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Correct pronunciation of Rudolf Grewe last name


ilya12000

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In our work we use Grewe condensation (condensation of benzyl-substituted octahydroquinoline to morphinan structure). Our chemists pronounce it as "Gryu condensation" which corresponds to English version of reading Grewe. However the chemist Rudolf Grewe was German, so my guess that the correct pronunciation should be "G-r-e-v-e" . Could somebody clarify it?

 

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22 minutes ago, ilya12000 said:

In our work we use Grewe condensation (condensation of benzyl-substituted octahydroquinoline to morphinan structure). Our chemists pronounce it as "Gryu condensation" which corresponds to English version of reading Grewe. However the chemist Rudolf Grewe was German, so my guess that the correct pronunciation should be "G-r-e-v-e" . Could somebody clarify it?

I'm intrigued, I have no idea BTW, can you explain why it matters? 

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44 minutes ago, dimreepr said:

BTW, can you explain why it matters? 

!

Moderator Note

This is not appropriate. A question was asked, and unless such clarification helps to answer it (and in this case, I can't see how it would), it's off-topic. The OP has no obligation to say why they are asking.

 
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2 hours ago, ilya12000 said:

In our work we use Grewe condensation (condensation of benzyl-substituted octahydroquinoline to morphinan structure). Our chemists pronounce it as "Gryu condensation" which corresponds to English version of reading Grewe. However the chemist Rudolf Grewe was German, so my guess that the correct pronunciation should be "G-r-e-v-e" . Could somebody clarify it?

If you google "pronunciation <name>" you will get several websites that offer you the "correct" pronunciation.

In this case, there is quite a bit of variety (groo, grooee, greeva).

This one claims to be the German pronunciation: https://forvo.com/word/grewe/ (close to greeva)

We do have a German-speaking member, so maybe they will be able to confirm that.

But the "correct" pronunciation of a foreign word or name in English is a tricky question. Some languages have sounds that don't exist in English, for example. Should we struggle to pronounce them? And if everyone knows a particular "wrong" (Anglicised) pronunciation, shouldn't we consider that to be the correct way to say it in English. But, then again it really grates when I hear people badly mispronounce names that I am familiar with from the original language. So there is no easy answer!

The trouble is, if you start pronouncing it "correctly" your chemists might not know what you are saying! 

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2 hours ago, chenbeier said:

Spell like the colour "grey" and add "where", but swallow the "re" at the end.  Gre(y)whe(re). 

I thought Germans didn't have the 'wuh' sound, instead pronouncing it 'vuh' or 'vee' instead of 'wee'

 

Edited by StringJunky
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The English pronunciation is something that confuses me up to this day. I still refuse to use the anglicized version, because it does not make a lot of sense. The issue is that most of my chemistry knowledge is still locked in Germany which can be difficult sometimes to switch out. I may or may not have raised a generation of Genglish speaking young graduates...

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