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ArchivesContinued mispronounciation after correction... Why?!
I have become fascinated with a pitiful mentality/trend in American Society... The continued mispronunciation of people's first names AFTER that person corrects you. I'm not even talking about foreign or extremely creative "invented" names. Case in point...
Susan vs. Suzanne
I worked in an office with all white, American, English first language people who had no regional accent/dialect, or other conceivable variable that might explain the following. A new employee arrived and introduced herself at a group meeting as Suzanne (like Suzanne Somers from "Three's Company") and pronounced it sue(rhymes with true)-zann(rhymes with can) - i.e. the "usual" way. A significant amount of people who speak to her multiple times daily, would pronounce it Susan (like Susan Dey from "The Partridge Family"). This happened despite the fact they would be right next to her as she would be on the phone saying "Hi, it's Suzanne from..." or hear me, her close friend out of the office call her Suzanne. It's not like someone set up her email box wrong or her name ever appeared in print incorrectly. Our employees were not hicks, illiterate, etc. No conceivable excuse. I think we can all agree that these two names are common. So what gives? Finally one day I yelled to my entire department area, "Why is everyone calling her 'Susan'?! It's not spelled like 'Susan Lucci' or 'lazy susan' and she calls herself 'Suzanne'? Am I the only who notices this?! Why don't you think this is weird?!" One miserable bit#$ replied, "Cause nobody cares!"
Well, that very well is a big part of it. But my point is, even if you don't care, how can you keep saying the wrong thing when it's this obvious. This is by far NOT an isolated incident at an office full of @$$holes.
I have a friend named Adrianna (ah-dree-ah-na) who loves her co-workers dearly with whom she constantly socializes outside work, but half of them call her "ay-dree-anna". Granted that pronunciation of the name has come into the spotlight recently via a character on "The Sopranos", but... SHE'S WORKED THERE FOR YEARS and she is on the phone ALL DAY introducing herself. This is at a MAJOR Hollywood movie studio. I'll bet they pronounce Demi Moore's name right when she's around...
Please give me your feedback, anecdotes, and theories on this baffling and unforgivable phenomenon...
Susan vs. Suzanne
I worked in an office with all white, American, English first language people who had no regional accent/dialect, or other conceivable variable that might explain the following. A new employee arrived and introduced herself at a group meeting as Suzanne (like Suzanne Somers from "Three's Company") and pronounced it sue(rhymes with true)-zann(rhymes with can) - i.e. the "usual" way. A significant amount of people who speak to her multiple times daily, would pronounce it Susan (like Susan Dey from "The Partridge Family"). This happened despite the fact they would be right next to her as she would be on the phone saying "Hi, it's Suzanne from..." or hear me, her close friend out of the office call her Suzanne. It's not like someone set up her email box wrong or her name ever appeared in print incorrectly. Our employees were not hicks, illiterate, etc. No conceivable excuse. I think we can all agree that these two names are common. So what gives? Finally one day I yelled to my entire department area, "Why is everyone calling her 'Susan'?! It's not spelled like 'Susan Lucci' or 'lazy susan' and she calls herself 'Suzanne'? Am I the only who notices this?! Why don't you think this is weird?!" One miserable bit#$ replied, "Cause nobody cares!"
Well, that very well is a big part of it. But my point is, even if you don't care, how can you keep saying the wrong thing when it's this obvious. This is by far NOT an isolated incident at an office full of @$$holes.
I have a friend named Adrianna (ah-dree-ah-na) who loves her co-workers dearly with whom she constantly socializes outside work, but half of them call her "ay-dree-anna". Granted that pronunciation of the name has come into the spotlight recently via a character on "The Sopranos", but... SHE'S WORKED THERE FOR YEARS and she is on the phone ALL DAY introducing herself. This is at a MAJOR Hollywood movie studio. I'll bet they pronounce Demi Moore's name right when she's around...
Please give me your feedback, anecdotes, and theories on this baffling and unforgivable phenomenon...
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Replies
thank you for mentioning that people with my name have to deal with this----I have come to the point where I shortened my name to Su - that is S-U (sans 'e'), so that I don't have to worry about the mispronunciation...
now I just have to worry about the countless fruit cakes who write e-mail to someone called "Sue" and ignore the fact that my work e-mail name is "su.xxxx@xyz.com" and the fact that I will send them my reply signed "thank you, Su (without an 'e')"
sigh...
to all those out there who are mispronounced, I feel your pain...and to all those who make a concerted effort to change your ways and pronounce words correctly, I salute you
sincerely,
Suzanne (rhymes with can) "Su (without an 'e')"
now I just have to worry about the countless fruit cakes who write e-mail to someone called "Sue" and ignore the fact that my work e-mail name is "su.xxxx@xyz.com" and the fact that I will send them my reply signed "thank you, Su (without an 'e')"
sigh...
to all those out there who are mispronounced, I feel your pain...and to all those who make a concerted effort to change your ways and pronounce words correctly, I salute you
sincerely,
Suzanne (rhymes with can) "Su (without an 'e')"
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It even happens on paper
My name's Christine, and I recently found that a uni secretary had typed up several documents for/about me with the name 'Christina' all through them. How do people do that?! Even worse is, that when I pointed out to people who had received these documents that my name was actually Christine, they got the wrong name fixed in their heads and kept calling me Christina anyway! And I really hate that name (no offence to any Christinas out there!!)
My name's Christine, and I recently found that a uni secretary had typed up several documents for/about me with the name 'Christina' all through them. How do people do that?! Even worse is, that when I pointed out to people who had received these documents that my name was actually Christine, they got the wrong name fixed in their heads and kept calling me Christina anyway! And I really hate that name (no offence to any Christinas out there!!)
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Double Posting
That'll teach me to be impatient - the first post didn't show up so I sent another one, and now they're both there! Oh well, they're just different parts of the same story!!
That'll teach me to be impatient - the first post didn't show up so I sent another one, and now they're both there! Oh well, they're just different parts of the same story!!
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Frustrating, isn't it. My name's Christine, and I'm constantly getting 'Christina'. It actually seems to get worse after one person's said 'Christina', because the other people around me hear my correction, but they seem to get the wrong one fixed in their heads afterwards! I eventually have to get very firm with people, and there is almost always one who will say something along the lines of "does it really matter?" !!
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Sometimes it's just sheer arrogance
Some people don't like being corrected and will purposefully mispronounce names despite being corrected because they will not admit they are wrong.
Some people don't like being corrected and will purposefully mispronounce names despite being corrected because they will not admit they are wrong.
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After my daughter was born an old classmate moved back to town and came to meet my daughter. She continued to mispronounce her name after hearing me say it many times. At first I figured that she would catch on, but no I finally had to tell her point blank that she was mispronouncing her name. A few weeks later this woman organized a class reunion (about ten of us who had known each other in school). The first thing everyone asked me was how to pronounce my daughter's name. I had actually told some of these people previously how to pronounce it, but they were confused because this woman had actually insisted that it was pronounced the way she was saying it. Well, there was actually a twenty minute discussion on the topic in which one person said "they sound so close what's the difference?". This person later approached me and told me that she wanted to be called by her full name now, not her nickname?? Another woman sitting next to me joined in the conversation and said her daughter's name is mispronounced too. Well, would you believe that this same woman whose own daughter's name gets mispronounced, and who sat there while I talked about this for twenty minutes turned to me later on that night and mispronounced my daugter's name?
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It is very simple...
most people are idiots. Oh, I know that there are many people that will take offense at that, but I stand behind that statement as a general fact of life.
I had a professor in college that couldn't remember my name or refused to or was just an idiot (since the idiot thing applied to the rest of his personality, I'm going with the third option as the most likely reason). It was a design studio of twentysome people that met three full afternoons per week, so he saw me at least twelve hours every week for an entire semester. The most annoying part was that my name is the feminine form of his own name! One day in class, after being called the wrong name for the third time that day, I pointed out that our names were technically the same name and for that reason alone he should remember it. He gave me a confused look. Within ten minutes he called me by the wrong name again. This is the point where I gave up and my friends began calling me by their own names during that studio. If the TA hadn't been in charge of organizing our grades, I probably would have been graded on someone else's projects.
most people are idiots. Oh, I know that there are many people that will take offense at that, but I stand behind that statement as a general fact of life.
I had a professor in college that couldn't remember my name or refused to or was just an idiot (since the idiot thing applied to the rest of his personality, I'm going with the third option as the most likely reason). It was a design studio of twentysome people that met three full afternoons per week, so he saw me at least twelve hours every week for an entire semester. The most annoying part was that my name is the feminine form of his own name! One day in class, after being called the wrong name for the third time that day, I pointed out that our names were technically the same name and for that reason alone he should remember it. He gave me a confused look. Within ten minutes he called me by the wrong name again. This is the point where I gave up and my friends began calling me by their own names during that studio. If the TA hadn't been in charge of organizing our grades, I probably would have been graded on someone else's projects.
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Small addendum
While still standing firmly behind my "people are idiots" statement, in good conscience I have to add something: some people don't hear sound differences very well. This can be due to a physical impairment (genetic, congenital, caused by an illness, accident or aging, etc., a learning disability or a language barrier.
I had an intern that could not tell that she said words diffently or with different inflection than everyone else because she has an auditory learning disabilty. We only learned about her disability because we asked her why she pronounced certain words with a non-regional accent.
While still standing firmly behind my "people are idiots" statement, in good conscience I have to add something: some people don't hear sound differences very well. This can be due to a physical impairment (genetic, congenital, caused by an illness, accident or aging, etc., a learning disability or a language barrier.
I had an intern that could not tell that she said words diffently or with different inflection than everyone else because she has an auditory learning disabilty. We only learned about her disability because we asked her why she pronounced certain words with a non-regional accent.
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I can certainly sympathize. My name is Andrea, pronounced Ahn-dray-a and you'd be suprised at how many people will mispronounce my name, ask me if they are mispronouncing it and after I correct them continue using the incorrect pronunciation. I think it's just that people barely take the time to listen or either they feel that if someone has the nerve to have a name that doesn't fit into their mental name rolodex they disregard it.
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There's a reason I use isabella as my name online :) My name is also Andrea (pronounced AHN-dree-a) and no one ever gets it right. I get Andraya lots, Ahndraya, and of course the typical AND-rea. Even my husband didn't get it right for the first 2 months we were dating!
I only correct people that I like - people who will be saying my name over and over :)
Because of the pronunciation thing I am very careful about misprounouncing other people's names. My students this semester include Udodirim, Prem, Girish, Farrah, Dhaval, and Ling (who has had her name pronounced Lou-wong before...) and when first talking to them, I make certain that I am pronouncing their name as they would prefer it.
I only correct people that I like - people who will be saying my name over and over :)
Because of the pronunciation thing I am very careful about misprounouncing other people's names. My students this semester include Udodirim, Prem, Girish, Farrah, Dhaval, and Ling (who has had her name pronounced Lou-wong before...) and when first talking to them, I make certain that I am pronouncing their name as they would prefer it.
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Andrea, my dear, I think you hit the nail on the proverbial head... If it doesn't sound the way they "know it's supposed to", their brains get confused and have a circuit overload of some kind. It's not disrespect, it's more like disarray - of the brain. I am very airheaded in several common sense ways, but I cannot for the life of me understand how you can sit next to someone for years (or see them in a continuing classroom setting) and not HEAR that you and the name-owner themself are saying it different. If it's your hairdresser or the lady at the bank or something, I can graciously make some allowances, but when it's everyday people in your life it is simply mind-boggling!
I can certainly sympathize. My name is Andrea, pronounced Ahn-dray-a and you'd be suprised at how many people will mispronounce my name, ask me if they are mispronouncing it and after I correct them continue using the incorrect pronunciation. I think it's just that people barely take the time to listen or either they feel that if someone has the nerve to have a name that doesn't fit into their mental name rolodex they disregard it.
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Mostly, I just think the people that mispronounced Suzanne must have been idiots. However, if someone's name is being mispronounced and they're too shy or whatever to correct those people, then it's partly their fault. They should speak up for themselves. If people knew they were wrong they would probably stop mispronouncing the name. From your post, it seems like you were the one who ended up correcting everyone, so you were the one who was really bothered by it. If Suzanne herself never said anything about it she must not have cared that much.
By the way, if someone is still mispronouncing a name after they've already been corrected, it would be fun to just start mispronouncing their name too. Start calling Bob "bobe" and Sally "sawl-ligh".
By the way, if someone is still mispronouncing a name after they've already been corrected, it would be fun to just start mispronouncing their name too. Start calling Bob "bobe" and Sally "sawl-ligh".
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By the way, if someone is still mispronouncing a name after they've already been corrected, it would be fun to just start mispronouncing their name too. Start calling Bob "bobe" and Sally "sawl-ligh".
Funny you should mention that Jordan... I started addressing the two bit#$ supervisors who made the "Who cares?" remarks as Joddie (instead of "Jody") and Kate (instead of "Kat"). They just rolled their eyes and told me to "get a life". So we can write them off as idiots. However...
A popular girl at my office is named Tara pronounced "tar-uh". Her mother works there and is always yelling, "Tara (tar-uh), get me the...". It's heard by the whole office at shouting volume by the girl's own mother who gave her the damn name. If Moms ain't the definitive source, then? Meanwhile, they all call her "tear-uh". It bothers me because it so in their face, yet seconds after her MOTHER of all people says it, they say it different. It may as well be Bob and "Bobe"! It's disrespectful (but as you pointed out, they haven't been corrected because Tara is laid back and doesn't care) but it's so fundamentally dumb! It's like their ears hear it different... Or their ears will only let them hear it they way they expect to...
I'd love to hear from people who this happens to, ESPECIALLY those with more common names. I want to wrote an article about it. Thanks!
Funny you should mention that Jordan... I started addressing the two bit#$ supervisors who made the "Who cares?" remarks as Joddie (instead of "Jody") and Kate (instead of "Kat"). They just rolled their eyes and told me to "get a life". So we can write them off as idiots. However...
A popular girl at my office is named Tara pronounced "tar-uh". Her mother works there and is always yelling, "Tara (tar-uh), get me the...". It's heard by the whole office at shouting volume by the girl's own mother who gave her the damn name. If Moms ain't the definitive source, then? Meanwhile, they all call her "tear-uh". It bothers me because it so in their face, yet seconds after her MOTHER of all people says it, they say it different. It may as well be Bob and "Bobe"! It's disrespectful (but as you pointed out, they haven't been corrected because Tara is laid back and doesn't care) but it's so fundamentally dumb! It's like their ears hear it different... Or their ears will only let them hear it they way they expect to...
I'd love to hear from people who this happens to, ESPECIALLY those with more common names. I want to wrote an article about it. Thanks!
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