How To Pronounce Names Of The Main Characters From The Netflix Sensation: Wednesday (The Addams Family Reboot)
Wednesday – How to Pronounce Names from the Cult Classic; The Addams Family
Hi, it’s Ted here from Speak More Clearly! In this training video, I’m going to go through some of the names of the characters in the popular Netflix show: Wednesday.
Often our students ask us how to say certain place names or names of people. It can be tricky to know how a name is pronounced maybe because it is a name from another language, or because, as is a common trend these days, people like to pronounce and spell names more individually.
History of the Addams Family
Have you ever watched the Addam’s Family movies or the original TV series from 1964? The concept of the family was originally thought up and created by a cartoonist called Charles Adams in 1938.
English Speech Training – Pronounce these Addams Family Names:
1. WEDNESDAY:
The daughter in Addam’s family. Her name is pronounced the same as the day of the week. Interestingly, we omit some sounds when we say this name which is tricky because of the triple consonant blend. Also, hold the /z/ on slightly longer, and then move to the /d/.
Wednesday /ˈwenz.deɪ/
2. PUGSLEY
Wednesday’s brother’s name. Not a common first name at all, and is a surname from old England. We pronounce this name ‘pugzlee’, the /s/ becomes a /z/.
Pugsley /pʌɡ , sliː/
3. MORTICIA
Wednesday’s mother’s name. Charles Addams the cartoonist, invented the name which apparently means ‘mortician’. He was obviously having a bit of a joke with this name! Morticia is said ‘Mortishə’. Additionally, the final ‘a’ at the end of a word in English, always says the de-stressed schwa vowel, a short ‘u’ sound.
Morticia /mɔːrˈtɪʃ.ə/
4. GOMEZ ADDAMS
Wednesday’s father’s name. The ‘o’ letter is saying ‘oe’ – as in ‘go’ and the surname Addams is said Adəmz. The 2nd ‘a’ is a short schwa.
Addams /ˈæd.əmz/
5. COUSIN IT
With all the hair! Cousin in English is pronounced ‘kuzən’ not ‘Koo’ or cow but ‘ku’. The SIN is pronounced /zən/.
Cousin /ˈkʌz.ən/
6. UNCLE FESTER
With no hair! Uncle Fester is another bit of a joke, because ‘fester’ means infected such as when a sore becomes infected. We say his name ‘unkl fester’.
Uncle Fester /ˈʌŋ.kəl ,ˈfes.tɚ/
7. LURCH
The extremely tall butler. This name is said as it looks. Make sure you say a ‘ch’ at the end properly, and not a soft long ‘sh’
Lurch /lɝːtʃ/
8. THING
The servant who pops up all over the place to ‘lend a hand’. He’s just a hand all by itself, without an attached body. Thing has an unvoiced ‘th’ at the beginning – make sure you let out enough air over your tongue before you move to the ‘i’ sound. Don’t pronounce the /g/ at the end – the ‘ng’ says ‘ng’.
Thing /θɪŋ/
9. LARISSA WEEMS
Wednesday’s school principal. Make sure you say the ‘ee’ in Weems long enough.
Larissa Weems /ləˈrɪs.ə , wiːmz/
10. MARILYN THORNHILL
Wednesday’s teacher. The ‘i’ in Marilyn is said short, as a schwa /Mar ə lin/
Marilyn /ˈmær.ə.lɪn/
Thornhill is said as it looks.
Thornhill /ˈθɔːr.nhɪl/
So, there you have it. Some of the main characters in the new version of The Addams Family franchise, and along the way you’ve practised your English pronunciation, and learnt how to pronounce certain names.
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