It left behind a bit of a remnant. "Commissioner Silver is incredible. You can see this quite clearly in the spelling of a name like "David Beckham", which is spelled in Greek as , the English-letter equivalent of which would be Nteivint Mpekam. On opening night of the current season, the NBA had more than 100 active players who were born outside the U.S. No, Antetokounmpo told him with a weary smile, it wasnt right. Giannis Antetokounmpo says his name in Greek is "Yiannis," but when people talk to him in Greece they call him "Yianni." He says a lot of people in American don't understand this, but he's. on Giannis Antetokounmpo: Pronouncing the MVP, The Measure of a Man Classifiers & Haitian Creole, Our Florida Neighborhood Haitian Communities on the Rise, Access Interpreting Language and Linguistics Blog, What is a Deposition? We recommend you to try Safari. His parents are Nigerian immigrants who moved to Greece in the 1980s. Giannis Antetokounmpo (4p/4r/4a in 6 min) exited the game with 1:13 remaining in the first quarter. anukah? But among the Frank Ntilikinas, Zydrunas Ilgauskases and Nemanja Bjelicas, one name stands apart. Since you have exceeded your time limit, your recording has been stopped. Its really that simple. Giannis Antetokounmpo (Milwaukee Bucks) Say it: "Yonnis Antay-tu-koompo" In the Greece of the Greek Freak, that's how you would say his name. His last name is thus Yoruba and means 'the crown came from over the sea'. How To Pronounce Giannis Antetokounmpo. Giannis Antetokounmpo is a clear favorite to win MVP this season, but should he also pick up Defensive Player of the Year honors? As a father to his newborn son, Liam, Antetokounmpo has learned how to turn it on and off. Keep up. The exchange was emblematic of a strange paradox. Of course, its reasonable to expect individuals to do their best to respect the name bearers preferred pronunciation. Are you a foodie? Mike Budenholzer took a timeout mid-possession to get him off the floor. The sound at the beginning of that word is a sound [] that exist in Hebrew (among other languages), but that English lacks (mostly). For example, the Greek word for goodbye, Although it is undoubtedly the last name that gives people most trouble, the first name also deserves a few comments. Giannis Antetokounmpo is a Greek professional basketball player for the Milwaukee Bucks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Those of us with long ethnic names get it. Please try again. That's why ancient Greek has a word like iatros for doctor, but Modern Greek spells it as giatros. Your email address will not be published. Giannis Yoruba father Charles passed on the name Adetokunbo, which according to one reputable source, means the crown has returned from overseas. Giannis Antetokounmpo is pronounced as jee-AH-nis an-teh-toh-KOON-boh. The 2014 San Antonio Spurs had a championship-winning roster that included Manu Ginbili, Tiago Splitter, Boris Diaw, Kawhi Leonard, and Tim Duncan, who hail, respectively, from Argentina, Brazil, France, California, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. February 21, 2023. However, the "Greek Freak . Giannis Antetokounmpo was born in Athens, Greece. So, there you have it. Subscribe to learn and pronounce a new word each day! For example, this event with Nike, or tomorrow you've got to do this event with T-Mobile," Antetokounmpo told Connaughton. So called hard and soft pronunciations. So how could Greek signify a "b" "g" or "d" sound after these letters changed? Latest on Milwaukee Bucks power forward Giannis Antetokounmpo including news, stats, videos, highlights and more on ESPN In Yoruba, the name comes from the root Ade to okun bo' (see here) and is pronounced like ah-de-toh-koon-boh (but note that the koon syllable can actually just be koo with a nasalized vowel). 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. In the case of the name, Already in Koine Greekmeaning Greek that was spoken from around the 4th c. BCE to the 4th c. CEsomething was happening to the letter/consonant, And before certain vowels, notably the "ee" sound, Greek, This whole linguistic process is called palatalization and it happens a lot in Greek throughout its history, not just with, In any case, an interesting thing happened as a result of this change. Can you pronounce this word better or pronounce in different accent or variation ? synergy rv transport pay rate; stephen randolph todd. Its really deep heritage and family history, so I dont like it to be mispronounced. Suh then pronounced it for the hosts, who, maybe three minutes after that, called him Na-dom-uh-kin.. Over time, two developments occurred. The nickname was given to him because of his unique set of skills for a player his size, and his African heritage. But that took time, and he leaned on veteran players to help him during the process. So the "d" in "ade" was written with an (nt) in Greek ( = ante) and the "b" in "kunbo" was written with an (mp) in Greek ( = kounmpo). Your Language Services Liaison, Haitian Creole Interpreter and Blog writer. Giannis opens up about balancing personal life with 'Greek Freak' life (1:17) Giannis Antetokounmpo shares the pressure of being an NBA star and the importance of balancing his personal life with . The good news though, is that they probably dont need to worry about pronouncing Giannis Antetokounmpo. But now that he is an NBA superstar, more people are trying to say his real name, and many people are still getting it wrong. The other hosts laughed it offCharles Barkley said Shaqs version was close enough, Ernie Johnson called it kind of in the ballpark. There was some more chatter about the pronunciation, which Antetokounmpo brought to a close with a tactful Just call me Superman. Later, Bleacher Report tweeted the bit with the crying-laughing emoji. As a child, he and his family struggled financially. If not, hed better keep practicing. Antetokounmpo has been in the NBA for six years. He is 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) tall and plays as a power forward and point guard. Giannis Antetokounmpo is one of the best basketball players in the world. Adetokunbo was born in Athens, the son of Nigerian immigrants who had no legal status in Greece. mike vernon royal household; are there snakes in gran canaria; shooting in laurel, md yesterday. Although Antetokounmpo has embraced the on-court moniker, he acknowledges that there's difference between his basketball perception and his laid-back personal lifestyle. It's the first title for Giannis Antetokounmpo and the team's first in 50 years. He is currently playing for the Milwaukee Bucks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Especially if youre a sportscaster and a not insignificant portion of your job is saying athletes names out loud. Or is it Chanukah? What type of offensive play has Antetokounmpo failed to showcase at this stage of his remarkably young basketball career? There's a lot of pressure, there's a lot of things that are going to try to pull you from 'come this way, do this.' That may seem weird and random, but its a common strategy. Giannis Antetokounmpo's Nickname Giannis Antetokounmpo, who is more commonly known as the Greek Freak, is a Greek professional basketball player. Giannis grew up in the Athens neighborhood of Sepolia. Many European languages feature multiple pronunciations for the letter <g>. As for the first name, even that is a point of contention as most feel it is pronounced "Yonnis," and others say it "Yonnie." According to Ruocco, both are correct, with the former used when. But theres something else about him, something sports media isnt quite sure what to do with. Now, linguistically, this just explains the history and the spelling. How To Teach Transition Defense Basketball. It might have made the vowel before the "n" a bit nasal sounding, so instead of pronouncing the beginning of the word as pe, you pronounced it as [pe] (i.e., with a nasally "e"). How do you pronounce Giannis Antetokounmpo's last name? Slate is published by The Slate Group, a Graham Holdings Company. At this time of year, people are confronted with the orthographical conundrum that is Hanukkah. Foul. Born and raised in Greece, Giannis adopted this official spelling of his name upon receiving Greek citizenship in 2013. In the world of words and the diversity of accents and local dialects, some words can be extremely hard to pronounce.Giannis Sina Ougko Antetokounmpo is a Greek professional basketball player for the Milwaukee Bucks of the National Basketball Association. Giannis Antetokounmpo is a Greek professional basketball player for the Milwaukee Bucks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Greek Freak! antetokounmpo "the king/crown/royalty from across the seas" giannis God is gracious, Five NBA things I like and don't like, including the LeBron James-Giannis Antetokounmpo MVP 'narrative', NBA Rumors: Giannis Antetokounmpo Irked With Pay To Preview Article, Giannis Antetokounmpo loses it after discovering girlfriend was a Lakers fan, Giannis Antetokounmpo's Rumored Nike Zoom Freak 2 Revealed, Giannis Antetokounmpo Reveals Who Annoys Him The Most, Phonetic spelling of GIANNIS ANTETOKOUNMPO, Word of the day - in your inbox every day, 2023 HowToPronounce. "I don't remember the first time I heard about it -- it was probably my rookie year -- but I really don't know who came up with it," he said. And this phenomenon did not just happen with (n) and (t), but also with other sequence of nasals and stops, like (m) and (p), so that a word like pempo, originally [pemp] could be pronounced as pe(m)bo [pe(m)bo], at least by some speakers. You've got the pronunciation of GIANNIS ANTETOKOUNMPO right. Both his parents are from Nigeria; his mother is Igbo and his father Yoruba (see, There are two particular phenomena in the history of the Greek language that we need to understand to explain the spelling of, In its earliest days, the Greek letters were pronounced more or less just like the English letters, Basically what this means, is that in a word like , which was originally pronounced as, And this phenomenon did not just happen with (n) and (t), but also with other sequence of nasals and stops, like (m) and (p), so that a word like , These conventions eventually became regularised so that in Greek today, a foreign "d" sound is normally spelled with (nt) and a foreign "b" sound is normally spelled with (mp). Fast forward to 2021 and Giannis has signed the most lucrative contract in NBA history - a five-year deal worth $228.2m (170.1m). . However, the Greek soft G (represented as [] in IPA) is not quite the same as the English soft G (represented as [d]). 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 an-tet-oh-KOON-poh). He began playing basketball at the age of nine. On Tuesday night, Antetokounmpo's commitment to the city that . Giannis Antetokounmpo, original name Giannis Adetokunbo, nickname Greek Freak, (born December 6, 1994, Athens, Greece), Greek professional basketball player who led the Milwaukee Bucks of the NBA to a championship in 2021. Given that it is a foreign name, some of this variation can also even be present among Greek speakers. Sure, sometimes letters are silent, or certain consonant combinations are tricky. Note: Symbols in [brackets] represent IPA characters. 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. @Bucks fans give their best shot at @Giannis_An34's name pic.twitter.com/CtZSaEY352. My first name means a ton to me, he said. But note that in Greek gamma-iota is not quite "y" but "y" with a little bit of a rumble, also known as a voiced palatal fricative ([] in official linguistic notation). How to Pronounce Giannis Antetokounmpo? Thus far, the 19-year-old is averaging 6.9 points and 1.7 assists per game . Part of the problem is thatmanyannouncers during NBA games, highlight shows, and talk showsmispronounce the last name. As for the first name, even that is a point of contention as mostfeel it is pronounced "Yonnis," and others say it "Yonnie." Oops! 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. The result was the following transformation: yoanan/yoanna became (in English letters: ioannes). Before "Giannis" became a household name, those who couldn't pronounce his last name often called the NBA's reigning MVP the "Greek Freak," because of his rare, freakish athletic ability and ballhandling skills for someone 6-foot-11. This would make the pronunciation of Antetokounmpo AH-ded-KOOM-poh. "I have also gotten lessons from people who speak his [Yoruba] language.". Antetokounmpo obtained Nigerian citizenship in 2015. . So what does this mean for the Greek freak? It is not very often that my field, historical Greek phonology, and modern sports culture cross paths. Giannis Antetokounmpo is going to need a minute. 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. 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. Over time, eventually the sequence could be used to represent the sound "d" if it was needed in spelling a foreign word and the sequence could be used to represent the sound "b" if it was needed in spelling a foreign word. But Giannis seems like an easy-going guy. Giannis Antetokounmpo joins Malika Andrews on NBA Today to discuss being called The Greek Freak, how he views himself and more. Seems like your pronunciation of GIANNIS ANTETOKOUNMPO is not correct. In conclusion, the correct way to pronounce Giannis Antetokounmpos name is with a short a sound in the first syllable, followed by a long o and u sound in the second syllable. His name is pronounced YAH-nis ah-deh-toh-KOON-poh. Now to the main event. According to Ruocco, both are correct, with the former used when referring toAntetokounmpo in the third person and the latter for when speaking directly to him. But LeBron shouldn't win the MVP because you like the story of his 2019-20 season better than that of Giannis Antetokounmpo. Well, if you say certain sounds while touching your neck at the place of your vocal chords, you can feel if they vibrate or not. Fast forward to 2021 and Giannis has signed the most lucrative contract in NBA history - a five-year deal worth $228.2m (170.1m). Seems like your pronunciation of GIANNIS ANTETOKOUNMPO is not correct. So what happened when this name was written with Greek letters after his parents migrated to Greece from Lagos? Florida Court Approved Interpreter. Rams defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh (en-DOM-uh-ken SOO) said in a radio interview last spring that hed started going by Suh rather than Ndamukong because he was tired of hearing his first name get botched. Giannis was born in Athens, Greece, to Nigerian parents, Charles and Veronica, who had emigrated to Greece to find work.if(typeof ez_ad_units != 'undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[300,250],'stuffsure_com-large-leaderboard-2','ezslot_6',182,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-stuffsure_com-large-leaderboard-2-0'); Giannis first name is pronounced yah-NEEs. The consent submitted will only be used for data processing originating from this website. For now. Coming to America from Greece as a teenager was not always the smoothest transition for Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo. During last summers World Cup, Australian TV anchor Lucy Zeli was criticized for pronouncing players ethnic names correctly, a refusal to anglicize that some viewers saw as obnoxious overpronunciation. On the portni SOS portal, we are touching on a completely new topic - spelling, which is closely . And we indeed find an ancient inscription in which the word is instead spelled as (4th c. BCE Asia Minor). Learn more here. Most people who regularly interact with speakers of languages other than their own are well-aware that their name will change form. If you would like to change your settings or withdraw consent at any time, the link to do so is in our privacy policy accessible from our home page.. pauline hanson dancing with the stars; just jerk dance members; what happens if a teacher gets a dui I hope that doesn't sound arrogant -- I'm not trying to sound arrogant -- but that's how I'm trying to think. NEW YORK Giannis Antetokounmpo is the most dominant force in all of basketball. The digraph is used to represent that sound in foreign names and words. 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 . Some of our partners may process your data as a part of their legitimate business interest without asking for consent. (Haitian Creole Resource). (CORRECTLY) Julien Miquel 706K subscribers Join Subscribe 375 71K views 2 years ago Listen and learn how to say Giannis Antetokounmpo correctly (NBA. Sign up for notifications from Insider! His first name, Giannis, is a typical Greek name that is pronounced as YAHN-nees, with emphasis on the "n"s, which acquire an elongated sound. Rate the pronunciation difficulty of GIANNIS ANTETOKOUNMPO. Antetokounmpo, born to Nigerian immigrants in Athens, is presumably used to this by now. We and our partners use data for Personalised ads and content, ad and content measurement, audience insights and product development. Although Giannis was born in Athens, Greece, he is of Nigerian descent. Fortunately, we don't have to deal with David Beckham's name coming into English via its Greek spelling, or the football announcers would have been talking about "nteivint" running around the pitch! Thanks for signing up! 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". Some readers on our website were upset some time ago by the change in the record of the Greek basketball player Janis Andetokounmpo, who was written as Giannis Antetokounmpo years ago. Subscribe to learn and pronounce a new word each day! Because many could not pronounce his surname, he quickly became known as the "Greek Freak". Hes arguably the leagues best player. NOW WATCH: How basketball players get turned into video game avatars for NBA 2K. In English, based on the spelling, people would tend to pronounce the "n" and "t" instead of a "d", and the "m" and "p" instead of a "b". I hope to do that (and a bit more) in this blog post. "Like, there's so many things that you're going to have in front of you that you've got to do, but you've just got to be able to balance your personal life with the Greek Freak life. He himself switches between them across media appearances. It is no surprise that a name like Giannis Antetokounmpo would be difficult to pronounce by many commentators in the sports world. You can contribute this audio pronunciation of GIANNIS ANTETOKOUNMPO to HowToPronounce dictionary. We recommend you to try Safari. Comments about the name Giannis: Personal experiences with the name Giannis. Many European languages feature multiple pronunciations for the letter . His last name is a little more complicated. A champion, activist and one of the most dominant players of his . For example, if you say "t" "t" "t", you don't feel your vocal chords vibrate, but if you say "d" "d" "d", you do. 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Though, is presumably used to this by now to one reputable source, means the has. Of Year, people are confronted with the orthographical conundrum that is Hanukkah always the smoothest for... Symbols in [ brackets ] represent IPA characters one name stands apart which according one...