Absolutely not! When we discuss names hypothetically for a future child, it’s important to know the traditional pronunciation just to be fully informed. But if a person’s name is [name_f]Catriona[/name_f] pronounced cat-ree-oh-na, their name is [name_f]Catriona[/name_f] pronounced cat-ree-oh-na. It’s NOT [name_f]Catriona[/name_f] with the standard pronunciation. If that [name_f]Catriona[/name_f] is an adult, she almost certainly knows that her name is usually pronounced like [name_f]Katrina[/name_f], but she chose to introduce herself with the pronunciation she prefers. I think it’s very important to respect the wishes of the bearer of a name, or, if they’re too young to have a preference, the choice of their parents.
To me, it’s very similar to spelling. If I met a girl named Kloie, I’d spell it Kloie. It doesn’t matter that [name_f]Chloe[/name_f] is the usual spelling or that Kloie looks very wrong to me. Kloie is her name, whether I like it or not.
Oh this is so sad! I have always loved the name [name_f]Catriona[/name_f] and thought the pronunciation was supposed to be kind of like [name_f]Cat[/name_f]-tree-OHN-ah. [name_f]Katrina[/name_f] is one of my least-favorite names, so i guess I have to cross [name_f]Catriona[/name_f] off my list.
I’m with everyone else, I wouldn’t correct them because for their family, it’s correct.
But I have to say, despite knowing the “proper” pronunciation of [name_f]Catriona[/name_f], I [name_f]ADORE[/name_f] the cat-tree-OH-na pronunciation. I think it’s a gorgeous name that I will never use, partially because so many people would call it “wrong.”
I think I previously mentioned the UK vs US Pronounciation of [name_f]Tara[/name_f] as being odd to me when it doesn’t seem to conform to other US *ara names, this was in relation to a US [name_u]Berry[/name_u] pointing out that ‘[name_m]Harry[/name_m] sounds hairy and they didn’t understand how it was so popular in the uk’. Because we don’t pronounce it like that!!
[name_m]Just[/name_m] like to Americans [name_f]Tara[/name_f] and Terror don’t sound alike but they do to Brits, it’s allro do with your cultural and linguistic ear, you are more attuned to linguistic variations that you have heard more frequently- therefore I would be more likely to hear all the variations of [name_f]Margaret[/name_f] (a classic name up and down the country from a previous generation) in UK accents than a [name_m]German[/name_m] or US visitor would.
It’s unfortunate but it can come across as rude or uneducated to ignore different pronounciations than the one you have grown up with ( like the american art teacher I had that insisted on calling me [name_m]Kier[/name_m]- sten rather than [name_f]Kirsten[/name_f] - I just put it down to her accent rather than her insistence that it’s the ‘right’ pronounciation of my name)
If I hear Crahg then I assume the parents liked the American way of saying [name_m]Craig[/name_m].
Same with [name_m]Aaron[/name_m] sounding like air-un. (I grew up with the a-ron sounds)
What are you going to do - walk up to a [name_m]Javier[/name_m] and say - you can’t pronounce J like H no matter what your linguistic rules are in your language??
However I do think it’s good for everyone to try and say others names in keeping with their culture, I would maybe talk to an Eye-sabella about my likelihood to pronounce it Is-[name_f]Abella[/name_f] and check whether this would cause offence- I have had students that have a different name for home/peers/teachers etc through their preference or bad experiences! However I would always strive to say their name how they prefer. [name_m]Mohammad[/name_m] prn Mu-ham-mood, Sithusarne and Sutharne prn Sith-oo-sar-nee and [name_f]SUE[/name_f]-thar-san-ee
I would be hesitant to judge that someone’s name was the “wrong” pronunciation in the first place, and if I did believe it was I wouldn’t correct them, because that is their name.
As mentioned by the above poster, many names that would be pronounced one way in a certain language (the “right” way in terms of language-standard linguists) could may well be the wrong way in another language, perhaps which that name comes from. And we acknowledge that, largely. In the U.S., where at least more common Spanish names are seen frequently, most people would automatically pronounce [name_m]Jose[/name_m], [name_m]Julio[/name_m], [name_m]Javier[/name_m], etc., with an H sound. However, if you addressed a Brazilian named [name_m]Jose[/name_m] with an H sound they may well correct you to the right pronunciation in Portuguese, which is a J sound (something like juh-zeh, although I am terrible at phonetic spelling so I am not sure if that reads right). This is sort of a complicated situation, because you know the “right” pronunciation which in Spanish which is the “wrong” pronunciation in English which is also the “wrong” pronunciation in Portuguese which is closer to the “right” pronunciation in English. Crazy, right? And this could continue ad infinitum, such as if you met a [name_m]Ricardo[/name_m] or [name_f]Rosa[/name_f] who pronounced their name the Portuguese way with a beginning H sound (beginning Rs and double Rs are pronounced something like Hs), or a [name_m]Jonathan[/name_m] who pronounced their name in Spanish (yon-a-[name_m]TAN[/name_m], although again I don’t know if that is quite how you would write it phonetically).
I am using the languages I know as an example, but in some ways it is always a guess. For instance, I don’t have the faintest clue how to pronounce any Irish/Gaelic name, so I would always need to be corrected. All in all, I think it is a good rule of thumb to just trust the pronunciation given to you by the person/their parent/etc. and replicate that pronunciation as well as you can, whether you agree with it or not.
I wouldn’t ever presume to tell someone what the “correct” pronunciation of their name is. It’s their name and if they (or more correctly, their parents) want to spell it [name_f]Sade[/name_f] and call themselves “[name_f]Saydee[/name_f]”, “[name_f]Sharday[/name_f]”, or “Shahday”, that’s their right.
I think a lot of cross-culture names that get translated into American phonics are used because one of the parents saw the name in a book and loved it. I’m working with a young woman named [name_f]Jacinta[/name_f] with a “jah” instead of “yah” because of that and have a young cousin name [name_f]Rhianon[/name_f] who pronounces it [name_m]Rye[/name_m]-[name_f]Ann[/name_f]-on and is called [name_u]Rhian[/name_u] ([name_u]Ryan[/name_u]). Years ago, I tried to convince my husband to put [name_m]Alaric[/name_m] on our possible names list because I had seen it in a book. I pronounced it “al-ah-rick”, this year I met someone with the name who pronounces it “ah-lar-ick”. I like my pronunciation better, although I’m not sure if either are correct since it’s not a name used much in the U.S.
Although it is very noticeable to me if somebody is pronouncing their name wrong, but it’s absolutely not my job to mention it to them, because a) it’s pretty rude, if you don’t know them well and b) they’ve probably heard it before anyway.
To be honest, as someone who is into names, I would know if I was pronouncing my name wrong so it wouldn’t bother me if anybody mentioned it, but for somebody who doesn’t share the interest I can see how it could be very annoying constantly being told this. Maybe if I was going to correct anyone it would be in the forums on here, if the discussion about our own names came up. Still though this would be a stretch, and I’d probably not directly correct them but more likely say something along the lines of ‘oh that’s interesting, I’ve only ever heard it pronounced (_____) before’. I’d still feel pretty invasive though.
What do you think of [name_f]Penelope[/name_f] pronounced to rhyme with Cantaloupe? ([name_u]Penna[/name_u]-lope)
Or [name_f]Erin[/name_f] pronounced as [name_m]Aaron[/name_m]?
I wouldn’t correct them, but I might say, “Oh, I’ve heard it pronounced differently.” As far as [name_u]Penna[/name_u]-lope, that would be hard but I still wouldn’t correct them. It is their name, after all. And [name_f]Erin[/name_f]/[name_m]Aaron[/name_m] are pronounced almost the same where I’m from lol
penguinkin said: [i] It’s unfortunate but it can come across as rude or uneducated to ignore different pronounciations than the one you have grown up with
[/i]Agree 100%, and not only to ignore but to criticize them. The comments of British v. American v. European pronunciation are quite interesting, and surprising, given that people with name fixations like Berries typically have some knowledge/understanding of the different cultural variations. That said, I must confess to being irked by the way my daughter’s friend spells/says her name (or rather, how her parents decided to). It’s spelled [name_f]Khyla[/name_f]. I believe most people would (rightly?) pronounce this as [name_m]KY[/name_m]-la. But they say [name_u]KAY[/name_u]-la. It drives me crazy because I can’t fathom where they get a long-A vowel out of that spelling! But… oh well.