# Famous names you mispronounced for the longest time **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 5, 2016, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-names-you-mispronounced-for-the-longest-time/747973 "2016-03-05T02:34:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 10
**Author:** ![psiekier](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psiekier/32/116_2.png) [@psiekier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psiekier)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2016, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-names-you-mispronounced-for-the-longest-time/747973/181 "2016-03-15T18:54:31Z")
> [@JKellyMap](#): > > …Indeed, the Doper who brought up this artist wasn’t asking about pronunciation of sounds, but just about secondary syllabic stress. And that’s all I was conveying in my reply. No one ever questioned the sounds, nor was there ever any reason to. Amazing what a little discussion can do, huh? I only mentioned it because I had been a fan of Sergio’s work for _decades_, both in _Mad_ and on _Groo the Wanderer_, before I’d found out I’d been mispronouncing his name all those years. Here it is from the horse’s mouth: > [@Sergio Aragonés](#): > > Sergio is pronounced with the “g” sounding somewhat like an “h.” And Aragonés means “born in Aragon” so you say “Aragon es…” with an accent on the “e.” In Mexico, as in Spain, we use both parents’ names, so in Mexico, I am Sergio Aragonés Domenech. By the way, Domenech is Salvador Dali’s mother’s maiden name but as far as I know, we are not related. Comic historian/editor/miscellaneous book guy Mark Evanier, who worked with Sergio and Stan Sakai on _Groo_ (and, along with Stan, frequently found himself drawn into crowd scenes and background art in Sergio’s work) said Sergio was the only cartoonist he knew who, when he drew a caricature of himself, made himself look _less_ handsome than he was in real life. ---
**Author:** ![Sternvogel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bc79bd/32.png) [@Sternvogel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sternvogel)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2016, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-names-you-mispronounced-for-the-longest-time/747973/182 "2016-03-15T22:38:57Z")
> [@psychonaut](#): > > I’m kind of scared of even _trying_ to say “Jane Kaczmarek” for fear of mispronunciation. (The transcription given in her Wikipedia entry is for the original Polish, which isn’t necessarily how she says it.) The way Craig Ferguson pronounces it at about the 1:13 mark in [this clip](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=29B6jl4y5P0) is how the Kaczmarek family I knew in Ohio pronounced it – basically kaz-MARE-ək. ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2016, 9:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-names-you-mispronounced-for-the-longest-time/747973/183 "2016-03-16T09:46:13Z")
> [@Sternvogel](#): > > The way Craig Ferguson pronounces it at about the 1:13 mark in [this clip](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=29B6jl4y5P0) is how the Kaczmarek family I knew in Ohio pronounced it – basically kaz-MARE-ək. Thanks for this! It’s something I’d always wondered about. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2016, 11:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-names-you-mispronounced-for-the-longest-time/747973/184 "2016-03-16T11:05:52Z")
> [@JKellyMap](#): > > …Indeed, the Doper who brought up this artist wasn’t asking about pronunciation of sounds, but just about secondary syllabic stress. And that’s all I was conveying in my reply. No one ever questioned the sounds, nor was there ever any reason to. … and your response about secondary syllabic stress was incorrect but I was focusing on the aspects that would improve recognizability most… There are no secondary stresses in aragonés. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2016, 11:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-names-you-mispronounced-for-the-longest-time/747973/185 "2016-03-16T11:13:52Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > … and your response about secondary syllabic stress was incorrect but I was focusing on the aspects that would improve recognizability most… > > There are no secondary stresses in aragonés. Once again, _there is in English_. The poster said they were having trouble figuring out how to say the word, because in English, a four-syllable word has to have secondary stress on one of those syllables. Forcing an Engkish speaker to ignore this habit of speech would be appropriate for Lesson 5 in _speaking Spanish_, right after Lesson 4 (pronouncing “r” with a tap or flap – why aren’t you harping on _that_ “mistake,” for example?). ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2016, 11:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-names-you-mispronounced-for-the-longest-time/747973/186 "2016-03-16T11:20:41Z")
…Think about it. If I hadn’t suggested putting secondary stress on the first syllable, an English speaker wouldn’t know what to do. Most likely, they would put the secondary stress on the SECOND syllable (to rhyme with “interrogate”), which is even further from the correct Spanish pronunciation. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2016, 11:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-names-you-mispronounced-for-the-longest-time/747973/187 "2016-03-16T11:21:09Z")
If you’re concerned only with speaking English, there is no reason to refer to refer to the pronunciation of a native Spaniard. There’s no reason to pick up the syllable stress incompletely. Just go ahead and pronounce like you’ve always pronounced it. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2016, 11:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-names-you-mispronounced-for-the-longest-time/747973/188 "2016-03-16T11:25:44Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > If you’re concerned only with speaking English, there is no reason to refer to refer to the pronunciation of a native Spaniard. There’s no reason to pick up the syllable stress incompletely. Just go ahead and pronounce like you’ve always pronounced it. I see your point. The man thing here would be to prevent the questioner from putting secondary dress on the second syllable – doing so would be a natural thing for an English speaker to do, but would render the word almost unintelligible, in either language. This could be conveyed in various ways, and I tried to convey it in the simplest terms for English speakers. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2016, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-names-you-mispronounced-for-the-longest-time/747973/189 "2016-03-16T13:19:48Z")
> [@JKellyMap](#): > > Once again, _there is in English_. The question was about how does SA pronounce his name. Which he does not do in English. Once you move from saying _aragonés_ to saying something else there can be extra stresses, extra letters and even more than one word. But if you’re doing that, you’re not saying it like Sergio Aragonés does. ---
**Author:** ![Greg\_Charles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/839c29/32.png) [@Greg\_Charles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Greg_Charles)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2016, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-names-you-mispronounced-for-the-longest-time/747973/190 "2016-03-16T23:28:28Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > It’s supposed to, but I’ve never heard anyone say it (in English) except to rhyme it with joust. Or Faust. Really? Well, here are a couple of examples: [Monty Python Summarize Proust Competition](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uwAOc4g3K-g) [Little Miss Sunshine clip](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7VbYokM9dY4) ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2016, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-names-you-mispronounced-for-the-longest-time/747973/191 "2016-03-17T03:10:22Z")
> [@Greg\_Charles](#): > > Really? Well, here are a couple of examples: > > [Monty Python Summarize Proust Competition](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uwAOc4g3K-g) > > [Little Miss Sunshine clip](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7VbYokM9dY4) Thanks. Now that I hear it, I guess I have heard it correctly before, but didn’t really notice. As I remembered the Monty Python thing as soon as you mentioned it. ---
**Author:** ![AppallingGael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9bd4f/32.png) [@AppallingGael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AppallingGael)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2016, 9:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-names-you-mispronounced-for-the-longest-time/747973/192 "2016-03-20T09:20:53Z")
> [@AppallingGael](#): > > (New) Berlin, Whatever state it’s in, is often cited as an example of us pronouncing American city names differently from their Old World name (or almost name)sakes. But nearly ever German I’ve met at work (I see a lot of Elsewhereans on the job) says BER-lin, Germany. Not quite all of them, though, which makes me suspect some are just pronouncing the way they think I expect to hear it. Which ones, tohugh? I see that my “though” came out wrong. Mainly, though, I wanted to report that I interrogated another German more thoroughly and she said they say “behr-LIN”, more or less as we do, except with a hint of a long A in the first syllable and a bit of a long E in the second. Apparently, they tell Americans they are from “BER-lin” only because they think that’s how we say it. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2016, 10:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-names-you-mispronounced-for-the-longest-time/747973/193 "2016-03-20T10:07:06Z")
Martin Scorsese whose name I have always pronounced as Scor-say-zee. I always assumed that was correct everyone else says that. Then in _Entourage_ Vince is hoping to get an opportunity to work with Scorcese. They talk about it and, like me, all pronounce his name Scor-say-zee. Vince receives a phone call and this is what he hears: [Martin Scorsese](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_nxulKueSzM). The boys ask who was on the phone and Vince tells them “Martin Scor-say-zee.” Huh? I don’t know whether this is an example of keeping it real in that no-one pronounces Scorsese’s name properly ever or perhaps an attempt to point out to Scorsese that he doesn’t know how to pronounce his own name. But apparently Scor-sez-zee is correct so google now tells us. Well done Martin. ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2016, 10:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-names-you-mispronounced-for-the-longest-time/747973/194 "2016-03-20T10:13:12Z")
> [@don\_t\_ask](#): > > But apparently Scor-sez-zee is correct so google now tells us. Well done Martin. You heard Scor-sez-zee in that clip? I heard Scor-SESS-ee. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2016, 10:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-names-you-mispronounced-for-the-longest-time/747973/195 "2016-03-20T10:52:32Z")
As I said, if you google it his name is rendered as Scor-sez-zee over 4,000 times. No reference for Scor-sess-zee but it sounds like that. It isn’t Scor-say-zee though. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2016, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-names-you-mispronounced-for-the-longest-time/747973/196 "2016-03-20T13:03:27Z")
> [@psychonaut](#): > > You heard Scor-sez-zee in that clip? I heard Scor-SESS-ee. That’s what I heard him say in that clips too — [skɔ˞ 'sɛs i] — “sessy” rhyming with “dressy.” ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2016, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-names-you-mispronounced-for-the-longest-time/747973/197 "2016-03-28T02:58:59Z")
This is minor, but still somewhat off: Jackie Kennedy pronounced her first name ‘zhah-kuh-LEEN’ instead of the more familiar ‘JA-kwuh-lun’, ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2016, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-names-you-mispronounced-for-the-longest-time/747973/198 "2016-03-28T03:48:49Z")
> [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](#): > > This is minor, but still somewhat off: > > Jackie Kennedy pronounced her first name ‘zhah-kuh-LEEN’ instead of the more familiar ‘JA-kwuh-lun’, So, the French version? Interesting. BTW, in English, I’m actually more used to “JACK-(uh)-linn” ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2016, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-names-you-mispronounced-for-the-longest-time/747973/199 "2016-12-25T16:40:57Z")
Not quite a celebrity, but if you’re a boxing fan, you might be familiar with Muhammad Ali’s cornerman, loudmouth extraordinaire [Drew ‘Bundini’ Brown](https://www.google.com/search?q=bundini+brown&biw=1347&bih=958&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&sqi=2&ved=0ahUKEwi6_rL844_RAhUBWSYKHetIDnMQ_AUIBigB). I would have pronounced his name as ‘boon-DEE-nee,’ or maybe even ‘bun-DEE-nee,’ but I have heard both Ali and Brown himself pronounce it as ‘bo-DEE-nee.’ ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2016, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-names-you-mispronounced-for-the-longest-time/747973/200 "2016-12-25T17:05:28Z")
Only very recently did dictionariess start giving a pronunciation for “Keynesian”, the econmic formulated by John Maynard Keynes. Since the philosophy of DeCartes, called “Cartesian” and pronounced ‘kar-TEE-zhun’, I wondered if it Keynesian would be ‘kee-NEE-zhun’. But no, apparently, it is "KAYN-zee-yun’. Three famous people whose last name is spelled Kerr, were Deborah Car, John Cur, and Clark Care. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-names-you-mispronounced-for-the-longest-time/747973.md?page=9) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-names-you-mispronounced-for-the-longest-time/747973.md?page=11)