Even after all these years since Gullit’s retirement, he is still as successful as he was in his playing days in surprising the most assured fans with his trickery.
This time it is a linguistic problem concerning the midfielder deserving of serious consideration.
Have you been pronouncing Ruud Gullit’s name as Rood Huh-lit?
Google might be saying you are pronouncing right but the man himself will disagree with Google and correct what you are saying.
Social media users are amazed to learn they have been pronouncing Gullit’s name probably incorrectly for the entirety of their life.
The popular Dutch midfielder turned television pundit filmed himself for a video of “The Gullit Team” to talk about his ratings in the FIFA 23 Legends game.
For those unawares “The Gullit Team” is a dedicated site run under the midfielder’s name aiming to promote the new generation of ESports players and managers.
What caught their attention in what was meant to be more about his ratings in the new FIFA video was how Gullit pronounced his name as Goo-lit and not Huh-lit as is popularly known and he is called by.
Let alone social media users, match commentators over all these years will be scratching their heads at what they have been saying every time they had to mention Gullit.
So what should be the correct way of pronouncing his name? In Dutch there are two ways to pronounce the G word. This requires some due diligence of knowledge of the syntax of linguistics.
The harder pronunciation of G is the Guttural sound, which is uttered with the help of the back end of the throat. It is also called the “harde G.”
The other G also known as the “soft G” is when the G remains pronounced.
The second G is easy for the non-native speakers of the Dutch language and originated in the south of the Netherlands.
Here Ruud Gullit is pronouncing his name in the acronym of the former harde G.
Hence he is pronouncing his name as Goo-lit instead of Hoo-lit which is akin to the usage of soft G.
Before you get yourself thinking what should be the correct pronunciation?
As a Dutchie I can confirm he doesn't say his name correctly here.
The Dutch "g" sounds like that Scouse gargled sound in the back of your throat.
Basically the word Gullit starts at the back of your mouth and moves forward. (Weirdest sentence I've ever tweeted)
Both are correct, there are no restrictive rules in the Dutch language that only one must be used.
Gullit is using the harde G linguistic pronunciation of his name because he is Dutch. For foreigners or non-dutch speakers, the use of the soft G is fine as well.
After everything Gullit himself might be thinking a similar change in pronunciation of his name has got the Internet talking in such a manner is indicative of how much he is still loved and is relevant in the game.
