c4countdown

Inspired by a tangent in a different thread.

It can be argued that some words have a 'correct' pronunciation and different dialects' pronunciations can be labelled as 'incorrect'.

Whether you agree with that or not though:

Do names have 'correct' pronunciations? If so, who determines what the correct pronunciation is? The owner of the name? The giver of the name?

I know a Mary who pronounces her name as if it rhymes with 'Beery'. Are they pronouncing their name incorrectly?

Side note, as it involves Irish names:

I've taught a Caoimhe pronounced 'keeva' and I've taught a Caoimhe pronounced 'kweeva'.

There's no consistency around here in the pronunciation of Mhairi (Varri/Marry).

Names that are hard to pronounce.
St John
Ghislaine
Siobhan
Padraig
A host of other Gaelic names I will have trouble even spelling

A doctor friend of ours once had a patient called L-a, pronounced Ladasha.

This whole thing reminds me of these videos of darts players having a go at them...

https://youtu.be/On5G_UmTpDk
https://youtu.be/wM_k_IjLlXM

There might be someone familiar to us all in there too...

I think names are like words in that there will be regional differences in how they are normally pronounced. But then I also think that people "own" the pronunciation of their own name so they can tell people how to pronounce it in their own case. However, there's not a clear line between pronunciation and accent so someone pronouncing your name "wrong" could claim it's just an accent thing.

Apparently "Maurice" is supposed to be pronounced like "Morris", not "More-EECE".

On a bit of a tangent I think when parents name their children, it should be a name with an obvious spelling and pronunciation (at least in any accent approximating theirs) or they're committing their child to a lifetime of frustration.

Adam Gillard wrote: ↑Thu Oct 01, 2020 8:24 am A doctor friend of ours once had a patient called L-a, pronounced Ladasha.

Citation needed!

https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/le-a/

Ma~ is better.

I used to have issues with Ronald Reagan's pronunciation ( Raygon rather than reegon as was its pronunciation during his acting days)
Also Colin Powell's first name as Coe-lin

Ian Volante wrote: ↑Thu Oct 01, 2020 11:56 am

Adam Gillard wrote: ↑Thu Oct 01, 2020 8:24 am A doctor friend of ours once had a patient called L-a, pronounced Ladasha.

Citation needed!

https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/le-a/

Interesting! I had no reason to suspect he was making it up; perhaps the name came into vogue because of the fake story going around in 2008. This patient would have been born after then.

Not a pronunciation thing, but I always assumed Hilary was a male name, having an uncle by that name. Used to wonder why the President had a wife with a man's name.