How would you pronounce Bleu?

[Iknowacrackingowlsanctuary]

Ok, friend of a friend had a little boy a few days ago and announced name of fb. I ended up seeing the announcement because friend of a friend commented on it.

They've named their baby Bleu. Am I going mad? That's pronounced like Bl-er isn't it? Like Corden Bleu?

All comments are saying how lovely it is and how he is their 'little boy blue.'

I didn't say anything and then our my friend mentioned that her friend had had a little boy and named him Blue. I said "oh like the colour?" and she said "yes, but they've spelt it the french way, think it's Bleu"

I said that Bleu isn't pronounced Blue but Bl-er and she looked at me like this -->

Isn't this baby going to go through life with 'Bl-er' as a name or have I got it really wrong?

I would never use the word 'thick'. I would also never call São Paulo anything other than São Paulo either though. True that São Paulo is Saint Paul in English, but then you'd probably raise an eyebrow if you were a Portuguese speaker and St Paul's Cathedral was spelt São Paulo's Cathedral ... but of course it's pronounced the way we (the English) want it; Saint Paul's.

It's awful !

I've had a google and all the pronunciation guides I can find give the correct pronunciation of the name Bleu as rhyming with the English word 'two' while the French word rhymes with 'deux'.

Bleu
Gender: F Pronunciation: Like 'blur' but without the "r"
nameberry.com/babyname/Bleu/girl

The most logical pronunciation of 'eu' in English would be y+oo as in feud and Europe. Saying the letter name of the first letter has so many more exceptions than occasions when it's true that it isn't a rule.

Off the top of my head I'm struggling to think of a word where eu is oo.

If I saw it written down I'd say bleugh. Definitely wouldn't occur to me it would be pronounced blue. Suspect he may have to correct this a lot.

Erm PicaPauAmarelo please do show where I have called the parents thick Not once have I said that and I actually asked whether I was wrong in the way I was pronouncing it. But hey, you must have more time on your hands if you can find the time to pick arguments online when there's no need

Why are people so mean about names on here. It might not be to your taste but it's not Adolf is it?

At least Adolf is a name.

Just like Paris is pronounced with the S

Paris - with the S is the English name for Paris, it is just happens to be spelt the same. Just like Londres is the way that London is spelt and pronounced in French.
I can't imagine there are many French people calling their child Londres and announcing it's pronounced London.

I've got loads of time
You didn't ask if you were wrong you said I said that Bleu isn't pronounced Blue but Bl-er
That sounded quite obnoxious and suggests you think the parents are not very smart for saying and spelling a word differently. If that wasn't your intention, then sorry, that's how it sounds.

"That sounded quite obnoxious and suggests you think the parents are not very smart for saying and spelling a word differently. If that wasn't your intention, then sorry, that's how it sounds."

It didn't to me, it never even crossed my mind that anyone thought the parents didn't know how it's usually pronounced.

suggests you think the parents are not very smart for saying and spelling a word differently

You can pussyfoot around it all you like, but if people choose a foreign word for a name, not know how to say it properly, and insist it makes a sound that it does not, we ALL know it makes them seem not very smart.
For the good reason that they are not.

You didn't ask if you were wrong you said I said that Bleu isn't pronounced Blue but Bl-er

Eh? The op asked twice if she had it wrong in her op... once she says "am I going mad or...?". The last line of her op is "...or have I got it really wrong?"

I didn't find the op obnoxious. She merely pointed out a fact; the word bleu, (as in the colour blue), in French is not pronounced blue. That is a fact. Obviously someone could name their child frank and pronounce it bob if they wished, but there is nothing obnoxious about mentioning that frank is usually pronounced frank and not bob .

I'm so pleased to have found this thread. Friend of a friend has just announced on ig that her new daughter is bleu - I have been thinking wtf?! I'll now assume she is blue.

Not according to nameberry japan! Someone posted a link up thread from nameberry saying it's a female name, pronounced "like blur but without the r". Never assume anything with baby names !

Disclaimer: there are other websites saying it is pronounced blue. Best bet? Ask the parents.

Websites can and do say all manner of shit. That doesn't change actual facts. It is not and cannot be pronounced blue.

Viques are you sure it wasn't Eva pronounced Ava?

It was not my intention to be obnoxious. I do however disagree with giving a child a name which may be mispronounced by others or which says an entirely different thing to what you think it says.

I wanted to know if I'd got it wrong because if my friend goes and tells her friend that I have said her child is actually called bleurgh, I need to know if I am actually correct or not.....if you follow

I follow. I just don't think the French sounds like bleurgh, blergh or bler. It sounds like Blu with such a subtle close that an r isn't justified, so not so far from blue to be that wacky, especially as both blue and bleu come from the same root anyway. I'm obviously in the minority though. I can live with that, is the baby cute? Hope he grows up to be a happy "little bleu"

Bleu and Blue are not pronounced the same. It's not a matter of opinion but fact.

I used live in Paris and have a degree in modern languages (including French). Bleu is never pronounced blue ime.

Bleurgh isn't exactly right either, but it's closer than Blue.

I assumed that those saying blerr etc had non-rhotic accents. Bluh is the closest way I can think of to describe the sound in my rhotic accent. Maybe someone who has a better understanding of phonetics than I do can correct me there.

www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/french-english/bleu

Blugh maybe? Am I taking this too seriously ? Language nerd!