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HelpThis question frustrates me.
in reply to a message by Siri
My sister Sarah talks about how she likes the name Anna pronounced AH-nah but she'd get tired of correcting people, and it makes me want to roll over and die. You say it Ah-nah if you're Italian or Spanish, and if you're in the South, you happen to say it Ann-a. (hard to describe the difference to some people.) And then today at lunch we were talking about politics and my friend Kelsey was like "It's ee-RAHN, not ee-RAN!" No! It's the same thing! Saying it in an accent that isn't yours is very pompous IMO. Ivan is IE-van here and ee-VAHN in Russia and that was always fine with me when it was my second favorite name. I say Katarina cat-a-reena, but if I were speaking Spanish I would say it cah-ta-reena, and I like both ways fine. This is one of the reasons that article you posted about the Mexican guy who insisted his son David be called Dah-VEED in English speaking contexts bugged me a lot. If I happened to go to Mexico with someone whose son was named DAY-vid, and they had the audacity to correct people who said it dah-VEED, I would think them very pompous and annoying. My name is Emma here and EH (more like ae)-mah in Spanish class.
Anyway the point is: Kah-tah-REE-na is the spanish/italian/etc way, and some American dialects I suppose, and Kat-a-reena is the way other dialects say it, and each way is perfectly respectable and dignified and if you name your child one you are also naming it the other.
Dadgummit! /endrant
Anyway the point is: Kah-tah-REE-na is the spanish/italian/etc way, and some American dialects I suppose, and Kat-a-reena is the way other dialects say it, and each way is perfectly respectable and dignified and if you name your child one you are also naming it the other.
Dadgummit! /endrant
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Replies
I agree with you, but I think the OP recognizes that, too. It seemed to me that she is just trying to gauge the relative popularities of the pronunciations so that she can make a better decision. Dislike of a particular pronunciation is a very good reason to reconsider use of a name, for the reasons that you state--if it's rude to correct people and you hate a common pronunciation, then you're better off not using it.
Sadly, I have a few names that I love only with a pronunciation that wouldn't be used here. The main one is Judith. I love the German pronunciation, but I live in the USA and don't really like the American pronunciation, so there's no point in using it.
Sadly, I have a few names that I love only with a pronunciation that wouldn't be used here. The main one is Judith. I love the German pronunciation, but I live in the USA and don't really like the American pronunciation, so there's no point in using it.
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Thanks.
That's exactly what I'm trying to do.
And coming from a very cosmopolitan and international area I can say one thing: It's a matter of respect. If someone corrects me on the pronunciation of their name I will adhere to it. I pronounce kaht-a-REE-na as such because I've been highly influenced by people from Slavic and European countries. That is the way they pronounce their names. When I see Johanna I pronounce it yo-HAHN-a despite the fact that in my accent it would be jo-HAHN-a because it's respectful.
Names such as David/Catherine/Mary - those I'm more fluid with. I wouldn't name my daughter Naomi in this country because she would be nye-oh-me most of the time, same goes for Katarina. But I think that getting on your high horse and saying it's pompous is just wrong. It shows an utter disrespect for their culture and the way things are done. Names are personal and unless the pronunciation is completely foreign to someone's native language it should be respected. Period. As a former ESL teacher you can make damn sure that I pronounce the names of foreign countries the way that they do - because it isn't my country!
That's exactly what I'm trying to do.
And coming from a very cosmopolitan and international area I can say one thing: It's a matter of respect. If someone corrects me on the pronunciation of their name I will adhere to it. I pronounce kaht-a-REE-na as such because I've been highly influenced by people from Slavic and European countries. That is the way they pronounce their names. When I see Johanna I pronounce it yo-HAHN-a despite the fact that in my accent it would be jo-HAHN-a because it's respectful.
Names such as David/Catherine/Mary - those I'm more fluid with. I wouldn't name my daughter Naomi in this country because she would be nye-oh-me most of the time, same goes for Katarina. But I think that getting on your high horse and saying it's pompous is just wrong. It shows an utter disrespect for their culture and the way things are done. Names are personal and unless the pronunciation is completely foreign to someone's native language it should be respected. Period. As a former ESL teacher you can make damn sure that I pronounce the names of foreign countries the way that they do - because it isn't my country!
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Well, I, for one, really don't dislike living in ah-MAY-ree-ca, or ah-lah-bah-mah, and there's no way I'd correct someone for saying that. And I am not going to go around saying Österreich instead of Austria. Or OWS-trya instead of Oss-tree-ah, for that matter. And I don't expect Spanish speakers to say "the United States" instead of los estados unidos.
I guess I'm mainly just talking about vowels. Johannah pronounced yo-HAHN-ah seems a lot more correct than pronouncing the J hard, but I don't consider it any less respectful to say yo-Hannah.
But in general I think people would be a lot happier if they were more laid-back, especially about things like the inflection of an a across accent lines.
Anyway sorry if I misinterpreted your post, I think I may have.
I guess I'm mainly just talking about vowels. Johannah pronounced yo-HAHN-ah seems a lot more correct than pronouncing the J hard, but I don't consider it any less respectful to say yo-Hannah.
But in general I think people would be a lot happier if they were more laid-back, especially about things like the inflection of an a across accent lines.
Anyway sorry if I misinterpreted your post, I think I may have.
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*nay-oh-me
I pronounce i nye-oh-me.
I pronounce i nye-oh-me.
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Hear hear!
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