Augusto Pinochet
Former president and dictator in the country of Chile. He ruled from 1973 to 1990.

Name: Augusto
Audio Pronunciation: (link)

Name: Pinochet
Audio Pronunciation: (link)

Tags: political leader   chile   disputed pronunciation  

Notes: With the Chilean dictators death on December 10, 2006, there have been several discussions on how to correctly pronounce Pinochet's name (see 'Web Links' on this page to read the details).

There are at least 4 acceptable pronunciations:

• pin-o-SHAY
• pin-o-CHAY
• pin-o-SHET
• pin-o-CHET

There is general agreement that the first syllable is pronounced 'pin' or 'peen'. However, the final syllable can be pronounced several ways depending on the dialect of Spanish, and thus there is widespread disagreement over which pronunciation is best. There is no clear audio of Pinochet pronouncing his own name that I am aware of.

Below are a few recommended pronunciations from several news sources:

Slate magazine says pin-o-CHET.
NPR says pin-o-SHET
The BBC recommends PIN-uh-shay
The New York Times says PEE-noh-shay

The inogolo recommended pronunciation is pin-o-SHAY. In this NPR story Nathan Crooks, editor of the Santiago Times says that most peope in Chile would pronounce it this way.

Web links:

• Language Log on Pinochet
• Slate: How to pronounce the Chilean dictator's name
• phonoblog:More on Pinochet
• BBC Pronunciation Unit: How to pronounce Pinochet