Sidibe Pronunciation

[iommi]

Donna has her pronunciation video pinned on her Twitter but I'm still hearing just about everyone butchering Bourama's last name.

The easiest way to get it and remember it is like this: pronounce it City-Bay but change the "T" do a "D" sound. San Francisco is the city by the bay. Can't believe even Matt Park was butchering it during the first exhibition game. The Voice of the Orange. That was rough.

SID-ee-bay. Not that hard.

 

[asj410]

Every time I see somebody post about how to pronounce a player's name, I think of that infamous Tyler Ennis thread. Every time. Thanks, Frozen.

 

[dollarbill44]

Why do people have trouble with Sidibe? It doesn't seem like a difficult name.

 

[iommi]

Why do people have trouble with Sidibe? It doesn't seem like a difficult name.

I think they're not sure where to put the emphasis and they want to end it with a Bee rather than a Bay sound. City-bay is the easiest way to think about it.

 

[Oráiste]

I think they're not sure where to put the emphasis and they want to end it with a Bee rather than a Bay sound. City-bay is the easiest way to think about it.

I thought it was SID-ee-bay until I read that his teammates call him Dib for short, which made me think it was si-DIB-ay

Is the first name boo-RAM-ah?

 

[Zelda Zonk]

I thought it was SID-ih-bay.
Thanks for the correction.

 

[iommi]

I thought it was SID-ee-bay until I read that his teammates call him Dib for short, which made me think it was si-DIB-ay

Is the first name boo-RAM-ah?

No, it's not how you pronounced it above. He actually introduces himself to people he first meets by saying his name to them. That's what he did when I interviewed him at his signing day. He said it is just a courtesy because he's a foreigner.

His high school nickname was "Rama." Boo Rah-ma

Dolezaj is being destroyed too. Most people are forgetting the J sound at the end. It's DOLE-ih-ZIJE. I'm not good with actually knowing how to type out these pronunciation guides but I know how the names are supposed to sound. Most people are pronouncing it DOLE-ih-ZI and leaving out the J sound at the end.

 

[W'boro'Cuse315]

Pretty sure it's spelled SidiBAE

 

[Oráiste]

No, it's not how you pronounced it above. He actually introduces himself to people he first meets by saying his name to them. That's what he did when I interviewed him at his signing day. He said it is just a courtesy because he's s foreigner.

His high school nickname was "Rama." Boo Rah-ma

Dolezaj is being destroyed too. Most people are forgetting the J sound at the end. It's DOLE-ih-ZIJE. I'm not good with actually knowing how to type out these pronunciation guides but I know how the names are supposed to sound. Most people are pronouncing it DOLE-ih-ZI and leaving out the J sound at the end.

that's actually how I was pronouncing it; I didn't phoneticize (if that's a word) the RAHM part correctly

 

[iommi]

Pretty sure it's spelled SidiBAE

That might be an improvement from what people have been saying. Considering all the positive words I've been giving Bourama in the past year or so, some folks might think he's my Bae.

 

[iommi]

I thought it was SID-ih-bay.
Thanks for the correction.

Well, I don't think that's far off at all. The second syllable is a long E but that would be pretty close. Better than SEED-ih-bee or SID-ee-BEE or whatever else we've been getting.

Guaranteed it gets butchered tonight. What announcers are on the call?

 

[Zelda Zonk]

No, it's not how you pronounced it above. He actually introduces himself to people he first meets by saying his name to them. That's what he did when I interviewed him at his signing day. He said it is just a courtesy because he's s foreigner.

His high school nickname was "Rama." Boo Rah-ma

Dolezaj is being destroyed too. Most people are forgetting the J sound at the end. It's DOLE-ih-ZIJE. I'm not good with actually knowing how to type out these pronunciation guides but I know how the names are supposed to sound. Most people are pronouncing it DOLE-ih-ZI and leaving out the J sound at the end.

It's funny when the pronunciation guide doesn't really help a person understand how to say a thing!
"-ZIJE" ! That looks like "zijjee" to me. That's a tough one for us dumb amurkins to figure out. From the way the announcers were saying it, i would try:

DOLE uh zh-eye.
But, the formatting is non-standard, to be able to get the single syllable combo of the 'Zh' + the 'eye' sound...

But, you're saying there's a soft "J" sound at the end? Like DOLE uh z'eye-zjhh ?

 

[iommi]

But, you're saying there's a soft "J" sound at the end? Like DOLE uh z'eye-zjhh ?

Yes, there is a soft J at the end. If you listen to Donna's pronunciation guide, you can hear Marek use the soft J at the end. It doesn't end with the "z'eye." I'm not sure how the pronunciation guides format the soft J but they way you did it is perfect to explain it.

 

[MSOrange]

I'm just glad Len Elmore doesn't announce for ESPN anymore. Guy wouldn't stand a chance!

 

[iommi]

I'm just glad Len Elmore doesn't announce for ESPN anymore. Guy wouldn't stand a chance!

"Boe-Reem-ugh SIDE-ee-boe is a real force inside. His length reminds me a little of Hakim War-wick."

 

[Frozen]

Just like Modibo Sidibe.

 

[Brooky03]

Sidibe is easy. All the names are pretty easy except for Dolezaj because it's not pronounced how it's spelled; the 'z' is not pronounced like a 'z' and the 'j' is silent.

 

[Frozen]

Syracuse basketball players pronounce their own names (video)

 

[iommi]

Sidibe is easy. All the names are pretty easy except for Dolezaj because it's not pronounced how it's spelled; the 'z' is not pronounced like a 'z' and the 'j' is silent.

There's a soft J at the end. It is not a silent J.

 

[iommi]

And these guys could not pronounce Sidibe. Shocker.

 

[Brooky03]

There's a soft J at the end. It is not a silent J.

Rewatching the video, you're right. For that matter, the announcers have been dropping off the J.

 

[721Comstock]

Sid eBay - how hard can this be?

I remember Charles Barkley talking about Joachim Noah, and how he just always says “Joe-Kim” so he doesn’t screw it up too badly.
This is similar.

 

[SWC75]

Donna has her pronunciation video pinned on her Twitter but I'm still hearing just about everyone butchering Bourama's last name.

The easiest way to get it and remember it is like this: pronounce it City-Bay but change the "T" do a "D" sound. San Francisco is the city by the bay. Can't believe even Matt Park was butchering it during the first exhibition game. The Voice of the Orange. That was rough.

SID-ee-bay. Not that hard.

A guy named Sid shops on E-bay. In the city by the bay.

 

[JoeySimz]

I think they're not sure where to put the emphasis and they want to end it with a Bee rather than a Bay sound. City-bay is the easiest way to think about it.

Good point. I think this is the main reason some have trouble with a seemingly simple name. They are forcing an accent(emphasis) where there is none. A stressed syllable, especially the penultimate syllable, is common in Euro-based languages. This elongates/corrupts the second vowel in Sidibe since there is no stressed syllable, I would argue.

When I listen to Sidibe pronounce his own name, I don't even hear much differentation between the two "i"s. Using IPA, I hear sI-dI-bE. The I sounding "ih" as in mitt, the E sounding "eh" as in bed. More in line with Zelda's interpretation. But I also thought it could be closer to an e sound as in "bay", which you suggest. There is only slight tonal variation in these sounds so it makes little difference. And we know it certainly is not an i ("ee" sound as in beet)

The real question is the middle syllable. As I suggested above, merely avoiding a stress on the second syllable would clean it up. A shorter unstressed syllable would help shorten and therefore limit vowel variation.

In conclusion, I hear sI-dI-bE. I think "city bay" is smart as long as one uses caution not to stress the middle "ee". That's why the taller "ih" placement is preferred. Direspectful, really, that the announcers and their production team clearly don't care.

 

[iommi]

Good point. I think this is the main reason some have trouble with a seemingly simple name. They are forcing an accent(emphasis) where there is none. A stressed syllable, especially the penultimate syllable, is common in Euro-based languages. This elongates/corrupts the second vowel in Sidibe since there is no stressed syllable, I would argue.

When I listen to Sidibe pronounce his own name, I don't even hear much differentation between the two "i"s. Using IPA, I hear sI-dI-bE. The I sounding "ih" as in mitt, the E sounding "eh" as in bed. More in line with Zelda's interpretation. But I also thought it could be closer to an e sound as in "bay", which you suggest. There is only slight tonal variation in these sounds so it makes little difference. And we know it certainly is not an i ("ee" sound as in beet)

The real question is the middle syllable. As I suggested above, merely avoiding a stress on the second syllable would clean it up. A shorter unstressed syllable would help shorten and therefore limit vowel variation.

In conclusion, I hear sI-dI-bE. I think "city bay" is smart as long as one uses caution not to stress the middle "ee". That's why the taller "ih" placement is preferred. Direspectful, really, that the announcers and their production team clearly don't care.

I used "city bay" just to simplify it. Also it makes it clear how to emphasize things. When I met Bourama, the second syllable sounded more like an "ih" as in "mitt" but he's also said it like "ee." As you said, the key is to let it flow and not put emphasis on the middle syllable.

Regardless of all the announcers are not close. How could Matt Roe not get it right by his third game on the mic? I wonder if Matt Park has it by now. And Dolezaj is getting done wrong too. It's bad.