doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Pronunciation of Ugartechea

This came up in the thread about LCS, but rather than hijack that one I thought I would start a new thread. There has been much speculation about the proper pronunciation of Ugartechea, so I thought a little research was in order.

The traditional spelling of the name was probably Ugartetxea.

The suffix "etxea", pronounced "a-CHAY-a" means "the house." Basque's are very closely connected to their ancestral houses, and many surnames are derived from these. But even when the surname is different Basques will often introduce themselves with the name of their ancestral house, not their surname, according to a Basque History of the World by Mark Kurlansky. (Below is a famous Basque poem relating the importance of the ancestral house, which gives you an idea why the Basques have never really been successfully conquered.)

As for the first part of the name, the consensus seems to be that in Euskara (Basque) the "u" is pronounced "oo" as in "fOOd." See http://www.bustovega.com/pronunciacion.htm; see also http://www.nabasque.org/Astero/A1-8_Basque_spelling.htm.

I have not found any good translation of the root "Ugar" but when similar "uga" words are translated from Basque to Spanish and then Spanish to English, they generally have to do with abundance and multiplication. So, my best guess is that the name means something like house of abundance.

My conclusion: Ugartechea is pronounced "ooh-gar-tah-chay-ah." (There are no accent syllables in Euskara.)

MY FATHER'S HOUSE
Gabriel Aresti, 1963

I shall defend
The house of my father.
Against wolves,
Against drought,
Against usury,
Against the Justice,
I shall defend
The house
of my father.
I shall lose
cattle,
orchards,
and pinewoods;
I shall lose
Interests,
Income,
And dividends,
But I shall defend the house of my father.
They will take away my weapons
And with my hands I shall defend
The house of my father;
They will cut off my hands
And with my arms I shall defend
The house of my father;
They will leave me
Without arms,
Without shoulders,
And without breasts,
And with my soul I shall defend
The house of my father.
I shall die,
My soul will be lost,
My descendence will be lost,
But the house of my father
Will remain
Standing.

Close.

JC(AL)

Thanks, for several years I have tried to pronounce Ugartechea.

Makes sense.

Thank you for the Aresti poem as well.

Unfortunately, accent symbols are neccesary for those of different ethnic persuasion to correctly interpret their neighbors' pronunciations. My vote would be an equal accent on "gar" and "chay", but I also vote for "shay" rather than "chay". oo gar' ta shay' ah with the apostrophies indicating the accents. OK, how close am I, Mr. Weiland?

According to the Basque History of the World, "etxea," or here "techea," is prounounced with a "chay," not "shay."

Of course, if there is an expert or someone who speaks Euskara around I may be proved wrong.

I would defintiely love to hear whether my pronunciation is correct or not from someone who has proof, or at least credientials, to back it up. (As opposed to say, someone who just heard it from the guy at LCS. )

It's pronounced exectly as written, or Spanish U if you can't manage that. It's 'Uggie' if you're familiar with Shooting Sportsman BBS.

The "chea" is actually not with a "sh" sound but "ch" No "y" .

U as the "oo" in food
GAR as in "gar-ter"
TE as in "te-chnical"
CHE as in "che-ck)
A as in "a-t"

JC(AL)

Let's give them a ring. When someone answers, we say "What is the name of your employer?" JayCee's pronunciation example of the last two syllables is a very difficult effort for those of us here in the states. che as in "check" followed with a as in "at" does not exactly roll off my tongue, but my only formal education in a foreign language is in Latin, so I am obviously no authority.

Jagermeister: It is a Basque name so the correct pronunciation follows the rules of Euskara, not Spanish. The two are completely unrelated. In fact, Euskara is unrelated to any other European language.

JayCee: What's the authority for your assertion? If you are basing it on the Spanish pronunciation the comment above applies. According to Mark Kurlansky it is "a-chay-a." (BTW, if the name rings a bell for anyone, Kurlansky also wrote "Cod," another fascinating investigative history book.)

Incidentally, has anyone ever found a wesbite for Ugartechea?