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Leith

(7,802 posts)
Fri Jun 16, 2017, 02:55 PM Jun 2017

How to Pronounce Mueller

I've heard newscasters and pundits say it both ways:

Muller - rhymes with "cruller"

or

"myoo-ler"

I've always thought they were 2 different surnames: Muller and Mueller, pronounced differently.

Granted, there are names that are spelled the same but pronounced differently. People around Raleigh, NC, know about the Mordecai family (the Christian branch changed it to "mor-DECK-ee&quot , for example.

Is this a case where the family kept the spelling, but simplified the pronunciation? Are some people unaware that there are 2 different surnames?

Sorry for the whole thread, but it's been bugging me.

19 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
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shraby

(21,946 posts)
2. I put genealogy online for my county. I have the surnames Muller,
Fri Jun 16, 2017, 02:59 PM
Jun 2017

Mueller, Miller in almost every cemetery. (90 of them)
All of them are pronounced all 3 ways which becomes apparent when looking for the obituaries for them and on the old census. One of my major headaches when trying to find the person the obituary is about.

Leith

(7,802 posts)
6. Oh, Gosh, I Didn't Want to Drag Miller into It
Fri Jun 16, 2017, 03:06 PM
Jun 2017

My husband brought that up last night. Miller?! But then, he has an uncle "Dawnie" (Donnie) and an aunt "Paulie" (Polly). To him, "cot" and "caught" are pronounced the same.

Dchill pronounces it the way I always did - to rhyme with Bueller (hadn't thought of that example).

FakeNoose

(32,328 posts)
3. It's the German word for "Miller"
Fri Jun 16, 2017, 03:03 PM
Jun 2017

In the US we pronounce it "muller" like puller or cruller.

In Germany they'd say it a little differently.

Myoo-ler is incorrect.


Retrograde

(10,068 posts)
12. It's a sound English doesn't have
Fri Jun 16, 2017, 03:17 PM
Jun 2017

It's a u with an umlaut, sometimes written ue, and pronounced sorta like "eu" in French.

Factoid: the founder of the Miller Brewing Company was originally a Mueller.

Cirque du So-What

(25,811 posts)
7. One branch of my family is split on surname pronunciation
Fri Jun 16, 2017, 03:07 PM
Jun 2017

It's an old Hueguenot name, spelled 'Beauchamp.' Some adopted an Anglicized pronunciation, 'BEECH-um,' and some use the original French 'bow-shamp.'

MineralMan

(146,189 posts)
11. Near me, there is a lake called Gervais Lake.
Fri Jun 16, 2017, 03:12 PM
Jun 2017

Now, we had French explorers in Minnesota, and the lake is named after a Frenchman. So, when I moved here, I referred to the lake with its proper French pronunciation. I was immediately corrected by a local. Here, it's pronounced "JAR-vis," with the emphasis on the first syllable, instead of "zher-VAY." A guy's gotta learn the local way of speaking, I guess.

MineralMan

(146,189 posts)
17. Yes. With place names, we all have to get used to local pronunciations.
Fri Jun 16, 2017, 03:41 PM
Jun 2017

There's no way around it. That Amarillo is a Spanish word meaning "yellow" and is pronounced "ahmaREEyo" is something Americans do not want to know. We don't like furriners here.

MineralMan

(146,189 posts)
8. It's complicated, because English doesn't include the
Fri Jun 16, 2017, 03:07 PM
Jun 2017

sound of u with an umlaut or even the alphabetical character. For Müller, we have to substitute Muller or Mueller. Along the way, people with that surname have had it pronounced every which way but the correct way in English since almost forever.

So, how it is pronounced depends on how the person with that name pronounces it, I guess. However, in Germany, if you meet someone with the last name Müller, you'll need to learn to make that sound, which doesn't occur in English. Or not. Americans are not really expected to try very hard to say people's names correctly, really.

You can hear Müller pronounced correctly here: https://www.pronounceitright.com/pronunciation/thomas-muller-13271

 

Adrahil

(13,340 posts)
9. The German pronounciation...
Fri Jun 16, 2017, 03:09 PM
Jun 2017

... is closer to "Myeewler."

But Americans do wierd stuff with pronounciation."

frazzled

(18,402 posts)
14. ue (or ) sound in German is pronounced ...
Fri Jun 16, 2017, 03:21 PM
Jun 2017

oh, let this nice German lady tell you ... for about 26 minutes. However, this does not necessarily mean that this is how the Mueller family has Americanized the pronunciation of its name. On Edit: I see that I am unable to make the umlaut on DU at the moment--security!

BumRushDaShow

(127,269 posts)
15. It's been bugging me too because of HBO's "Boardwalk Empire"
Fri Jun 16, 2017, 03:30 PM
Jun 2017


The Nelson Van Alden character changed his name to "George Mueller" after he flipped out while part of the early "Bureau of Prohibition" in NYC, ended up fleeing to suburban Chicago, and eventually got absorbed into Al Capone's gangster syndicate. And they pronounced it "Mew-ler".

 

Spider Jerusalem

(21,786 posts)
18. It's German, the proper pronunciation is more like "Milller"
Fri Jun 16, 2017, 03:43 PM
Jun 2017

"ue" is an umlaut; in German it's "Müller".

Here are Germans pronouncing it: https://forvo.com/word/m%C3%BCller/

luvMIdog

(2,533 posts)
19. Die Schumacher Die Schumacher
Fri Jun 16, 2017, 05:22 PM
Jun 2017

You have to realize that I'm a Texan without much education When I went overseas I saw a truck that said ' Die Schumacher Die Schumacher Die Schumacher' all over it. A couple of people in the room I was in laughed when I said " Wow, that guy Schumacher sure pissed off some psycho. " Yes, I was a Texan abroad

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