Pronunciation of Catalan Names?

Question

Can you help me pronounce:

Percival (pehr-thee-BAHL?)

Domenech (doh-meh-NECK?

Town named Lleida? (YAY-dah?)

Don't laugh at me .. I've no idea!

Thanks!

Answer 1

Those are good pronunciations in Spanish, but if you are specifically looking for pronunciations in the Catalan language, it's somewhat different. Percival, instead of pehr-thee-BAHL, is pehr-see-BAHL, or perh-see-VAHL for those who distinguish the V and B sounds, for example the Majorcans. Lleida sounds more like LYAY-da for most Catalan speakers, though some, like the Majorcans again, say YAY-da. The LL actually represents a soft l-like sound sort of like the one you get in the middle of 'million' if you say it really fast and muddled.

The Catalan vowels are also slightly different, but that shouldn't be too much of a worry.