[Janice D. Soderling]

How do you (yes you) pronounce "danse macabre" in US resp. UK (or any other) English?

Do you say "maa caab" or like the French "dahns ma-ka-bruh"?

The online pronouncing dictionaries give conflicting pronunciations, as do print dictionaries.

So all are apparently correct, but not for my purpose, i.e. a question of meter. And a closing line where all the punch is.

So I just want to know what your (yes you) instinctive pronunciation is. There is no right answer to my question, I want opinions and personal testimonials. Please.

And thanking you in advance.

[Susan McLean]

I've studied French, so I give it the French pronunciation. I don't know what I would have done if I did not know French.

Susan

[Ed Shacklee]

"Maa caab" here, for what it's worth, but then, I'm a yahoo.

Best,

Ed

[Julie Steiner]

I pronounce it the French way, with the "bruh" so tiny as to be almost inaudible. (I'm probably over-compensating for having grown up pronouncing "chaise longue" as "chase lounge," though. I guess I'm a recovering yahoo, Ed!)

If I saw it in a poem, I don't think I'd have a problem adjusting to however the poet seems to hear it, whether it's a matter of meter or rhyme or both.

[Richard Meyer]

A nice little pickle you've gotten yourself into, Janice.

As with Ed, my first impulse would probably be to say maa caab, simply because that's the most likely Americanized English pronunciation, at least where I live. I'm also aware of the French expression, however, and could just as easily use it.

You say in your post that you may be using the word in a poem's "closing line where all the punch is." Is it possible that the line it's paired with would dictate the pronunciation or be a sign post to pronunciation for the reader?

Richard

[Janice D. Soderling]

Thanks Susan, Ed, Julie, Richard.

Richard, no. That is my problem. If people have a habit of pronouncing it the "wrong" way it will derail the meter then and therel

I'm not going to say what consensus I hope for, but I will say that it is included in the replies thus far.

[Roger Slater]

My "instinctive" pronunciation is maKAB. I might then silently rumble a bit in the back of my throat, but not so you'd notice.

[Ann Drysdale]

I always pronounce it à la Française.

If I found myself in the sort of company where I would be sneered-at or thought "posh" for doing so, I would say "dance of death" instead.

But then I enunciate the "r" in "February" and the "d" in "Wednesday and I give "Saturday" three syllables - so perhaps I am not to be trusted.

[W.F. Lantry]

"maa caab"

And are you sure about that french pronunciation? Never heard that one...

[Janice D. Soderling]

If you are asking me (about the French pronunciation), I copied it from the internet thinking it was better than I could approximate. So take it with a grain of salt.

Thanks Roger, Ann and Bill. We are still about neck and neck.