WillowRaven asked Gary Inbinder:

Hello! I am currently reading "The Hanged Man" (read "The Devil in Montmartre" last year) - hope you can answer a question for me. I'm having a problem with the forensic photog's last name: Gilles. Is it hard "g" (like "gone"), or soft "g" (like "giraffe" or the letter "j" in "James") -- rhymes with "while" ... or hard "g" and 2 syllables (like "gill-less"). Every time I get to it, my brain stumbles LOL Help?

Gary Inbinder Hi WillowRaven,

In the French pronunciation Gilles starts with a soft g sounding ZH followed by a long "e" sound as in "eel". The "s" at the end is silent. So the name is pronounced, "ZHEEL"

Here's something I copied from Wikipedia that includes a phonemic spelling:
Gilles
Pronunciation French: [ʒij]
Gender masculine
Origin
Word/name French form of Aegidius
Region of origin France and Francophone areas
Other names
Related names Giles

By the way, in French Achille rhymes with Gilles: The "ch" is soft: Ash-eel with the accent on "eel."

Thanks for the question! I hope you enjoy the books. :)

Best,

Gary

flag