Hi! I thought I’d create a thread to discuss names that you think sound better or worse (or just vastly different!) in a different language/dialect…of course this is all due to personal preference.
For example: [name_m]Gilbert[/name_m]. Sounds okay in English, but in my opinion is so much better in French (ZHiyL-BEHR) and even its original German (K-IHL-BahRT).
Another one is [name_m]Ludwig[/name_m]. The English LAHD-WihG is horrible, but the German LUWT-VihK I can accept.
What are some names that you think sound better when pronounced in a different language/dialect?
So as a linguist, there is no “better” language or even “better” dialect. Spoken language cannot be prescribed in most instances; it just develops how it does and how confluences of peoples come to understand one another i.e. lingua franca, pidgin, creoles and so on. So just as I don’t think [name_f]English[/name_f] names are ‘ruined’ when adapting to Japanese, [name_u]French[/name_u], or whatever else so also does [name_f]English[/name_f] not ‘ruin’ names but instead adapts the pronunciation into what sounds/flows better in their native tongue and is usable with sounds native to their language which may or may not be in the other language.
So I think this question is incredibly subjective (I, for example, think everything sounds terrible in [name_u]French[/name_u]. But linguistically speaking, [name_u]French[/name_u] is not a ‘better’ or ‘worse’ language) and I wouldn’t say they ‘ruin’ any word but merely adapt it so that it is easily said. And honestly, this question not worded in a way that promotes a whole picture of language mechanics and cross-linguistic understanding.
I wouldn’t say names are “ruined” but there are a few names where I prefer pronunciations that aren’t the default in [name_f]English[/name_f] – Viviana’s Spanish pronunciation of bee-bee-ah-na (or bee-BYA-na) and Janina’s pronunciation in a few languages as ya-nee-nah (rather than like [name_f]Janine[/name_f] with an A at the end) come to mind!
@cms1512 thanks for your response and for helping me to broaden my view!!
I worded the post very poorly, it was meant to bring on a discussion of different individuals’ preferences on name pronunciation in different languages and dialects.
Again, thanks for responding, your post is very helpful and has changed my view on names and name pronunciation I hope I have not caused offence to anyone by my post
I’m not sure how to write the pronunciation out but I strongly prefer the [name_u]French[/name_u] pronunciation of [name_f]Jacqueline[/name_f] to the most common [name_f]English[/name_f] pronunciation, jack+lynn.
In Sanskrit there’s a set of letters we don’t have in [name_f]English[/name_f] called mahaprana. They’re basically just breathy and aspirated versions of other letters in the alphabet (ba vs. bha, da vs. dha).
A lot of my favorite Sanskrit names (and favorite names in general) have these letters, which I’m assuming would be lost in the [name_f]English[/name_f] pronunciation. I don’t think this ruins the names by any means, but I have a strong preference for the names with the Sanskrit pronunciation, and I think mahaprana really helps give the names their beauty!
Some of my favorite names with mahaprana are Bhakti, [name_f]Samadhi[/name_f], Aradhana, and Sumadhura!
I think traditional [name_u]French[/name_u] names pronounced by us Americans sound harsher and not quite so elegant. Names like [name_f]Aurélie[/name_f] sound like orally in [name_f]English[/name_f].
not ruined but i much prefer the pronunciation of [name_f]Delphine[/name_f] (del-fin) in french over the english pronunciation (del-pheen) but it’s the opposite with [name_u]Blair[/name_u] (and many other names), i don’t like how it sounds with a french pronunciation so that’s why i wouldn’t be able to use it irl
For me this is the case with basically every [name_u]French[/name_u] boy name ending in -ien, I personally don’t like them at all with the [name_f]English[/name_f] pronunciation: [name_m]Lucien[/name_m], [name_u]Julien[/name_u], Bastien…
A specific name that comes to mind is also [name_m]Aaron[/name_m] / [name_m]Aron[/name_m]. I don’t like how it sounds in [name_f]English[/name_f], and prefer the Hebrew and/or Icelandic pronunciation.
I do feel like the [name_f]English[/name_f] pronunciation ruins [name_u]Henri[/name_u] a little bit. And I feel like [name_f]Henriette[/name_f] sounds so much better with a [name_u]French[/name_u] accent.
I hope I have not caused offence to anyone by my post 
