That's partly it but isn't there a way of using these special characters anywhere that you type, for example in this post if I want to write Jancso with the accent.brunosh wrote:In WORD, go to the INSERT drop down menu and click on SYMBOL. Is this what you mean?
How to Pronounce Your Favorite Director's Name
- vogler
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- Lemmy Caution
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Using Windows, select:
All Programs/ Accessories/ System Tools/ Character Map.
Hou Hsiao Hsien would be written in Pinyin as Hou Xiao Xian
(I think, but actually don't know what his family name is, probably Hu in Mandarin), and pronounced:
Ho
Sheow (kind of like meow, but quickly with the "e" sound fairly short. "shout" without the "t;' would be reasonably close)
She-en (like "she" + the pronunciation of the letter "n". For this one, there definaitely needs to be two distinct vowel sounds together).
Ho Sheow She-en
---------------------------------------------
In Japanese, often the "u" sound is swallowed, often to such a degree that I'm not sure why it is even there (he says, as though English doesn't jerk youa round with silent letters all the time).
All Programs/ Accessories/ System Tools/ Character Map.
Hou Hsiao Hsien would be written in Pinyin as Hou Xiao Xian
(I think, but actually don't know what his family name is, probably Hu in Mandarin), and pronounced:
Ho
Sheow (kind of like meow, but quickly with the "e" sound fairly short. "shout" without the "t;' would be reasonably close)
She-en (like "she" + the pronunciation of the letter "n". For this one, there definaitely needs to be two distinct vowel sounds together).
Ho Sheow She-en
---------------------------------------------
In Japanese, often the "u" sound is swallowed, often to such a degree that I'm not sure why it is even there (he says, as though English doesn't jerk youa round with silent letters all the time).
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- vogler
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- MichaelB
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But the spelling is usually completely phonetic, so once you've mastered the rules, you can usually get it right first time.vogler wrote:I find Eastern European names to be the most difficult. They are often completely different to how the name would be said in English.
Sounds right to me.Jan Němec - Yan Nye-metz
'Menzel' actually sounds as it would in English - there's no hidden 't'. Slight stress on the first syllable (which is true of most Czech words).JiřàMenzel - Yir-jee Ment-sell (or is it more like Yee-jee Ment-zell or Men-sell?)
As for 'JiÅ™ÃÂ', 'Yir-jee' isn't bad, but the Czech 'Ã…â„¢' is more pronounced than that. Basically, the 'r' at the end of 'Yir' needs to be rolled, and then fused pretty much seamlessly with the 'j'. I normally write it as 'rzh', just to emphasise that the 'j' isn't a 'y'.
Correct, but the name is actually spelt 'Ã…Â vankmajer'. (If it was 'Svankmajer', it would be pronounced 'Svank-my-er')Jan Svankmajer - Yan Shvank-my-er
Sounds good to me - I don't know about the distinction between 'rov' and 'roff', but since you'll doubtless have a strong non-Polish accent anyway it hardly matters.Walerian Borowczyk - Valerian Bo-rov-chick (or Bo-roff-chick?)
The Quay Brothers seem to think it's 'Len-it-za', and I know they've discussed his work with Poles - I'm assuming their best mate Andrzej Klimowski knows how to get it right!Jan Lenica - Yan Len-eat-za (or Len-it-za?)
Right, I'm going to stop guessing Polish pronunciation and stick to what I do actually know:
'Vera' is actually 'Vyera' - but, again, it's correctly spelt 'Věra'.Vera Chytilova - Ve-ra Hee-ti-low-vuh (But the H is more like a cross between H and the ch sound in the Scottish Loch)
I'd say 'Hitilowvaah' - I can't see any indication that the 'y' or the 'i' are lengthened, but the final 'a' definitely is. But you're right about the 'Ch' sound.
At a guess, 'Yerzhy Kavalerovitch', but that's not exactly gospel.Jerzy Kawalerowicz - Jurt-see Ka...No chance, anybody know how to say this one?
And here are a few more Eastern Europeans, starting with another composer:
György Ligeti - 'Gyurge Ligitty' (stress on the 'Lig' - I heard this from the man himself during a lecture in the 1990s)
Jaromil Jireš - 'Yaromil Yiresh'
Emir Kusturica - 'Emir Kusturitsa'
Miloš Forman - 'Milosh Forman'
Jan HÃ…â„¢ebejk - 'Yan Hrzhebeik'
Oldřich Lipský - 'Oldrzhich Lipskee' (another Scottish 'ch')
Jan SvÄ›rák - 'Yah Svyeraahk' (long 'a')
JiřàTrnka - 'Yirzhi Trnka' (yes, pronounced exactly as spelt, as though there was no vowel until the end - stress on the 'Trnk')
FrantiÅ¡ek VláÄ
- Rufus T. Firefly
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- vogler
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Yes, quite right, but unfortunately I only discovered how to do accents/special characters etc. a few posts back in this thread - that was why I asked. All this time I have been copying and pasting from foreign sites or doing nothing at all. Some of the names I had printed correctly in documents on my computer for copying, others not e.g Ã…Â vankmajer.MichaelB wrote:Correct, but the name is actually spelt 'Ã…Â vankmajer'. (If it was 'Svankmajer', it would be pronounced 'Svank-my-er')
Thanks for the input with these. I think I'm starting to get fairly good at East European names now. It drives me mad when I haven't a clue how to pronounce my favorite film-makers names.
Strange coincidence that this thread appeared shortly after we were discussing the pronunciation of Jan Němec.
MIK-loszh YAN-cho - sounds pretty good.Rufus T. Firefly wrote:I always though it was MIK-loszh. But then I can't even speak English properly.
- MichaelB
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I only do it when I can be bothered, which is usually only:vogler wrote:unfortunately I only discovered how to do accents/special characters etc. a few posts back in this thread - that was why I asked. All this time I have been copying and pasting from foreign sites or doing nothing at all. Some of the names I had printed correctly in documents on my computer for copying, others not e.g Ã…Â vankmajer.
1) when I'm writing professionally (and half the time the diacritics get dropped by the typesetters);
2) when it's important (as in threads like this - with Eastern European languages, spelling and pronunciation are intimately linked).
Unfortunately for the menu, booklet and packaging designers and even the subtitlers of the BFI's upcoming Ã…Â vankmajer box set, I most definitely WILL be bothered then!
- vogler
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I decided to edit my first post to add the correct diacritics. This should help to avoid confusion for people who read it in future.MichaelB wrote:I only do it when I can be bothered, which is usually only:
1) when I'm writing professionally (and half the time the diacritics get dropped by the typesetters);
2) when it's important (as in threads like this - with Eastern European languages, spelling and pronunciation are intimately linked).
I have just started a new wordpad document on my desktop where I am typing the names of all my favourite film-makers with the correct diacritical markings. This should make things very easy as all I have to do is copy the whole name and paste.
- orlik
- Joined: Mon May 01, 2006 7:17 pm
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I'm also sure that MIK-losh YAN-cho is right.
I've always had problems with the Hungarian 'György', although of course I recognise it's the Hungarian equivalent of George, like the Czech Jiřàand the Polish Jerzy. Is the pronunciation of 'György' something like 'Zhee-ur-zhee'? (I wonder how many people are tempted to pronounce the name of the great Marxist literary theorist György Lukacs as George Lucas.)
I think one of the reasons we're often unsure about pronunciations of foreign directors' names is that we seldom hear these names mentioned in the media, eg on TV, or in everyday conversations, and are generally dependent on print or the Internet for information about foreign-language films. As in so many other aspects, football fans have an easier time knowing how to pronounce players' names than film fans - and Milan Baroš's name is still often pronounced incorrectly.
BTW, after Borowczyk moved to France the French simply used to call him 'Boro', and in one interview I've seen with him, the French interviewer pronounces his name as 'Borowk-zeek'. I thought only the English were bad with names!
I've always had problems with the Hungarian 'György', although of course I recognise it's the Hungarian equivalent of George, like the Czech Jiřàand the Polish Jerzy. Is the pronunciation of 'György' something like 'Zhee-ur-zhee'? (I wonder how many people are tempted to pronounce the name of the great Marxist literary theorist György Lukacs as George Lucas.)
I think one of the reasons we're often unsure about pronunciations of foreign directors' names is that we seldom hear these names mentioned in the media, eg on TV, or in everyday conversations, and are generally dependent on print or the Internet for information about foreign-language films. As in so many other aspects, football fans have an easier time knowing how to pronounce players' names than film fans - and Milan Baroš's name is still often pronounced incorrectly.
BTW, after Borowczyk moved to France the French simply used to call him 'Boro', and in one interview I've seen with him, the French interviewer pronounces his name as 'Borowk-zeek'. I thought only the English were bad with names!
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- MichaelB
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My impression is that it's much closer to 'George' than you'd think (what with being foreign and exotic and all), only it's nearer 'Gyurge'. But it definitely isn't 'Zhee-ur-zhee', unless György Ligeti forgot how to pronounce his own first name! Mind you, he was in exile from his native Hungary for decades...orlik wrote:I've always had problems with the Hungarian 'György', although of course I recognise it's the Hungarian equivalent of George, like the Czech Jiřàand the Polish Jerzy. Is the pronunciation of 'György' something like 'Zhee-ur-zhee'? (I wonder how many people are tempted to pronounce the name of the great Marxist literary theorist György Lukacs as George Lucas.)
He actually introduces himself as 'Boro' during his live-action cameo in Le Théâtre de M. et Mme. Kabal.BTW, after Borowczyk moved to France the French simply used to call him 'Boro', and in one interview I've seen with him, the French interviewer pronounces his name as 'Borowk-zeek'. I thought only the English were bad with names!
- daniel p
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try this:jon wrote:Hou Hsiao Hsien
I can never remember how to spell it, let alone pronounce it. I am imagining that the last two H's are somewhat silent.
Anyone know how?
Hue How Hen
but replace the first "H" with "Xh", and the 2nd and 3rd "H" with "Xsh"
Xhu Xshow Xshen
Probably didn't help.
Better yet, get the Criterion "Yi Yi" dvd, and watch the interview with Tony Rayns - he pronounces it correctly...
- orlik
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Thanks, I was a bit confused by the 'Gyurge' - so that's with a soft 'g'? No wonder some 'György's have changed their names upon emigrating - György Lukacs became, at least for a while, the Germanised Georg Lukács, and the political essayist György Konrad plain old George Konrad.MichaelB wrote:My impression is that it's much closer to 'George' than you'd think (what with being foreign and exotic and all), only it's nearer 'Gyurge'. But it definitely isn't 'Zhee-ur-zhee', unless György Ligeti forgot how to pronounce his own first name! Mind you, he was in exile from his native Hungary for decades...orlik wrote:I've always had problems with the Hungarian 'György', although of course I recognise it's the Hungarian equivalent of George, like the Czech Jiřàand the Polish Jerzy. Is the pronunciation of 'György' something like 'Zhee-ur-zhee'? (I wonder how many people are tempted to pronounce the name of the great Marxist literary theorist György Lukacs as George Lucas.)
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in pronouncing japanese names there are 2 important rules to observe...
1) you DON'T stress parts of the name. speak it as flat as psosible.
2) the japanese syllabary is made up of mostly 2 letter groups, like "sa" or "ba" or "te", etc...
(i actually started to write out a a full description, and relazied it was insane to even get started....there's a lot of info on the net, though, on this important aspect)
for instance some usually misunderstandings are in double-vowel names...
for instance "miike" is not a long "i"
it is made up of mi, i, ke
so "me-ee-ke" (like keh)
a situation like
and each is pronounced equally and flat. there's no need to stress a part, that comes from the confusion of the differences between the letter grouping concept and most western "single letter" pronounciations.
this is just a basic rule, but an important one in distinguishing how to break habits from other languages.
the differences people hear come from 2 things usually
1) region kansai (osaka area) aomori (where terayama came from) etc. all have different accents, and even native japanese can have troubles with other regions, or other generations, as vocabulary and speaking style change.
2)the natural speed and ease that native speakers have.
it's 2 good ways to catch names and remember them...
putney
1) you DON'T stress parts of the name. speak it as flat as psosible.
2) the japanese syllabary is made up of mostly 2 letter groups, like "sa" or "ba" or "te", etc...
(i actually started to write out a a full description, and relazied it was insane to even get started....there's a lot of info on the net, though, on this important aspect)
for instance some usually misunderstandings are in double-vowel names...
for instance "miike" is not a long "i"
it is made up of mi, i, ke
so "me-ee-ke" (like keh)
a situation like
and each is pronounced equally and flat. there's no need to stress a part, that comes from the confusion of the differences between the letter grouping concept and most western "single letter" pronounciations.
this is just a basic rule, but an important one in distinguishing how to break habits from other languages.
the differences people hear come from 2 things usually
1) region kansai (osaka area) aomori (where terayama came from) etc. all have different accents, and even native japanese can have troubles with other regions, or other generations, as vocabulary and speaking style change.
2)the natural speed and ease that native speakers have.
it's 2 good ways to catch names and remember them...
putney
- Michael Kerpan
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- Kirkinson
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Many thanks to the Fanciful Norwegian's valiant attempt at Weerasethakul.
We haven't gone over many Russian names yet. Does anybody know how to pronounce "Khrjanovsky" (as in Andrei or Ilya)? I've also seen it spelled "Khrzhanovsky" so I'm unclear as to whether the sound following the r is a like the j in "jam" or the s in "treasure."
Predictably, I'm going to break out the Georgian names. I should point out that the stresses I've indicated here are very, very light, often to the point that you don't even notice them. Syllabic emphasis in Georgian is very similar to syllabic emphasis in Japanese.
A primer on Georgian vowels. The letter transliterated as a is always pronounced like the a in "father." I is always an ee sound, as in "deed." O is always like the o in "mode." U is always like the oo in fool. E is a bit trickier...start with the e in "bed" and then slur it towards the ay in "May," but stop once you're halfway there. That's approximately the Georgian e, though from my own observation it seems to vary slightly based on context. Also, when multiple vowels appear in Georgian words and names, each one technically represents a separate syllable. Even so, they are usually pronounced so quickly they might as well be one syllable. E.g., you can safely pronounce ai like the word "eye," and ei like the ay in "May."
Quick consonant rules. By g here I always mean the g in "get." The Georgian r is lightly rolled (unless you're being poetic or sing-songy, in which case you would lay it on much thicker).
So, onto the names. I'll limit it to directors represented on DVD outside of Georgia (i.e., the ones most people here are actually likely to come across).
-----------------------
Otar Iosseliani - OH-tar EE-OH-sel-ee-AH-ni. This isn't what it would generally sound like when spoken normally, however. You can help yourself with this by pretending the "ee" sound comes at the end of his first name. So, say it quickly like this: OH-tar-ee OH-sel-yAH-ni. The "yah," is technically two syllables, but at the speed of normal Georgian speech this approximation will suffice.
Tengiz Abuladze - TEN-geez ah-boo-LAH-dze (or ah-boo-LAHD-zeh, if that helps you).
Eldar Shengelaya (or Shengelaia) - EL-dar shen-gel-EYE-ah. Again, this is technically shen-gel-AH-ee-ah, but vowel separation will not be that pronounced.
Giorgi Danelia - GYOR-gee (technically gee-OR-gee) dahn-AY-lee-ah (or dahn-AY-lyah).
Gela Babluani - GAY-lah bah-bloo-AH-nee.
Nana Djordjadze - NAH-nah jor-JAH-dze (probably the easiest name in this post).
Irakli Kvirikadze - ee-RAH-klee kveer-ee-KAH-dze.
Rezo Chkheidze - RAY-zoh CHKHE-ee-dze (or CHKHAY-dze). Good luck with this one. The ch is just like the ch in "much." The kh is similar to the Scottish loch, except it's pronounced near the front of your mouth instead of back by your throat. There's no syllable in between them. If that gives you trouble, try transferring the "ch" to his first name: RAY-zoch KHE-ee-dze.
Also, the title of Gela Babluani's 13 (Tzameti) seems to be throwing a lot of people off. The voiceover in the American trailer said "zuh-MET-ee," which is wrong. The U.K. trailer was slightly closer with "tzuh-MET-ee." It's actually closer to "TSAH-meh-tee" (still just an approximation, but a better one).
We haven't gone over many Russian names yet. Does anybody know how to pronounce "Khrjanovsky" (as in Andrei or Ilya)? I've also seen it spelled "Khrzhanovsky" so I'm unclear as to whether the sound following the r is a like the j in "jam" or the s in "treasure."
Predictably, I'm going to break out the Georgian names. I should point out that the stresses I've indicated here are very, very light, often to the point that you don't even notice them. Syllabic emphasis in Georgian is very similar to syllabic emphasis in Japanese.
A primer on Georgian vowels. The letter transliterated as a is always pronounced like the a in "father." I is always an ee sound, as in "deed." O is always like the o in "mode." U is always like the oo in fool. E is a bit trickier...start with the e in "bed" and then slur it towards the ay in "May," but stop once you're halfway there. That's approximately the Georgian e, though from my own observation it seems to vary slightly based on context. Also, when multiple vowels appear in Georgian words and names, each one technically represents a separate syllable. Even so, they are usually pronounced so quickly they might as well be one syllable. E.g., you can safely pronounce ai like the word "eye," and ei like the ay in "May."
Quick consonant rules. By g here I always mean the g in "get." The Georgian r is lightly rolled (unless you're being poetic or sing-songy, in which case you would lay it on much thicker).
So, onto the names. I'll limit it to directors represented on DVD outside of Georgia (i.e., the ones most people here are actually likely to come across).
-----------------------
Otar Iosseliani - OH-tar EE-OH-sel-ee-AH-ni. This isn't what it would generally sound like when spoken normally, however. You can help yourself with this by pretending the "ee" sound comes at the end of his first name. So, say it quickly like this: OH-tar-ee OH-sel-yAH-ni. The "yah," is technically two syllables, but at the speed of normal Georgian speech this approximation will suffice.
Tengiz Abuladze - TEN-geez ah-boo-LAH-dze (or ah-boo-LAHD-zeh, if that helps you).
Eldar Shengelaya (or Shengelaia) - EL-dar shen-gel-EYE-ah. Again, this is technically shen-gel-AH-ee-ah, but vowel separation will not be that pronounced.
Giorgi Danelia - GYOR-gee (technically gee-OR-gee) dahn-AY-lee-ah (or dahn-AY-lyah).
Gela Babluani - GAY-lah bah-bloo-AH-nee.
Nana Djordjadze - NAH-nah jor-JAH-dze (probably the easiest name in this post).
Irakli Kvirikadze - ee-RAH-klee kveer-ee-KAH-dze.
Rezo Chkheidze - RAY-zoh CHKHE-ee-dze (or CHKHAY-dze). Good luck with this one. The ch is just like the ch in "much." The kh is similar to the Scottish loch, except it's pronounced near the front of your mouth instead of back by your throat. There's no syllable in between them. If that gives you trouble, try transferring the "ch" to his first name: RAY-zoch KHE-ee-dze.
Also, the title of Gela Babluani's 13 (Tzameti) seems to be throwing a lot of people off. The voiceover in the American trailer said "zuh-MET-ee," which is wrong. The U.K. trailer was slightly closer with "tzuh-MET-ee." It's actually closer to "TSAH-meh-tee" (still just an approximation, but a better one).
- Mr Sausage
- Joined: Wed Nov 03, 2004 9:02 pm
- Location: Canada
Well, you know, despite what you may hear, there are different ways to emphasize a vowel beyond stress, which is mainly just added force. Another alternative is accent, which is not the same thing as stress (for one thing it doesn't necessarily involve an increase in the force of utterance). Accent involves altering or modifying one's intonation, alterations which can run a wide gamut. Japanese speakers do I think emphasize certain syllables, but I would say they do so through accent and not stress. This would account for the almost imperceptible nature of these emphases compared with the very obvious ones made by English and other stress-based languages. As well, and please correct me if I'm wrong, but the placement of such emphasis does not determine meaning in Japanese words.Michael Kerpan wrote:When listening to Japanese extras, documentaries, etc -- I definitely hear stressed syllables in directors', actors', etc. names. I wonder if native speakers take these stresses so much for granted that they scarcely notice them (unless one grossly MIS-stresses a word). ;~}
The other major type of emphasis involves the relative length of vowels, but Japanese is so quickly and curtly pronounced that I assume this is not a method of emphasis in their language.
- Michael Kerpan
- Spelling Bee Champeen
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In Japanese, stress is shown by tone. Stressed syllables are said a (slightly) higher pitch than unstressed ones. You are probably correct in calling this kind of stress "accent". Curiously, not until I became familiar with Japanese did I notice that American stressing/accenting syllables ALSO often used the same kind of tonal patterning.
- Mr Sausage
- Joined: Wed Nov 03, 2004 9:02 pm
- Location: Canada
Ah, yes, silly me, I forgot about pitch altogether. Don't know why, I've known Japanese was a pitch language for a while now.Michael Kerpan wrote:In Japanese, stress is shown by tone. Stressed syllables are said a (slightly) higher pitch than unstressed ones. You are probably correct in calling this kind of stress "accent". Curiously, not until I became familiar with Japanese did I notice that American stressing/accenting syllables ALSO often used the same kind of tonal patterning.
I'm pretty sure pitch would qualify as a form of accent, but it's best to be specific in these cases. So: listen to Kerpan.
- Michael Kerpan
- Spelling Bee Champeen
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I use "stress" as a generic category for all forms of within-word emphasis -- not certain that this is proper linguistic terminology -- as I am far from the point when I formally studied such things....
It is interesting to note that Japanese strictly disallows sing-song accenting within words (including names) -- and yet English imposes such pattern on virtually all 4-syllable Japanese names. The Japanese like the sound of the "high-low high-low" pattern, however -- and manage to squeeze it in by (often) using doubled 2-syllable words like fuwa fuwa (fluffy) and toki doki (now and then). But this pattern doesn't get to come into play with names.
It is interesting to note that Japanese strictly disallows sing-song accenting within words (including names) -- and yet English imposes such pattern on virtually all 4-syllable Japanese names. The Japanese like the sound of the "high-low high-low" pattern, however -- and manage to squeeze it in by (often) using doubled 2-syllable words like fuwa fuwa (fluffy) and toki doki (now and then). But this pattern doesn't get to come into play with names.
- Jun-Dai
- 監督
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First things first:
Another note on these stresses. Contrary to what Mr_sausage wrote, the stresses can actually change the meaning of the word, but that's relatively uncommon, and one usually relies on context to distinguish the words. The most famous example is with the word hashi, which can mean either bridge or chopsticks. Any Japanese speaker will tell you that they are pronounced with subtly different intonation. As if it weren't hard enough for a Japanese speaker to catch the difference (consider yourself lucky if you can hear the difference between the two-letter o as in Oshima and the one-letter o as in ocha, which means tea), there's an additional complicating factor which is that in Kansai they stress the syllables for the words of hashi in somewhat the opposite manner as they do in Kanto.
When talking about the stresses in names, it's worth noting that the stresses may change from person to person and certainly from context to context (such as exclaiming the name or using it in a question). If you manage to not stress it at all, there will be no misunderstanding, and once you have mastered that, if you manage to capture the subtle stressing (mostly pitch intonation as Kerpan pointed out), you will sound all the more masterful (I certainly haven't gotten that far with any measure of success).
Another thing to point out is that the stressing will also falsely appear to be in those places where you would expect the syllable to be deemphasized. For example, if you've always heard the ya in Kobayashi stressed, you may find an unstressed pronunciation of the name sounding much like the ba is stressed, because it seems strange that the syllable would be stressed as much as the other. That is to say, you might notice the strength of the ba relative to your expectations and interpret that as stress. I've often had this problem.
Also, while Mr_sausage is right in the in Japanese the syllables are pretty reliably of equal length, it's not quite right to say that one doesn't emphasize by changing the length of vowels. For example, because the double-letter o (i.e., oo), such often means large, it's not unusually to exaggerate its length as a means of indicating extreme largeness. More frequently in conversation, when speaking fast, one might slow down on a word to emphasize it's importance, particularly in stylized speech such as one might see on television.
Another comment: fuwa fuwa and toki doki are both repeated as part of a larger convention in the language for quite different reasons. Toki doki is part of the occasional convention of pluralization in Japanese (as a rule, Japanese doesn't pluralize, but there are a handful of repeated words like toki doki or hito bito or ho bo that indication pluralization, and indeed emphasize it), in this case meaning something like "from time to time" (really, it is a kind of plural if you think about it). There is actually a character that is used just for the purpose of indicated that the previous character is repeated as a means of pluralization. Fuwa fuwa, on the other hand, is part of a convention of repeating sounds in onomotopaeia (za za, which is the sound rain pouring down in streams or kira kira, which is the "sound" of light glistening off of the ocean). Similar to this, there is a tendency to repeat sounds in an onomotopaeic manner in adverbs, such as girigiri (at the last minute).
The o in Oshima is actually two os in Japanese, which is important (not dissimilar from putnams example, wherein there are two is in Miike--it's purely a matter of romanization conventions that one is doubled in transliteration and the other is not, though you will often find it with a macron or circumflex). Each letter in Japanese is pronounced for something like an equal amount of time, and it so happens that the o is as many letters in Japanese (they are often referred to as syllables, esp. when writing haiku. O is two syllables and shima is two syllables in this sense) as the shima and is thus pronounced for about the same amount of time. You should probably avoid trying to stress any of the syllables, but I'd have to say the way I've heard it the o is subtly louder and the ma is lower in pitch than either the o or the shi.And is Oshima pronounced as 'O-shima' or 'o-SHEE-ma'?
Another note on these stresses. Contrary to what Mr_sausage wrote, the stresses can actually change the meaning of the word, but that's relatively uncommon, and one usually relies on context to distinguish the words. The most famous example is with the word hashi, which can mean either bridge or chopsticks. Any Japanese speaker will tell you that they are pronounced with subtly different intonation. As if it weren't hard enough for a Japanese speaker to catch the difference (consider yourself lucky if you can hear the difference between the two-letter o as in Oshima and the one-letter o as in ocha, which means tea), there's an additional complicating factor which is that in Kansai they stress the syllables for the words of hashi in somewhat the opposite manner as they do in Kanto.
When talking about the stresses in names, it's worth noting that the stresses may change from person to person and certainly from context to context (such as exclaiming the name or using it in a question). If you manage to not stress it at all, there will be no misunderstanding, and once you have mastered that, if you manage to capture the subtle stressing (mostly pitch intonation as Kerpan pointed out), you will sound all the more masterful (I certainly haven't gotten that far with any measure of success).
Another thing to point out is that the stressing will also falsely appear to be in those places where you would expect the syllable to be deemphasized. For example, if you've always heard the ya in Kobayashi stressed, you may find an unstressed pronunciation of the name sounding much like the ba is stressed, because it seems strange that the syllable would be stressed as much as the other. That is to say, you might notice the strength of the ba relative to your expectations and interpret that as stress. I've often had this problem.
Also, while Mr_sausage is right in the in Japanese the syllables are pretty reliably of equal length, it's not quite right to say that one doesn't emphasize by changing the length of vowels. For example, because the double-letter o (i.e., oo), such often means large, it's not unusually to exaggerate its length as a means of indicating extreme largeness. More frequently in conversation, when speaking fast, one might slow down on a word to emphasize it's importance, particularly in stylized speech such as one might see on television.
Another comment: fuwa fuwa and toki doki are both repeated as part of a larger convention in the language for quite different reasons. Toki doki is part of the occasional convention of pluralization in Japanese (as a rule, Japanese doesn't pluralize, but there are a handful of repeated words like toki doki or hito bito or ho bo that indication pluralization, and indeed emphasize it), in this case meaning something like "from time to time" (really, it is a kind of plural if you think about it). There is actually a character that is used just for the purpose of indicated that the previous character is repeated as a means of pluralization. Fuwa fuwa, on the other hand, is part of a convention of repeating sounds in onomotopaeia (za za, which is the sound rain pouring down in streams or kira kira, which is the "sound" of light glistening off of the ocean). Similar to this, there is a tendency to repeat sounds in an onomotopaeic manner in adverbs, such as girigiri (at the last minute).