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HelpRe: Jolene on a Danish baby!?
in reply to a message by CB
Well, I don't like Jolene any better or worse because it's on a Dane. Aren't certain English names pretty common in Denmark and have sort of crossed over? That's how it is here, anyway. I generally dislike Jolene and most -lene names. They just seem dated and a bit low-class.
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Some English names are common in Denmark
Yes, some English names have become common in Denmark, but they are mostly associated with 'white trash'. It is a certain type of domographic that give their children English names, which have led to the common understandning that English name (usually with hideous pronounciation) = white trash/low class. An example is Brian (pronounced BREE-an) - it is now slang for a person who, how should I put it; have difficulty staying on the right side of the law and is generally a bad/violent/ignorant person.
Maybe that's what bugs me about Jolene - it is an English name on a Danish baby, which will probably lead to this little girl being branded by this prejudice (if you will) that she, because of her name, is bad/ignorant/low-class.
Also; the Dolly Parton song is the only reference most Danes have with the name; the whole "Jolene, please don't take my man"-thing will come back to haunt her big time!
Yes, some English names have become common in Denmark, but they are mostly associated with 'white trash'. It is a certain type of domographic that give their children English names, which have led to the common understandning that English name (usually with hideous pronounciation) = white trash/low class. An example is Brian (pronounced BREE-an) - it is now slang for a person who, how should I put it; have difficulty staying on the right side of the law and is generally a bad/violent/ignorant person.
Maybe that's what bugs me about Jolene - it is an English name on a Danish baby, which will probably lead to this little girl being branded by this prejudice (if you will) that she, because of her name, is bad/ignorant/low-class.
Also; the Dolly Parton song is the only reference most Danes have with the name; the whole "Jolene, please don't take my man"-thing will come back to haunt her big time!
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There's no such word as pronounciation (though that may have just emphasized your point). The word is proNUNciation... Sorry... It's just a pet peeve of mine.
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