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Post by wombat on Jul 31, 2017 16:06:20 GMT
There was a thread about Agnetha on another forum I read, and I made a sort of jesting comment and called her Aggie.
Somebody from Germany got their panties in a bunch and said it was "vulgar" to call her that.
Is this normal? Is Aggie a nasty word in German or something?
I thought it was simply an affectionate nickname Abba fans gave her.
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Post by josef on Jul 31, 2017 16:12:32 GMT
I'm not keen on it personally but it doesn't bother me. I'm more annoyed that some fans continue to call her 'Anna' when that went years ago. I like the use of her full name but that's just me.
Maybe the German person got the wrong end of the stick and didn't understand how nicknames can be affectionately meant.
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Post by Fafner on Jul 31, 2017 16:43:21 GMT
My favorite though is 'Ags'.
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Post by The Rubber Ball Man on Jul 31, 2017 17:18:57 GMT
Aggie Aggie Aggie Oi Oi Oi
Aggie Aggie Aggie Oi Oi Oi
Aggie Oi
Aggie Oi
Aggie Aggie Aggie Oi Oi Oi
Could be her new single!!!
I don't think Aggie is vulgar at all and I agree that it's affectionate.
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Post by Zeebee on Jul 31, 2017 20:40:21 GMT
I'm not keen on it personally but it doesn't bother me. I'm more annoyed that some fans continue to call her 'Anna' when that went years ago. I like the use of her full name but that's just me. I, too, am not keen on either "Aggie" or "Anna", so, with Roxy's permission, I changed the title of this subsection from "Anna" to "Agnetha". |
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Post by Deleted on Jul 31, 2017 20:59:45 GMT
While we're on the subject, I would love to hear her real name pronounced properly, for once, by an English-speaking interviewer. It's A-ngn-etha, not A-ny-eta, as if she were Italian. It can't be more difficult, can it?
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Post by abbafan456 on Jul 31, 2017 21:00:50 GMT
I don't think Aggie (or Aggy as I like to spell it) is vulgar. I've liked calling her that, but I don't think it's something I'd say to her face should I ever be lucky enough to meet her.  |
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Post by angela on Aug 1, 2017 0:31:11 GMT
I'm not too keen on her being called "Aggie" yes I was calling her "Anna" in the early days, even now to me the names "Anna & Frida" seem to go together.
I cringe when people don't pronounce "Agnetha" correctly but she might not worry about it, on the DVD of ABBA in JApan she said they could call her "ANNA"
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Post by erwin on Aug 1, 2017 10:47:03 GMT
Well, they're all nicknames for the same wonderful person, so I Like Aggie, Netha, Ags, .... And as for pronouncing her name, ... for some people it's just not easy to get it right  (neither first nor last name) How about these pronounciations : |
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Post by josef on Aug 1, 2017 16:00:24 GMT
Some people find it hard to pronounce her name correctly and I understand that. I've tried to teach a few friends and they still get it wrong. But anything is better than Agg-neef-fah *cringe*
I think back in the day she was ok with the Anna thing but it's unnecessary now. 'Agnetha' is a lovely name, people should use it. I'd never dream of calling her anything else but of course her close family and friends may call her many nicknames, which is cool and acceptable.
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Post by shoshin on Aug 1, 2017 22:05:10 GMT
How about these pronounciations... Not sure how relevant this is in terms of correct pronunciation, but it may be worth mentioning that Skavlan is Norwegian. |
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Post by shoshin on Aug 1, 2017 22:34:49 GMT
Here's Agnetha saying 'Agnetha' for Don Lane, complete with a tempting offer: 'Don't worry, I'll teach you that afterwards'.
When he has a try, Agnetha generously says 'that's right'. It reminds me of Steve Martin in The Man With Two Brains. Dr. Hfuhruhurr endures endless mispronunciations of his surname, such that when someone eventually makes a stab at it that is at least in the ball-park he stifles the usual urge to correct them, with a weary and resigned 'It's close'.
Unsatisfactory 'Hfuhruhurr'
Perfect 'Hfuhruhurr'
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Post by Liebezeit on Aug 2, 2017 1:21:23 GMT
I wouldn't call Agnetha "Aggie" because she doesn't support the Texas A&M Aggies, but on occasions I did refer to her as Anna, but then I realised Agnetha is derived from "Agnes". Neither would I call her "Angie" unless I have a close connection with her. I prefer pronouncing it all the way like "Ang-neh-dah", pretty much like the "angst" (take away the st) in "Agn", by Midwestern United States dialect. It hurts your tongue but it's worth doing it
I remember when some ABBA fan once called Frida "Fridsie" or some sort of similar diminutive name I always wonder; how did they get it? The same would go for "Aggie", but that doesn't mean I don't like it
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Post by Liebezeit on Aug 2, 2017 8:49:44 GMT
How about these pronounciations... Not sure how relevant this is in terms of correct pronunciation, but it may be worth mentioning that Skavlan is Norwegian. It's also worth mentioning that the Norwegian language is mutually intelligible with some Scandinavian languages, both in written and spoken forms! |
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Post by shoshin on Aug 2, 2017 23:13:18 GMT
Not sure how relevant this is in terms of correct pronunciation, but it may be worth mentioning that Skavlan is Norwegian. It's also worth mentioning that the Norwegian language is mutually intelligible with some Scandinavian languages, both in written and spoken forms! Skavlan can indeed ask a question in Norwegian and receive the reply from his guest in Swedish. Spoken Danish is apparently quite a lot less intelligible to Swedes due to its pronunciation, even though written Danish is very similar to Norwegian. Norwegian is 'Danish spoken in Swedish', so they say Whether the 'correct' Swedish pronunciation of 'Agnetha' would be identically rendered by a Norwegian is another matter though, hence my previous post. Perhaps Jensj2 or Contro could let us know? |
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Post by Deleted on Aug 3, 2017 5:23:41 GMT
It's also worth mentioning that the Norwegian language is mutually intelligible with some Scandinavian languages, both in written and spoken forms! Skavlan can indeed ask a question in Norwegian and receive the reply from his guest in Swedish. Spoken Danish is apparently quite a lot less intelligible to Swedes due to its pronunciation, even though written Danish is very similar to Norwegian. Norwegian is 'Danish spoken in Swedish', so they say Whether the 'correct' Swedish pronunciation of 'Agnetha' would be identically rendered by a Norwegian is another matter though, hence my previous post. Perhaps Jensj2 or Contro could let us know? When Skavlan introduce Agnetha at the beginning of the video, it sounds "correct" to me. |
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Post by Deleted on Aug 3, 2017 20:03:16 GMT
^^^
Yes, on the show he speaks 'Scandinavian', because Norwegians tend to adapt and also because it is broadcast in both countries, I think.
My point is that pronouncing it the Italian way must be due to the fact that it is a common letter combination in that language, e.g. 'agnello' (lamb). But it's a red herring (no ABBA pun intended), and complicates matters unnecessarily - it is in fact regarded as one of the most difficult sounds in Italian for a foreigner. Whereas thinking of A:s name as if it were written 'Angnetha' ought to be simple enough!
The common Swedish nickname for someone called Agnetha, by the way, is 'Nettan'.
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Post by shoshin on Aug 3, 2017 22:29:33 GMT
Here's a post that I originally wrote on the ABBAgaffes thread, but it merits another outing in the context of this discussion: Mike Read, the consummate professional. He starts off calling Agnetha AGGnetHa, then during the phone-in hears her mention her own name. The following exchange ensues. 'Your name's AGGneTTa, is that right?' She carefully pronounces it for him 'A*n-ee-yet-ta and he repeats it back parrot fashion, saying apologetically 'you're probably squirming every time I say AGGnetHa'. Then it's time for the next caller: 'Harriet Morris, you're through to..'  |
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Post by Deleted on Aug 3, 2017 22:43:12 GMT
^^^
"We'll have to make do with that one…", indeed! He actually manages to go through four different versions, all erroneous, although the second one comes pretty close! But again, he throws in a 'g', when there isn't one, making it more difficult (see my previous post).
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Post by WATERLOO on Aug 13, 2017 19:21:26 GMT
It's just unnecessary to call her Aggie. Neither her family nor friends ever called her like that. She herself used the Anna-nick name at the beginning of ABBA so if you cannot pronounce Agnetha, go for that. Why would you use a nick name that the person you are referring to has no connection to?
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Post by The Rubber Ball Man on Aug 13, 2017 20:41:35 GMT
I've never said Aggie out loud, although I have done but not much in my mind.
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