Thread: French speakers-- How to pronounce my favorite poet's name?

Robe-Air Dess-Know-ss, as a French speaker I'm pretty sure that's how it's said.

Originally Posted by Wildman

Robe-Air Dess-Know-ss, as a French speaker I'm pretty sure that's how it's said.

Thanks! Now I can say his name like I know what I'm talking about.

You don't pronounce either 's' in the last name.

You sure? I know as separate words "des" and "nos" you wouldn't pronounce it, but I've always heard Desnos with S's pronounced, even by my French lit teachers. Not pronouncing the S's sounds weird, but I guess I can't be positive until we get an official source or something.

I suggest looking up the name on google video. you will find a documentary about him in French, which I'm sure mentions his name at some point. I'm not fluent in French though so I can't understand what he's saying and its too fast for me to hear it.

There are plenty of french names where you don't pronounce them (e.g. Desmarais is a fairly common name).

I`m pretty sure you don't pronounce the 'S'. It sounds more spanish than french if you say it that way.
Somthing like 'Dey-nough' but in a more french sounding way. It's hard to pronounce on the computer.