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HelpRe: Name pronunciation?
in reply to a message by Egyptian Princess
I'm inclined to say it JAH-vun. Like, someone from Java? heh
This happened to me strongly the first time you posted it, and I was confused and irritated by trying to think of it as Jayven. It seemed phoney, just another "-ay-en" name dug up out of history strictly for the sound.
The second time I saw it I struggled to correct myself.
The third time I saw it I corrected myself pretty easily.
The fourth time, here, I read it off as Jayven in my mind.
So I think queenv is right. It would throw a few people at first but once they are used to it, which happens pretty quickly (like, saying or hearing it a handful of times), it'd stick and seem natural. Besides, if a significant number of people automatically get it right, then those who don't will be more ashamed of having gotten it wrong than they are annoyed that it doesn't sound like they thought it "should."
My daughter's name gets two (or three, since some people are apparently dyslexic =P) different pronunciations also. I guess I'm more deserving of guilt about it because her name is semi-made-up, but it's probably not actually more uncommon than Javan, and it's not more difficult. Anyways ... once people deal with the actual person, they're motivated, they don't care about the letters, they just get it right. They sometimes have to be corrected at first, but whatever. They do get it. And it's not like Javan is hard to enunciate. It's natural for English speakers to say. So I don't think you should worry about it.
This happened to me strongly the first time you posted it, and I was confused and irritated by trying to think of it as Jayven. It seemed phoney, just another "-ay-en" name dug up out of history strictly for the sound.
The second time I saw it I struggled to correct myself.
The third time I saw it I corrected myself pretty easily.
The fourth time, here, I read it off as Jayven in my mind.
So I think queenv is right. It would throw a few people at first but once they are used to it, which happens pretty quickly (like, saying or hearing it a handful of times), it'd stick and seem natural. Besides, if a significant number of people automatically get it right, then those who don't will be more ashamed of having gotten it wrong than they are annoyed that it doesn't sound like they thought it "should."
My daughter's name gets two (or three, since some people are apparently dyslexic =P) different pronunciations also. I guess I'm more deserving of guilt about it because her name is semi-made-up, but it's probably not actually more uncommon than Javan, and it's not more difficult. Anyways ... once people deal with the actual person, they're motivated, they don't care about the letters, they just get it right. They sometimes have to be corrected at first, but whatever. They do get it. And it's not like Javan is hard to enunciate. It's natural for English speakers to say. So I don't think you should worry about it.
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