Interesting thing about [name_f]Tara[/name_f] that seems relevant to this post!
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There is the YouTube channel Lost in the Pond that is run by a [name_f]British[/name_f] guy who has lived in the US for several years. His American wife is named [name_f]Tara[/name_f]. [name_f]She[/name_f] pronounces her name Tair-uh, and he calls her Tarr-uh! I thought that was interesting that he uses a different pronunciation for her for her own name!
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But maybe it’s one of those things that he doesn’t even notice or just attributes to accents? [name_m]Like[/name_m] my MIL calls her son’s girlfriend Jih-selle even though the girlfriend pronounces it Gih-zelle, and I doubt she has even noticed a difference. [name_f]My[/name_f] husband said that -s-[name_f][/name_f] vs -z-[name_f][/name_f] pronunciation is not something he would have even noticed and they just seem pretty much the same to him (likewise, he doesn’t see [name_f]Eloise[/name_f] pronounced with a -s-[name_f][/name_f] sound being all that different than the typical -z-[name_f][/name_f] sound).
It’s probably just because that’s how [name_f]Tara[/name_f] is said in a [name_f]British[/name_f] accent (we don’t have the “air” pronunciation for [name_f]Tara[/name_f], [name_f]Mara[/name_f], [name_f]Clara[/name_f] etc). [name_f]So[/name_f] if he called her “tair-uh” it would just sound like he was imitating her accent. [name_m]You[/name_m] know, like if I met someone American called [name_m]Craig[/name_m], even if they pronounced their name “Creg”, I wouldn’t then pronounce it like that back to them. [name_m]Not[/name_m] because I’m “right” but because it would just sound like I was taking the mickey, or like I was trying to do their accent.
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I mean, if someone came to me and said, I really want you to pronounce my name as ‘“tair-uh”, I would make an effort to do so. But generally otherwise I think it comes under accent. I’ve got a [name_m]German[/name_m] friend who calls my daughter [name_f]Alice[/name_f] something closer to “Ah-Lees”, but I would never consider correcting them. That’s just how they say it. If any of that makes any sense?
I pronounce all of them the first way that is typed out in the original post, with the exception of [name_f]Helena[/name_f]. I have heard this name pronounced in all those different forms so I would wait and ask the owners and then proceed. Also, a friend named their dd [name_f]Mya[/name_f] to avoid the MAY-uh and ME-uh pronunciation found in other spellings.
Yes, that totally makes sense! Thanks for taking the time to write it out!
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Now I have a lot more thoughts about this topic that I will share [name_f][/name_f] because I find these things fascinating haha, but feel free to skip over it because it’s wordy lol. Most of it just spilling what’s in my brain
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For the Lost in the Pond guy, I think I was more so surprised that he hasn’t adapted to her pronunciation now that they’ve been married for several years since a marriage is a close relationship. But, of course, it must not bother her because I’m sure he wouldn’t keep doing it if she didn’t like it! [name_m]Just[/name_m] all very interesting to me [name_f][/name_f] [name_f]In[/name_f] a genuine way, of course. And maybe it’s easier for Americans to switch to between those sounds, so I absentmindedly assumed it went both ways. But I shouldn’t have made that assumption because I also recognize that with other languages/dialects, certain sounds are hard to imitate or to distinguish for people outside of that language or dialect. [name_f]Or[/name_f] even how [name_m]Harry[/name_m] and hairy are pronounced differently in [name_f]Britain[/name_f], but it’s hard for Americans to notice the difference between the [name_f]British[/name_f] versions of both—I can barely tell if I compare them side-by-side, but I wouldn’t be able to guess which was which if I heard each word by itself. And I think I’ve been exposed to more true [name_f]British[/name_f] media than the average American.
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I guess my follow-up question about the Tair-uh pronunciation by Brits would be about other words that seemingly have a similar sound (I say “seemingly” because maybe these sound similar to my American ears, but they could be totally different to Tair-uh to a Brit’s ears!). Question: [name_f]Do[/name_f] hairy and [name_f]Claire[/name_f] have the same -air[name_f][/name_f] sound as the American Tair-uh and Clair-uh? Mainly asking about the -ai-[name_f][/name_f] part because I know that r’s have a very different pronunciation between the two accents, and that it is hard for either country to imitate the other’s -r-[name_f][/name_f] sound. I could also see if transitioning the “-airy” and “-aire” to an “-aira” sound doesn’t transition the same wayAnd I hope these don’t come across as combative or anything like that, but as genuinely curious because I think accents and language differences are fascinating [name_f][/name_f] And I also hope my thoughts and questions make sense
[name_f][/name_f][name_f][/name_f][name_f][/name_f]Side note of another story that's also kinda related to this post haha (and because I find different pronunciations for names and words fascinating!)[name_f][/name_f]
Our daughter is actually Claire-uh, but our relative (~age 30) calls her Clarr-uh even though she’s also American, but because her main association with the name is [name_f]Clara[/name_f] from [name_m]Doctor[/name_m] Who lol! [name_f]She[/name_f] did ask at the beginning which pronunciation we were going to use, but she almost always uses the [name_f]British[/name_f] pronunciation (which I’m fine with because I know she has no ill-will at all about it, and I know it’s not because she doesn’t make an effort. Plus, I love both pronunciations as well as the DW character haha, so it’s extra fine. When we had picked the name [name_f]Clara[/name_f], we actually considered the [name_f]British[/name_f] pronunciation because we loved it so much too! But we decided on Claire-uh because we loved it just as much and felt it would be easier for her since most Americans are not familiar with the [name_f]British[/name_f] pronunciation.
[name_m]South[/name_m] [name_m]Central[/name_m] US but in a big city which tends to lose a lot of the heavy regional accent. There’s also a difference between how I instinctively want to pronounce it based on spelling when reading before I had learned how people in my area actually pronounces them
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oh-RYE-ən [name_f][/name_f]- I would only pronounce it the other way if I knew they’re Greek
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I instinctively think TAR-uh but have only heard it as TAIR-uh
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Instinctively think MAY but have only heard it as MY-uh
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Usually hear Lee-uh but wouldn’t be surprised to hear Lay-uh. I would think it’s spelled [name_f]Leia[/name_f] if I heard them pronounce it as Lay-uh though
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Instinctively think EH-leh-nuh but usually hear eh-LAY-nuh
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HEL-uh-nuh
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[name_f]Naomi[/name_f] [name_f][/name_f]- IDK, this name has always confused me
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[name_f]Clara[/name_f] [name_f][/name_f]- I discovered the regional differences on nb before I had met one so I would pronounce it KLAIR-uh in US and KLAH-ruh in UK. They both sound nice and I don’t have a preference
[name_f][/name_f] [name_f]In[/name_f] a genuine way, of course. And maybe it’s easier for Americans to switch to between those sounds, so I absentmindedly assumed it went both ways. But I shouldn’t have made that assumption because I also recognize that with other languages/dialects, certain sounds are hard to imitate or to distinguish for people outside of that language or dialect. [name_f]Or[/name_f] even how [name_m]Harry[/name_m] and hairy are pronounced differently in [name_f]Britain[/name_f], but it’s hard for Americans to notice the difference between the [name_f]British[/name_f] versions of both—I can barely tell if I compare them side-by-side, but I wouldn’t be able to guess which was which if I heard each word by itself. And I think I’ve been exposed to more true [name_f]British[/name_f] media than the average American.
[name_f][/name_f] And I also hope my thoughts and questions make sense 