papahanaumokuakea,Ngorongoro,Phnom Penh

[balakrishnanijk]

How do you pronounce Papahanaumokuakea ? Is it an English word?

I would also like to know how Ngorongoro is pronounced. That 'n' looks suspicious.

In Phnom Penh, the first 'p' is apparently pronounced in the Khmer language. Why hasn't English retained that? Or are there two variant pronunciations?

[Tdol]

1 It's not English origin word- it's the Hawaiian name.
2 Why is it suspicious? Many languages have words starting with ng-. I've come across it in two languages I have studied. I find it hard to say without a vowel before it, but I can't for the life of me see what's suspicious about it.
3 The /p/ is pronounced in Khmer, but languages are free to pronounce things their way- it's a difficult sound, so most people don't bother and there are words in English with a silent p at the start. We pronounce the final letter in Paris, but the French don't. Names can change- the Khmer language changes names of places too. I have lived in Phnom Penh and most of the foreigners living there pronounced the /p/, but very few in the UK do that.

[balakrishnanijk]

Dear Tdol,

You seem to have misunderstood what I wrote. I have no objection to that 'n' in the spelling. I only want to know whether it is pronounced. Also, I would like to know how the Hawaiian name is pronounced

[Tdol]

You did write

That 'n' looks suspicious.

How exactly have I misunderstood you? Pronounce it as you would ng.

[birdeen's call]

Ngorongoro: Information from Answers.com

I'm not sure if they use the IPA.