueux or Spartiate or other that are a little harder, but I can't think of any right now...

[7eat51]

I studied Koine Greek in grad school. I was always amused by arguments regarding pronunciation of a foreign language spoken 2,000 years ago. I doubt many English speakers would understand the form of English spoken 1,000 years ago.

Soon after my wife tried teaching me Cantonese, I struck colors. The word ma could mean so many things, e.g. mother, chariot, signifying the end of a question, etc., and to my ears, they all sounded the same. Now, I just speak English louder.