Even within Greek, note that the sequence exhibits some variation, it can be pronounced as "nd" (in slower speech or in certain contexts or among certain speakers) or even as a simple "d" (in certain contexts, among certain speakers, etc.). To view the purposes they believe they have legitimate interest for, or to object to this data processing use the vendor list link below. He began playing organized basketball when he was just 12 years old. The result was the following transformation: yoanan/yoanna became (in English letters: ioannes). Antetokounmpo admits there are a few acceptable ways to say his last name, the result of inexact transliteration from the Yoruba version ( ah-det-oh-KOON-boh) to Greek (where it became. Look no further than here for a few examples of some pronunciations of the name: While Giannis tends to be quite gracious about mispronunciations of his name, the Finals MVP and his heritage are worthy of the respect shown by putting in a little effort to learn about his name. Fast forward to 2021 and Giannis has signed the most lucrative contract in NBA history - a five-year deal worth $228.2m (170.1m). But among the Frank Ntilikinas, Zydrunas Ilgauskases and Nemanja Bjelicas, one name stands apart. The sad reality is that even fame doesnt guarantee respect. Florida Court Approved Interpreter. The reason for this transliteration is that Greek lacks a separate character for the [d] sound. This whole linguistic process is called palatalization and it happens a lot in Greek throughout its history, not just with gamma but with kappa and chi and other letters as well. Greek also lacks a character that represents the [b] sound. As a league full of players from all around the world and with varying backgrounds, the NBA is, among other things a rich linguistic petri dish. Giannis Antetokounmpo is originally from Greece and his name is pronounced yah-NEEs ah-deh-toh-KOON-boh. Antetokounmpo had joined the broadcast with fellow captain LeBron James to pick teams for the Feb. 17 game. Antetokounmpo grew up in Greek culture learning the language, going to school and eventually starting to play basketball at age 7. Because many couldn't pronounce the young budding star's last name (the Bucks had to provide a phonetic spelling of it on draft night), Antetokounmpo quickly became the "Greek Freak." But with all the emphasis on his Greek origins, it was quickly lost that Antetokounmpo wasn't ethnically Greek but the son of Nigerians. At this point, theres no excuse not to know his name. After all, we are not used to a word initial, When Jews started encountering the Greek language in Judea-Palestine during the Hellenistic period (4th c. BCE1st c. BCE), they would sometimes "Greek-ify" their names when they interacted with Greeks. Even within Greek, note that the sequence exhibits some variation, it can be pronounced as "nd" (in slower speech or in certain contexts or among certain speakers) or even as a simple "d" (in certain contexts, among certain speakers, etc.). He is currently playing for the Milwaukee Bucks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He welcomed Antetokounmpo to the court with His last name can make your breath stink and your mouth dry, proffered a few exaggerated, jokey attempts, and then simply introduced him as Giannis. The differences produce a name that sounds like it isspelled "Adedo-koonbo" and not the more popular pronunciation of "Antay-tu-koompo.". Giannis Antetokounmpo is a Greek professional basketball player for the Milwaukee Bucks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Although Greek gamma originally sounded like English "g", it started to get a bit rumblyor in linguistic terms "fricative"during the Hellenistic period. The digraph is used to represent that sound in foreign names and words. "I have also gotten lessons from people who speak his [Yoruba] language.". Giannis was born in Athens, Greece, on December 6, 1994. In 2017, he was named the NBAs Most Valuable Player.if(typeof ez_ad_units != 'undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[300,250],'stuffsure_com-banner-1','ezslot_4',181,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-stuffsure_com-banner-1-0'); Giannis Antetokounmpo is a Greek professional basketball player for the Milwaukee Bucks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Given that it is a foreign name, some of this variation can also even be present among Greek speakers. Your Language Services Liaison, Haitian Creole Interpreter and Blog writer. To pronounce Giannis Antetokounmpo, start by saying the word goat with a hard g sound. At the same time, his name has been met with a frustrating flippancy, as if those many letters are an excuse for people not to have learned it at all. You've got the pronunciation of GIANNIS ANTETOKOUNMPO right. To learn more about the Greek spelling system, click here. The name John and Giannis both go back to the Hebrew name yoanan or yoanna (note that the symbol is pronounced as a guttural in the throat). Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giannis_AntetokounmpoJuliens instructional and educational videos make pronunciation easier as I detail the correct pronunciation as native French speaker but also fluent speaker of French, English, Spanish and Italian.-If you found this video helpful please like the video to support my work.-If you would like help with any future pronunciations please be sure to subscribe!-Thanks for Watching How To Pronounce with Julien and happy pronouncing. Shortly after being crowned the NBAs Most Valuable Player f.. All fair game. Keep up. Nigeria is home to many ethnic groups and languages, including the Yoruba people and language. Keep up. So in a word like (pente) [pente], the weakening of the nasal could lead to the dropping out of the "n" sound and/or the change of the "t" to a "d" sound: i.e., pe(n)de. Giannis Antetokounmpo (4p/4r/4a in 6 min) exited the game with 1:13 remaining in the first quarter. "The difference is that the T is actually pronounced as a D and the P in the end is actually a B," Ruocco told Le Batard. Its a fascinating exercise in cross-linguistic pronunciation and dialect leveling. Step 1: Giannis Is A Name Of Greek Origin. During the playoffs, Ruocco was a guest on ESPN's "The Dan Le Batard Show," where he explained why he knows his pronunciation is correct, how he learned the name and the keys to saying it right. Giannis played for the Greek youth national team, and he was drafted by the Milwaukee Bucks in the first round of the 2013 NBA draft. That's why ancient Greek has a word like iatros for doctor, but Modern Greek spells it as giatros. Because Greek has no "y" sound, just the vowel. A champion, activist and one of the most dominant players of his . Read about Giannis Antetokounmpo Pronunciation It is pronounced JAHN-iss ah-deh-toh-KOON-boh. Slate is published by The Slate Group, a Graham Holdings Company. He began playing basketball at the age of nine. NEW YORK Giannis Antetokounmpo is the most dominant force in all of basketball. Many European languages feature multiple pronunciations for the letter <g>. Emerging NBA superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo was finally formally introduced to much of the sporting world on Saturday when the Milwaukee Bucks beat the Toronto Raptors on the opening day of the . Experienced in both Medical and Legal interpreting, Daniel has provided interpreting services in a number of modes and environments, such as: Consecutive Interpreting in court for witness testimony, Depositions/Examinations-Under-Oath, and medical interventions, Chuchotage during trial proceedings and Simultaneous interpreting in conference settings. Its somewhere in between, which presents a challenge to English-speaking media members seeking an authentic pronunciation. When Jews started encountering the Greek language in Judea-Palestine during the Hellenistic period (4th c. BCE1st c. BCE), they would sometimes "Greek-ify" their names when they interacted with Greeks. Many others are the children of immigrants. Required fields are marked *. Theres so much to find remarkable about the Milwaukee Bucks transcendent 24-year-old power forward Giannis Antetokounmpo: his impossibly long stride; his invincibility in transition; the fact that even as a leading MVP candidate and three-time All-Star, hes only just entering his prime. Giannis Yoruba father Charles passed on the name Adetokunbo, which according to one reputable source, means the crown has returned from overseas. All contents 2023 The Slate Group LLC. One of this leagues greatest qualitiesa reason Im proud to be an NBA fanis its international fan and player base. In the middle of the stars breakout season a few years later, Fox Sports Wisconsin did a similar experiment with Bucks fans, who did only marginally better. Sometimes when you're the MVP, you're the leader of the team, you've got to do a photo shoot and all that, you lose yourself, and whenever I'm with my family, I'm myself.". While the more popular pronunciation of the Greak Freak's last name is "Antay-tu-koompo," Ruocco says it is actually pronounced "Adedo-Koonbo." His first name, meanwhile, is pronounced "Yonnis". Of course, we can always go to the source himself at the 0:53 mark of this video. Log in or All Rights Reserved, {{app['fromLang']['value']}} -> {{app['toLang']['value']}}, Pronunciation of GIANNIS ANTETOKOUNMPO with 20 audio pronunciations. It is no surprise that a name like Giannis Antetokounmpo would be difficult to pronounce by many commentators in the sports world. Giannis Antetokounmpo is a Greek professional basketball player for the Milwaukee Bucks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Your email address will not be published. But Giannis seems like an easy-going guy. She defended herself by explaining that when she made an effort to get pronunciations right, she did so out of respect for the countries and athletes she was covering. Because many could not pronounce his surname, he quickly became known as the "Greek Freak". But at the very least, make a good faith effort. Some of our partners may process your data as a part of their legitimate business interest without asking for consent. We encountered an issue signing you up. Taking the time to learn a persons name is a bare-minimum show of respect for their family, faith, and identity. Congrats! After this change, which was more or less complete by the 4th c. CE, Greek had no single letter to represent the sounds "b", "g", or "d" any more. Giannis Antetokounmpo is a clear favorite to win MVP this season, but should he also pick up Defensive Player of the Year honors? First, the Greek letter , which originally sounded like "ey" in English hey (but without the "y"), came to be pronounced like "ee" as in English see. Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo joined The Daily Show on Monday night, and host Hasan Minhaj gave the NBA champion a chance to roast some of his fellow NBA stars.. I hope to do that (and a bit more) in this blog post. Second, the "o" near the beginning of the name dropped out. Giannis Antetokounmpos nickname is a play on his last name. The correct way to say Giannis Antetokounmpo's name is "YAH-niss an-teh-toh-KOON-boh". We explain why the change occurred. February 21, 2023. Giannis grew up in the Athens neighborhood of Sepolia. Now, how do. Refusing to do so isnt cutesy or harmless; it tells those of us with ethnic names that were not worth your effort. Congrats! To this day, the word is pronounced in Greek as pe(n)de. Make sure youre staying informed and up-to-date on the latest information and news on interpreting, translation, linguistics and everything in between. "The most important thing is you cannot lose yourself in it. Ruocco then explained what most people get wrong about the last name. That takes care of the last syllable. During a recent Instagram live with girlfriend Mariah Riddlesprigger, the NBA star was stunned to discover she once preferred another team to.. Giannis Antetokounmpo's second signature sneaker is looking like a major departure from his first. Staying informed and up-to-date on the name Adetokunbo, which presents a challenge to English-speaking members! Get wrong about the last name interpreting, translation, linguistics and everything in between &!, just the vowel word is pronounced in Greek as pe ( n ) de we! Letter & lt ; g & gt ; I hope to do isnt... Can not lose yourself in it Feb. 17 game has returned from overseas their family, faith, identity! 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