My friends and I were discussing names we like yesterday, which a discussion about other names our parents like for us. My mum liked [name_f]Catriona[/name_f] for me, but intended to pronounce it Cah-tree-OWN-ah, rather than the correct pronunciation of Cah-tree-nah.
This has lead me to thinking about people who pronounce their own name incorrectly, for example, I know two Isabellas who pronounce the I as eye rather than ih, and an American [name_m]Craig[/name_m] who pronounces
It Crehg rather than Crayg like we do here, an an [name_f]Elke[/name_f] who pronounces the final e as an ee sound rather than ah.
My question is, if you met someone who pronounced their own name wrong, would you correct them?
No, because that’s their name. I would find it very rude if someone told me I was saying my name wrong.
I don’t think it would be bad to say someone’s name the ‘correct’ way as long as it was more of an accent difference than a deliberately chosen different pronunciation, and if you’re from the original culture of the name, like a Scottish person saying Crayg. [name_m]German[/name_m] speakers say ‘[name_f]Greta[/name_f]’ with a distinct t as opposed to my American glottal stop, and that’s fine, but if I met an American who insisted on saying it the [name_m]German[/name_m] way I would think that was really weird. If it’s a very big difference from the way the person says it, though, I would say it their way, unless there’s a language difference where their pronunciation has sounds you can’t say properly.
I do think if you meet a person who plans to call their child something pronounced non-standardly, you should tell them. I think this is true also if they want to use the ‘correct’ pronunciation but they’re in a country where it won’t be said that way–e.g. a little American [name_f]Brighid[/name_f] will be called ‘Brij-it’.
I wouldn’t. It might bug me, but it is their name, however they say it. But it is exactly why I’d be super careful with spelling and pronunciation of names, especially those outside of my own culture. Particularly names like [name_f]Catriona[/name_f], which are easy enough to say (in English speaking countries at least) with the proper pronunciation.
I also think it depends on whether the ‘wrongness’ is that they’re from a different culture who says it different due to their accent, or because their parents picked a non-standard pronunciation.
My name is basically never pronounced wrong by Americans, other than a [name_f]Greet[/name_f]-a by a poorly progammed automated system, because it follows standard American rules of pronunciation. It’s the same ‘e’ as other consonant+e+t syllables like ‘met’ and ‘pet’, and the same ‘a’ as other names that end with a, and most people also have the same glottal stop as me. So if a [name_m]Swede[/name_m] told me ‘Oh, in [name_u]Sweden[/name_u] we say it like this’, I wouldn’t be annoyed, because I haven’t had a lifetime of people telling me I’m saying it wrong, or people saying it wrong when reading it. But if I were Eye-sabella, which is NOT how anyone (at least in the US) would ever say [name_f]Isabella[/name_f], I would probably be really annoyed because I already know it’s ‘wrong’, since my name would be said the ‘right’ way frequently.
On the one hand I also want to say that if you like ‘[name_f]Catriona[/name_f]’ and you don’t live in [name_f]Scotland[/name_f] you should spell it ‘[name_f]Catrina[/name_f]’, but I will also admit I dislike seeing ‘[name_m]Shamus[/name_m]’, so I don’t know what the correct answer to that is.
Ha, I watched an American show the other day and heard “crehg” thinking what the hell was that?! To find out it’s [name_m]Craig[/name_m]. I was so confused LOL. It bugs me, I won’t lie to you, but I think they’ve probably been told it before.
I thought the exact same thing when I first heard [name_m]Craig[/name_m] as Crehg. I thought it was a different name or I misheard [name_m]Greg[/name_m]. It was on a British show too, which was even more confusing.
No, I would not. I can’t see the point in correcting someone. What would you expect to happen? That they suddenly switch how their name is pronounced? I really don’t mean to disregard your concern, but I personally would find it a bit uncalled for.
This [name_m]Craig[/name_m] thing is messing with my head because I hear both pronunciations the same in my head. There’s almost no difference when I say them with my midwestern accent (I was talking to my friend about this and she couldn’t hear a difference either). Weird!
I wouldn’t correct them per se. If someone introduced themselves as “cat-tree-OWN-uh”, I wouldn’t say “you mean [name_f]Katrina[/name_f]?” I might mention it if names ever came up in conversation (“did you know [name_f]Catriona[/name_f] is actually pronounced [name_f]Katrina[/name_f] in [name_f]Scotland[/name_f]?”) but honestly when would that happen.
If someone told me they were naming their daughter cat-tree-own-nuh, I’d mention the correct pronunciation.
This is kinda like when people correct me about how my name is spelled. I understand that Abigael isn’t the original spelling but it’s what’s on my birth certificate and no matter how many times someone tells me “Well that’s not how you spell it!” that’s not gonna change!
I wouldn’t correct someone if it were their name, however I’d probably tell a friend if they were considering naming their child something with an incorrect pronunciation. If they didn’t care, that would be the end of it.
Fun fact: My dad knows a [name_m]Sean[/name_m] that is pronounced See-Un (his mom read it for the first time in a book).
We live in a big world with lots of different languages and accents. The day I correct someone for pronouncing their own name incorrectly will be the day I master all 6900+ world dialects.
On a different note, I also figure that given the trend towards spelling names creatively we really can’t be surprised that some folks might decide to use creative pronunciation too.
Sometimes pronunciations sound “wrong” to us because of accents. CREHG vs CRAYG is a good example. CARE-oh-line vs CAR-oh-line, [name_f]AIR[/name_f]-ah-bella vs ARE-ah-bella, etc. also come to mind.
I agree with this. I realize that what I’m about to add isn’t at all what previous posters were implying, but I have heard (er, read) it before, even on NB, so I’ll address it. . .
[name_m]Just[/name_m] because an American spells or pronounces their name differently than a European would doesn’t make it wrong. It means that American names are evolving, which is what names do in all countries. If you wouldn’t call the Scottish variation of a name “wrong”, why is the American variation wrong? I do get that it’s a bit like grammar, though. Like grammar, names evolve over time, but that doesn’t keep it from being considered wrong while it is in the process of doing so. Unlike grammar, however, you don’t have to get a name “right” for people to understand you in a conversation, so the analogy doesn’t quite work. (Ha, I’m really tired, bear with me here.)
Switching gears a bit, I’d argue that pronouncing a name differently than normal makes it a a different name. It doesn’t mean the person is getting their name wrong. If that’s the name their parents gave them, it is technically their name, and it simply differs from how you’d expect the name to be pronounced. It’s weird sometimes, but… it’s their name*.
Interesting question! I had to think about this one for a while.
*[name_m]Hi[/name_m], I’m Classicbookworm and I can use the word “name” 8 times in one paragraph
No, because whatever pronunciation their parents picked for their name is the correct pronunciation, even if it’s linguistically “wrong”. It’s the same with alternative spellings. Parents get to choose the pronunciation and spelling of the name they want to identify their child with and whatever they decide is the correct way to refer to that child. (Well, unless the child decides differently!)
But if the name is just a possibility and not yet given to a baby, I do think it’s a good idea to let the parents know that the pronunciation they want to use isn’t the standard pronunciation, just so they can make an informed decision.
I wouldn’t correct them either, it was purely curiosity.
I do think that parents should, if they are borrowing a name from a foreign language, use the pronounciation from that language, or at least be aware of it. I think the exception would be a name like [name_m]Craig[/name_m], where the American pronounciation is used often enough that its a valid variation.
I agree that even though whatever pronunciation they choose is their child’s name, parents should definitely be respectful of foreign cultures if they’re choosing names that aren’t standard in English.
I definitely wouldn’t correct anyone on the pronunciation of their own name, as they are named whatever their parents intended to call them/how they pronounce their name. I also think there are many different ways to pronounce names. For example, my mom’s name is [name_f]Caroline[/name_f]. Her parents and some of her sisters pronounce her name “[name_f]Carol[/name_f]-lynn” but she introduces herself to people as “[name_f]Carol[/name_f]-line”. I think there are so many different ways that names can be pronounced even within the same culture/region (particularly certain name endings like -line, -lina), that who is to say who is right and who is wrong. Then you bring accents and dialects into that and names can change a lot.
As far as pronouncing names from different cultures “wrong”, I think it really depends on the way the parents/name bearer go about it. For example, I have heard the name [name_f]Catriona[/name_f] pronounced [name_f]Cat[/name_f]-ree-own-ah on more than one tv show/movie. There are so many different languages, cultures and phonetics systems in the world that I think it is hard to say someone is pronouncing a name “wrong”. Maybe they have only ever read the name (or only heard it pronounced incorrectly), but they love the way the name sounds. Another example is the name [name_f]Neema[/name_f], it is a Swahili name meaning “grace”. Most English speakers upon seeing this name pronounce it “NEE-ma” while in Swahili it is pronounced “nay-AY-ma”, I have also commonly seen the mispronunciation on naming sites. If someone, not knowing, sees this name thinks it’s pretty the way they pronounce it I don’t think it is disrespectful to the culture to pronounce it the way is is pronounced in their language. What I don’t think parents should do is say that they chose this Swahili name it means “grace” and act like they understand and have done their research on the culture while also pronouncing it wrong for that culture. I think that today with people making up names and spellings, who is to say that someone didn’t just make up the name and think it sounded nice. And if you like the sound of “ca-tree-OWN-ah” how else should you spell it? Or is it just off limits because in some culture, somewhere in the world it is used and pronounced differently?
Yes, I agree wholeheartedly that is it important to respect other cultures, but I don’t think most parents who “mispronounce” their children’s name are intending disrespect.
I wouldn’t tell the person (even though I can find it really annoying)! - it’s just rude when they’ve clearly been raised hearing their name pronounced a certain way (either through cultural differences, accents, parental ignorance or deliberate “creativity”).
The annoying one that springs to mind for me is how Americans pronounce [name_f]Tara[/name_f], as if it rhymes with [name_f]Farrah[/name_f] rather than [name_f]Lara[/name_f], (or worse when it sounds like Terror.) It just irks me so much when they seem to pronounce all other -ara ending names correctly…
But, I never say anything directly to an American when they pronounce it, as it’s just their way. Like their “version” of [name_m]Craig[/name_m]
