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HelpUsing Names You Can't Pronounce
Why do people name their children something they have trouble pronouncing?
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I've seen it where parents have named their child something that they didn't pronounce correctly. I worked with a girl named Raffaella of Italian heritage. Her parents pronounced her name as raff-ee-EL-la. I bet she learned the real pronunciation when she studied abroad in Italy.
I've seen a number of other parents in the US who use the incorrect pronunciations of Italian names, particularly Gio-/Gia-/Giu- names like Giovanni, Giovanna, Gianni, Gianna, and Giuseppe. I hear many saying jee-oh, jee-ah, and jee-oo instead of jo, ja, and ju. I say if you're going to use a name to honor your heritage, at least know how to pronounce it correctly.
I've seen a number of other parents in the US who use the incorrect pronunciations of Italian names, particularly Gio-/Gia-/Giu- names like Giovanni, Giovanna, Gianni, Gianna, and Giuseppe. I hear many saying jee-oh, jee-ah, and jee-oo instead of jo, ja, and ju. I say if you're going to use a name to honor your heritage, at least know how to pronounce it correctly.
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As kudriashkajo said, I assume you mean "correctly."
The only example of this I've heard of was in a family my mom knew. This family lived a very isolated, backwoods lifestyle. They had a daughter named Yvonne, which they pronounced WY-vun-ee. My mom said the mother had seen the name in print but did not know the "correct" pronunciation of ee-VONN.
On the other hand, it's fairly common, in my experience, to encounter a name that the bearer insists is pronounced differently than you might assume. I once knew a Joan who called herself jo-ANN, for example. I also knew an Avis who called herself AV-is (not AY-vis). And there are plenty of less-common names that bearers pronounce rather oddly.
edited to add Avis
The only example of this I've heard of was in a family my mom knew. This family lived a very isolated, backwoods lifestyle. They had a daughter named Yvonne, which they pronounced WY-vun-ee. My mom said the mother had seen the name in print but did not know the "correct" pronunciation of ee-VONN.
On the other hand, it's fairly common, in my experience, to encounter a name that the bearer insists is pronounced differently than you might assume. I once knew a Joan who called herself jo-ANN, for example. I also knew an Avis who called herself AV-is (not AY-vis). And there are plenty of less-common names that bearers pronounce rather oddly.
edited to add Avis
This message was edited 2/27/2013, 7:33 AM
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Ignorance and idleness, I suppose!
I knew a couple who named their daughter Fiona and pronounced it proudly as FIE-oh-na. It sounded so disapproving, but they had no doubts at all.
And I knew a Leizl once whose name, in her family's opinion, was just another way of spelling Liesel. I tried calling her LIE-tsl, but she was adamant!
I knew a couple who named their daughter Fiona and pronounced it proudly as FIE-oh-na. It sounded so disapproving, but they had no doubts at all.
And I knew a Leizl once whose name, in her family's opinion, was just another way of spelling Liesel. I tried calling her LIE-tsl, but she was adamant!
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The "rarity" appeal, perhaps.
I confess to liking the idea of Ianthe but am not sure how it's pronounced. (I'd say eye-ann-thee). Same goes for Levana - I don't know which syllable is stressed. (I'd say luh-VAH-nuh but the Hebrew might stress the final syllable.)
Oh - I forgot to add Corinna - I love it if "koh-RIN-uh" but fear it's correctly koh-REE-nuh.
Ditto Coralie - love if coral-ee but not if Cora-lee.
In these cases, the look of the names attracts me, but I would hesitate to use them owing to the difficulties involved in arriving at a correct or consensual pronunciation!
I confess to liking the idea of Ianthe but am not sure how it's pronounced. (I'd say eye-ann-thee). Same goes for Levana - I don't know which syllable is stressed. (I'd say luh-VAH-nuh but the Hebrew might stress the final syllable.)
Oh - I forgot to add Corinna - I love it if "koh-RIN-uh" but fear it's correctly koh-REE-nuh.
Ditto Coralie - love if coral-ee but not if Cora-lee.
In these cases, the look of the names attracts me, but I would hesitate to use them owing to the difficulties involved in arriving at a correct or consensual pronunciation!
This message was edited 2/25/2013, 2:33 PM
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I've never seen this happen, although I know people whose names sound very different in their parents' accent vs. the general accent of the place where they live.
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"Correctly", you mean?
I'm guessing you mean that they are pronouncing their child's name in a different way than would be considered correct or typical?
I'm guessing you mean that they are pronouncing their child's name in a different way than would be considered correct or typical?
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Do you have a specific example, or are you just complaining?
I am guessing a parent might do this because they love the name, in spite of pronunciation problems.
I am guessing a parent might do this because they love the name, in spite of pronunciation problems.
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I don't understand. Who names their child something they themselves have trouble pronouncing?
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This sometimes happened in Sweden in the 1930's-1950's (circa), when most people couldn't speak English. Some children got English names that were pronounced like they would have been pronounced in Swedish. Ex:
Elaine - el-LYE-neh
Steve - STAY-veh
Clark - slurrk
Shirley - shear-LAY
Others heard a name they like, but didn't know the spelling, so they spelled it "in Swedish". Ex:
Hårtons - Hortence
Vajlet - Violet
Mörtel - Myrtle
Elaine - el-LYE-neh
Steve - STAY-veh
Clark - slurrk
Shirley - shear-LAY
Others heard a name they like, but didn't know the spelling, so they spelled it "in Swedish". Ex:
Hårtons - Hortence
Vajlet - Violet
Mörtel - Myrtle
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Who does that?
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That does seem rather silly, but I don't know if I've ever come across parents in real life who couldn't pronounce their child's name. Have you got an example?
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