[Opinions] Re: Do you think a pronunciation of a name can be "enforced"?
in reply to a message by BeccyLeader2
I think that it can be frustrating for a lot of people who have no choice but to constantly reinforce their name. My father's name is Gerard, but he grew up in a time when Gerald was pretty popular. More often than not, he had to correct people, to the point that he didn't want his children to have any names that they'd have to correct people on. He gave my brother a name that started with G, but refused to name him after himself due to all of the confusion his name caused.
That being said, there is a rise in people being very proud of their names and their pronunciations (particularly people with names from different cultures), and I think it's a necessary shift away from shame. Someone mentioned below that correcting someone on your name pronunciation would not "endear" you to anyone. I think that's absurd, personally. You have a right to your name without being seen as arrogant, pretentious or entitled.
All it takes is a polite correction when it comes up. Sometimes people will slip up if the name is complex in their accent or language, but eventually they'll get the hang of it. The most important part is accepting the mistakes with grace and with the mindset that they probably aren't purposefully saying it wrong. Most poeple, anyway.
“Fairy tales are more than true; not because they tell us that dragons exist, but because they tell us that dragons can be beaten.”
― Neil Gaiman
That being said, there is a rise in people being very proud of their names and their pronunciations (particularly people with names from different cultures), and I think it's a necessary shift away from shame. Someone mentioned below that correcting someone on your name pronunciation would not "endear" you to anyone. I think that's absurd, personally. You have a right to your name without being seen as arrogant, pretentious or entitled.
All it takes is a polite correction when it comes up. Sometimes people will slip up if the name is complex in their accent or language, but eventually they'll get the hang of it. The most important part is accepting the mistakes with grace and with the mindset that they probably aren't purposefully saying it wrong. Most poeple, anyway.
― Neil Gaiman