Kateri

Pronounced kuh-TEHR-ee.

I’ve heard it pronounced by English-speaking people as kah-tair-ee. My question is, why are people mad about this being pronounced like that? I understand the original pronunciation is Gah-Dow-Lee, but since there’s a K, T, and R sound in English, why can’t it be pronounced as such in English?

Gah-da-lee Deh-gah-Gwee-tah is the correct pronunciation in the Mohawk language.

The K in the Mohawk language is pronounced as a G, instead of a K, the T usually makes a D sound and R as L. The proper pronunciation is Gah-deh-lee. If you're not Mohawk and you're going to give your child a Mohawk name (I won't get into the politics of that), at least pronounce it right.

The Mohawk form of Catherine. I think the original pronunciation is similar to the French pronunciation of Catherine, but I'm not certain of this.
Kah-tuh-REE.

My niece works on the Mohawk Reservation in upstate NY. I spoke with her on Sunday, Dec.14, 2014. I mentioned to her about how I have been praying to St. Kateri, where she was from and when she was canonized. She immediately said to me that she knew about her, as it was the reservation's Saint. She corrected my pronunciation. The correct pronunciation is the Native American language pronounced phonetically: Gah - dah - lee.

Kateri Tekakwitha is no longer Blessed -- she was recently canonized: St. Kateri Tekakwitha. I know several people with this name, and they all pronounce it differently:
-- kah-TEER-ee (I've been to the Shrine of the North American Martyrs in Auriesville, NY many times, which commemorates St. Kateri [among others], and it does seem that kah-TEER-ee is their preferred pronunciation)
-- KAH-ter-ee
-- kah-TEHR-ee
-- GOD-ah-lee (The parents of the girl with the GOD-ah-lee pronunciation [spelled Kateri] met a Native American woman with this name, who told them that GOD-ah-lee is the authentic Native American pronunciation)

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The girls and women I know with this name range in age from newborn to middle-aged.

My daughter is named this and we pronounce it ka-TEER-ee. When we went to the shrine of Bl. Kateri in Auriesville NY that is how people were saying it, so that is what we stuck with.

Really? I was thinking that KAT-er-ee would make sense because it's kind of like Katherine.

I have a cousin with this name and she pronounces it Kuh-terry.

What is that, four different pronunciations of Kateri - and none of them particularly similar to mine? I nearly had her as my confirmation saint (I am fully aware she isn't actually a saint), and was thinking it was more like "kuh-terry", with an emphasis on the 'ter'.

The only Kateri I've ever known pronounced her name like KAY-ter-ee.

I've only heard Kateri pronounced kuh-TEAR-ee.

From what I've found out online, the proper Mohawk pronunciation of this name is gah-dah-LEE.