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How to pronounce "Karl Wilhelm Bücher" in american english? please use the standard phonetics

Karl Wilhelm Bücher (16 February 1847, Kirberg, Hesse – 12 November 1930, Leipzig, Saxony) was a German economist, one of the founders of non-market economics, and the founder of journalism as an academic discipline.[citation needed]

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As a U.S. speaker I would suggest that it depends on your audience. If your audience is educated, you might expect them to have some understanding of German pronunciation and it may serve you well to pronounce it as Germans would. This will let your audience know you too are educated and undaunted by umlauts.

If your audience is common you should expect them to have no understanding of German pronunciation and pronounce it as you would were it an English name. Common folk in the U.S. have trouble with umlauts. Nothing will alienate you from a group of common folk quicker than 'fancy pronunciations'.

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    "Nothing will alienate you from a group of common folk quicker than 'fancy pronunciations'." This is true in Britain, too, which is a pain in das Arschloch if you speak the language concerned. I tend to say about those folks what Robert de Niro said about his critics at Fox News.
    – Michael Harvey
    Commented Jul 8, 2020 at 16:56
  • You could say "A German guy called Boosha" to the 'common folk'.
    – Michael Harvey
    Commented Jul 8, 2020 at 16:57
  • @MichaelHarvey Boosha! :) and sara - If you don't know how to pronounce it in German that's fine. Just pronounce it the way common folk would. No one, not even the educated, will notice. Unless of course you're giving a seminar on Boosha. In which case use MichaelHavey's pronounciation.
    – EllieK
    Commented Jul 8, 2020 at 17:00
  • I think those common folk might be tempted to say Butcher or Boocher, which will trip them up later, if, that is, they ever need to use the guy's name among people who know its proper pronunciation, although this may be a bit unlikely.
    – Michael Harvey
    Commented Jul 8, 2020 at 17:04
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    "Common folk in the U.S. have trouble with umlauts." Are Mötley Crüe and Spın̈al Tap examples or counter-examples?
    – Michael Harvey
    Commented Jul 8, 2020 at 17:08

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