# Random question on pronunciation?



## dmak (Jul 25, 2012)

So I was at a dog festival yesterday here in town ( a good excuse to drink in public with my dog by my side) and was asked by A TON of people what kind of dog I had (we we're the only vizsla at a 500+ festival). I didn't tell every one he was mostly vizsla, as i want to try to help keep this breed a secret, but to some I did. One person began to attempt to berate me on my pronunciation when i told him what breed he is. 

I pronounce it vee-shla
He said it is vee-zla

I could care less to be honest but am now curious. How do you guys pronounce our wonderful breed Vizsla?


----------



## MilesMom (Jun 21, 2012)

Vee-zla


----------



## harrigab (Aug 21, 2011)

vee-sh-la.....but i find "pointer" easier ;D


----------



## Oquirrh the V (Jun 24, 2011)

Veeshla!!! You can find audio on Hungarian pronunciation. I did a lot of research, because I was looking at Hungarian names and I didn't want to pronounce them wrong.


----------



## flynnandlunasmom (May 28, 2012)

We say "vee-zla"
My mother-in-law says "vish-la"


----------



## KB87 (Jan 30, 2012)

Vee-shla.


----------



## AcadianTornado (Jul 30, 2012)

Funny how I now fully understand the meaning of keeping this breed secret... such a pristine breed and they could easily be spoiled! The temperament is so unique! The rescues and animal shelters would abound with them if they were mainstream because of their high maintenance personalities... but I think to us, we wouldn't have it otherwise, we love them just for that! Sorry, getting off topic here...

Veeeeeeejjjlah!!


----------



## Oquirrh the V (Jun 24, 2011)

AcadianTornado said:


> Veeeeeeejjjlah!!


Yes, the "j"-ish sound is what it sounds more like. Looking at Hungarian pronunciation it says the "zs" is pronounced like the "s" in measure.


----------



## redbirddog (Apr 23, 2010)

*Hungarian Pointer*. Smooth coat or wire-haired.

This then is followed up by: "Yes, actually they are hunting dogs and have been for a 1,000 years. We want to keep it that way." 

RBD


----------



## threefsh (Apr 25, 2011)

I've just recently started calling them "high-energy hunting dogs". I should follow this up with a picture of the shaver Cooper recently tried to eat. Maybe less people like his previous owners would take one home and then list it on craigslist later. :

We've always said "veeshla" with more of a "j" sound. One lady said to me "oh, are those veez-ah-lahs?" I almost laughed at her. Not sure where she saw the extra vowel in the name.


----------



## adrino (Mar 31, 2012)

Oquirrh said:


> Looking at Hungarian pronunciation it says the "zs" is pronounced like the "s" in *measure*.


That's actually a very good example! 

I just say vizsla... Cause I can!


----------



## NeverGiveUpRAC (Aug 27, 2012)

I say Veesh-la... I researched it online. But, my mom found them in a dog book at the store and it said to pronounce it Veez-la. 

I think a nice combo of the two could work! Haha Veez-shla??


----------



## Suliko (Sep 17, 2011)

I too say it like


> "zs" is pronounced like the "s" in measure


and I make sure to emphasize the "ZS" part with a heavy accent so people can't go home and just google the word Vizsla : Yes, yes, I'm very mean! But Vizslas are the best kept secret out there ;D


----------



## Kdwyer915 (Oct 23, 2012)

Veeshla


----------



## Flint14 (Nov 1, 2012)

Got my boy directly from Hungary =) Picked him up there myself. It's "veeshla". There's actually a little bit of a 'J' sound in there. like "Veeshjla" 

Funny thing, though, I live in Italy, and they call him the generic word for "gun dog" in Italian.

My vet called him a "veeshla" in English, when talking to me (He's American, but speaks Italian and works for mostly Italians), but when he told his wife, who it Italian, what breed my pup is, he pronounced it "veeesla".


----------



## Suliko (Sep 17, 2011)

Hi *Flint14*, I was trying to find a word in Italian containing a "zs" similar-sounding letter in it... can't think of one! 

Where in Italy do you live? I used to live in Livorno and then moved up North near Pordenone. Now I'm in the US and miss Italy a lot. 
What breeder did you get your V from? I imported my youngest V. from HU, too  Sorry... offtopic... :-[


----------



## Flint14 (Nov 1, 2012)

Suliko - I live very near Pordenone!!! =) I'm sure you've heard of Aviano AFB, we are here because my husband works there. We've got two years left!

We got our pup from the company "europuppy". In all honesty, I'd never do it again, I now know how shady they are and I'm upset I was never able to contact the breeder myself. It's basically a third party that sets breeders up with buyers. A lot of people on base recommended it to us, but I'm pretty miffed at them. I'm actually trying to find a way to get it out that nobody should ever do business with these people. My puppy is beautiful and I love him, but he was not very healthy when I picked him up, which makes me believe that these people care more about the money than the dogs. =( 

They met me at the border between Slovenia and Hungary, because I was vacationing in Slovenia. They were four hours late, and when they arrived, my puppy had been sitting in his own poo and pee for WHO knows how long. He was the only dog in the car, so I can't imagine why he wasn't clean. It was only an hour's drive from Budapest, where the breeder was. He's had an intestinal parasite from day one and was quite thin when I picked him up. We're going on two weeks with him here, and he's been sick every single day. The vet has high hopes that he should be fine by next week, though. 

All in all, I feel very stupid for doing business with these people and I hope that at least one person will read this and NEVER use that company. Go directly to a breeder yourself!!!!!!! I didn't, because I was having a tough time finding one and it was so easy to go through the third party company. BAD IDEA.


----------



## redbirddog (Apr 23, 2010)

Flint14,

This does require it's own post about *"Europuppy."* Puppy mills flourish in the shadows. You could be a light to shine into the darkness.

I know of Puppy mills here in the U.S. and in the U.K. but I haven't heard much about them on the Continent.

http://redbirddog.blogspot.com/2010/07/purchasing-vizsla-so-it-doesnt-end-up.html

RBD


----------



## redbirddog (Apr 23, 2010)

http://redbirddog.blogspot.com/2012/11/european-puppy-mill.html

Flint14. Placed on RBD to shine light into the shadows.

Rod


----------



## Mileysmom (Mar 11, 2012)

Now this is a right pronunciation "Veeeeeeejjjlah!!
I mean even this one isn't correct 100%. 
ZS in Hungarian is a very complex letter ..so i would put an "s" in front the L.


Europuppies sounds bad, hope the little one gets better soon.


----------



## mswhipple (Mar 7, 2011)

Flint14, I do hope your little Vizsla guy is going to be well soon! Poor little guy... It's certainly not his fault. 

Regarding pronunciation: I think the "zs" in Vizsla is pronounced like the "zs" in Zsa Zsa. Another way to think of it is to think of the last consonant sound in the word "garage". It isn't a very common sound in many English words.


----------



## adrino (Mar 31, 2012)

Please don't take this the wrong way but vizsla is vizsla. 
*Zs* should sound exactly like me*asu*re and the 'i' should be quick and short.


----------



## Flint14 (Nov 1, 2012)

Redbirddog- Thanks so much for sharing my post about Europuppy. I hope that someone can learn from my mistake. 

My puppy seems to be doing a little better, no diarrhea at all today!!


----------



## Suliko (Sep 17, 2011)

*Flint14*, what an experience! I think I once read about the "company" you mentioned. There are many similar companies like that in the US... 

P.S. I sent you PM


----------



## Travelstar (Nov 18, 2020)

dmak said:


> So I was at a dog festival yesterday here in town ( a good excuse to drink in public with my dog by my side) and was asked by A TON of people what kind of dog I had (we we're the only vizsla at a 500+ festival). I didn't tell every one he was mostly vizsla, as i want to try to help keep this breed a secret, but to some I did. One person began to attempt to berate me on my pronunciation when i told him what breed he is.
> 
> I pronounce it vee-shla
> He said it is vee-zla
> ...


I spoke to my Hungarian doctor today and she confirmed that in Hungarian it should be pronounced VEEJ-SH-LA (where the J is more of a JY sound). She also said that if you want to be 100% right, they really should be called 'Magyar Vizsla' rather than just Vizsla! Magyar thankfully is a lot easier to pronounce, and just refers to Hungary.


----------



## Gabica (Jan 20, 2018)

yes, someone said earlier me*as*ure, that is the same `[B]ZS[/B]` than in vi*zs*la in terms of pronunciation. 

the reason why we distinguish them as _magyar_ is because we have a whole lot of pointing-retrieving breeds we call vizsla in Hungarian. like the GSP is called _nemet vizsla_ (nemet means german) or the Weimaraner the _weimerani vizsla_, etc etc. the only one we have not named vizsla is the pointer. that one remained pointer in hungarian too.


----------

