Frank George Valoczy wrote:
> Our now thankfully departed ex-Premier goes by the name of Ujjal Dosanjh,
> with the /j/ supposed to be pronounced as in English, namely as [dZ]. Why
> then, do most people say [u:Z@l do"sA:nZ] instead of [udZ:al dosandZ] or
> [u:dZ@l do"sA:ndZ] even? I've noticed this often when whites here
> pronounce Punjabi names, that they pronounce the /j/ as [Z] instead of
> [dZ]. Would anyone have any ideas as to why?
Same reason that "Beijing" [beidZiN] is commonly pronounced with [Z]:
"All non-English languages are essentially French."
Added.
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There is / one art || John Cowan <jcowan@...>
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with art- / lessness \\ -- Piet Hein