How to pronounce 'Jos'

Several non-Dutch people have asked me how my first name has to be pronounced since 'Jos' is not a name used many in countries other than The Netherlands (where I was born) and Belgium.

In phonetic spelling, my first name reads: ['jos' spelled phonetically]

Using English as language to explain the pronounciation, this phonetic spelling means (source: Dictionary of contemporary English, Longman, 1988): 

            /----------+-----------+-----------\
            |  letter  | pronounce |   or      |
            | in 'jos' | as   in   | as  in    |
            +----------+-----------+-----------+
            |    j     | y    yet  | i   onion |
            |    o     | o    pot  | a   watch |
            |    s     | s    soon | c   city  |
            \----------+-----------+-----------/
The name 'Jos' is not uncommon in The Netherlands and mostly used for men, but also for women (if you are interested: I am a man). It originates from the name of saint Joseph and most people called 'Jos' have as first name actually something like 'Josephus' or 'Josephina'. My first name is, however, simply 'Jos'.

Many people have more that one name, mostly two, but -- at least in The Netherlands -- often more. I was given four names when I was baptised: 'Jos Henricus Gerardus Maria', where the second and third refer to my two grandfathers (they were usually called 'Henk' and 'Gerrit'); the name 'Maria' was often given as extra name to Roman Catholic people.

 

How to pronounce my last name

Although calling me just 'Jos' is enough for me, you might like to know to know how to pronounce my last name 'van Geffen', just in case.

In phonetic spelling, my last name reads: ['van geffen' spelled phonetically]

Using English again as language to explain the pronounciation, this phonetic spelling means (source: Dictionary of contemporary English, Longman, 1988): 

            /--------------+-----------+-----------\
            | letter(s) in | pronounce |   or      |
            | 'van geffen' | as   in   | as  in    |
            +--------------+-----------+-----------+
            |      v       | v    view | f   of    |
            |      a       | a    calm | ea  heart |
            |      n       | n    sun  | kn  know  |
            +--------------+-----------+-----------+
            |      g       | ch   loch |           |
            |      e       | e    bed  | ea  bread |
            |      ff      | f    fat  | gh  cough |
            |      e       | e    the  | a   asleep|
            |      n       | n    sun  | kn  know  |
            \--------------+-----------+-----------/
The word 'van' means something like 'from' and 'Geffen' is the name of a village in The Netherlands, suggesting that our ancestors come from that village. I, however, know not of any family member living in Geffen. What's more, there are lots of people called 'Van Geffen' in The Netherlands who are not related to my family, as far as we know.

It is of course also possible that people are not called after the village where they come from, but that the village is named after a well-to-do family. So maybe my ancestors where important people ...
 

Note about notation

There is a bit of confusion outside Dutch-speaking countries as to what actually is the last name if 'van' is used and which word is to start with a capital letter. Let me use my own name as example.

My full name is 'Jos van Geffen', spelled with a lower case 'v'. If you want to restrict yourself to my last it is 'Van Geffen', with a capital 'V', because names start with a capital letter. This means that often I am alphabetically listed under the 'V', for instance on lists of publications (see e.g. the list of my publications). In The Netherlands, however, I am normally listed under the 'G' as 'Geffen, Jos van'.

To increase the confusion: people in Belgium with 'van' in their name spell is always with a capital 'V', which would mean in my case: 'Jos Van Geffen'.

<=== This page with the use of tables

---> larger version of the phonetic spelling of 'jos'.
---> larger version of the phonetic spelling of 'van geffen'.

 
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created: 22 August 1997
last modified: 29 December 2001