Hi there,  Sorry I'm a little late with my reply on Scott Olson's
question about the right pronunciation of "Hooghuys".  Especially the
answer of Albert de Boer pleased me.  Since no one from Belgium has
given a reaction on the question, I thought I might, but, on the other
hand, I couldn't add a lot to the answer of Mr. de Boer.  (By the way,
Jody, are there any other MMD-readers from Belgium ?)

 [ There are three subscribers, including you, with the domain name
 [ ending in ".be" indicating Belgium, and in The Netherlands we have
 [ nine subscribers.  I hope that sometime a Belgian MMDer will write
 [ a nice story about the organ industry in the Antwerp region.
 [ -- Robbie

- indeed, the Hoo of Hooghuys is like the "Ho" in Santa's "Ho-ho-ho";

- the gh is pronounced like the German ch, but a little 'softer'
(like a "g" with a slight aspiration)

- the h is like in "Ho-ho-ho" (but without the o of course)

- uys is quite difficult for anyone who doesn't speak Dutch (since
the Dutchmen and Belgians are almost the only people who are able to
pronounce 'rounded sounds' correctly).  Of course, the final -s gives
no problem, but the -uy-, on the other hand ...

Originally, the -uy- was pronounced like a long German u-umlaut [ae].
That's a typical sound of the dialect of Bruges, where the Hooghuys
family lived throughout the 18th and first half of the 19th century,
which should not give a problem to the English ear. (Or should I say:
tongue ?)  Nowadays, the -uy- is again a real diphtongue, although
the -y of -uy- is not pronounced as a j ! But again: for a better
explanation of -uy-: see Mr.de Boer !

Well, I doubt if this helps (forgive me: I've just passed my last exam,
and I'm a 'little' tired ...) , but as a Belgian and Hooghuys-'lover',
I couldn't remain in my corner, of course.

Best greetings,

Bjorn Isebaert
bjorn.isebaert@rug.ac.be

 [ Thanks for writing, Bjorn.  What are you studying?  What diploma
 [ will you receive?  -- Robbie