# 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:** 8
**Author:** ![Obeseus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbce88/32.png) [@Obeseus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Obeseus)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2016, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-names-you-mispronounced-for-the-longest-time/747973/141 "2016-03-11T05:55:26Z")
Barbara Streisand - for years I pronounced it the way I commonly heard it, which was roughly stry-zand. I saw her in an interview several years ago in which she asked the interviewer if she minded if she corrected her pronunciation and stated it’s stry-sand. NFLer Tony Dorsett, mentioned above, reminds me of former New England Patriot player Ronnie Lippett. The team and media pronounced it li-PET, but Lippett kept insisting it was LIP-it. People thought he was messing with them only to later have it verified that it really is LIP-it. Baseball manager / general manager Jack McKeon was always mi-KEE-un. After the Florida Marlins won the World Series in 2003, he was on the David Letterman show. Letterman explained that before the show, Paul Shaffer indicated he thought the name was pronounced roughly mi-KYOON (with the second syllable matching Kuhn as in former baseball commissioner Bowie Kuhn.) McKeon disclosed that Shaffer was correct. His name really was mi-KYOON, but ever since he entered minor league baseball, everyone pronounced it Mi-KEE-un and he didn’t fight it. Bobby Knoop was a slick-fielding infielder for the Angels and White Sox in the 1960s. I was well aware of him from reading game accounts and baseball cards, but it was several years before I learned his name was pronounced kuh-NOP and not NOOP. ---
**Author:** ![Sangahyando](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f14d63/32.png) [@Sangahyando](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sangahyando)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2016, 8:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-names-you-mispronounced-for-the-longest-time/747973/142 "2016-03-11T08:08:47Z")
> [@Subterraneanus](#): > > For the longest time I mispronounced _Raymond Luxury Yacht_. > [@Shakester](#): > > The funny thing about that is that so many Americans are convinced it’s _Throat Warbler Mangrove_ when in fact it’s clearly _Throat_ **Wobbler** _Mangrove_. > > [CITE 1](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wzK4kEkLzfs) > > [CITE 2](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jRoSwOXvD98) I’m British; and until this moment, I too thought it was “Warbler”. Mind you, I hate bloody Monty Python, and pay little attention to it. ---
**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 11, 2016, 10:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-names-you-mispronounced-for-the-longest-time/747973/143 "2016-03-11T10:22:50Z")
> [@Sangahyando](#): > > I’m British; and until this moment, I too thought it was “Warbler”. Mind you, I hate bloody Monty Python, and pay little attention to it. What does the original script say? I used to have [a copy](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1411543.Monty_Python_s_Flying_Circus) myself. Maybe someone with access to the book can check. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2016, 10:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-names-you-mispronounced-for-the-longest-time/747973/144 "2016-03-11T10:33:02Z")
> [@psychonaut](#): > > What does the original script say? It says [he’s right](http://www.ibras.dk/montypython/episode19.htm#11). That’s a transcript from the book. ---
**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 11, 2016, 10:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-names-you-mispronounced-for-the-longest-time/747973/145 "2016-03-11T10:45:42Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > It says [he’s right](http://www.ibras.dk/montypython/episode19.htm#11). That’s a transcript from the book. Is it? The front page says “Sources of the transcriptions: Most of the material was reaped from [MontyPython.net](http://MontyPython.net), and converted to the color coded table format used in this collection. The rest was added by the editors of this collection.” No mention of the official script book. And [MontyPython.net](http://MontyPython.net) is an unofficial fan site. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2016, 11:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-names-you-mispronounced-for-the-longest-time/747973/146 "2016-03-11T11:21:16Z")
Oh. The title of the page was “Just The Words” which was the name of the book, so I assumed it was its source. ---
**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 11, 2016, 12:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-names-you-mispronounced-for-the-longest-time/747973/147 "2016-03-11T12:26:32Z")
I’ll be damned. The text of “All the Words” says “wobbler.” [The Complete Monty Python's Flying Circus: All the Words, Volume 1 - Graham Chapman, Monty Python, Eric Idle - Google Books](https://books.google.com/books?id=wJtkAAAAMAAJ&q=throat+mangrove+%22raymond+luxury+yacht%22&dq=throat+mangrove+%22raymond+luxury+yacht%22&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj-34iY0LjLAhVCdz4KHUp5BXUQ6AEIUzAH) ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2016, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-names-you-mispronounced-for-the-longest-time/747973/148 "2016-03-11T14:35:55Z")
English composer Henry Purcell. I always thought it was purr-SELL. Apparently it’s PURR s’l ---
**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 11, 2016, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-names-you-mispronounced-for-the-longest-time/747973/149 "2016-03-11T14:39:46Z")
Actress Dana Wynter’s first name was pronounced as ‘Donna,’ although I have also heard it pronounced ‘Danna.’ But ‘Dayna’ is definitely further from her pronunciation than ‘Danna.’ ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2016, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-names-you-mispronounced-for-the-longest-time/747973/150 "2016-03-11T14:44:33Z")
> [@drad\_dog](#): > > Isn’t this impossible? There needs to be an accent on the first as well for that to work. I just tried to say it without any accent on the first three and it sounded very pretentious. Spanish never has two accent marks. Even if words which are long enough to have secondary stresses such as _esternocleidomastoideo_ or _supercalifragilísticoespialidoso_, there can only be one mark at most. If there is a stress mark, that’s the syllable with the greatest stress. And I’m reasonably sure I can say _aragonés_ without choking (I better, my brother’s wife is _aragonesa_…) Then again… uh… how do you pronounce those vowels? The as are supposed to be like in cat, not like in Kate. Given that you don’t know about the “only one stress mark” rule, I don’t think I can assume you know how to read Spanish out loud without mangling the vowels as well as the stresses. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2016, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-names-you-mispronounced-for-the-longest-time/747973/151 "2016-03-11T14:49:45Z")
> [@JKellyMap](#): > > The main stress is indeed on the last syllable, but yes, there is secondary stress on the first syllable: > > AIR - uh - go - **NAISS** a-ra-go-NES, please. Kindly stop sticking consonants in the previous syllable. ---
**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 11, 2016, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-names-you-mispronounced-for-the-longest-time/747973/152 "2016-03-11T15:38:51Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > a-ra-go-NES, please. Kindly stop sticking consonants in the previous syllable. I was going to say that. ---
**Author:** ![AppallingGael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9bd4f/32.png) [@AppallingGael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AppallingGael)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2016, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-names-you-mispronounced-for-the-longest-time/747973/153 "2016-03-12T12:46:57Z")
> [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](#): > > Admiral Hyman Rickover pronounced it as ‘GAY-tuh’ in one speech. Similarly, Walter Koenig’s last name is pronounced ‘KAY-nig’. And OJ’s pronounced his first name as “uh-REN-THEE-uhl,” instead of “Oh-ren-thal,” as it would seem to be. Interesting; had never heard that. I remember when that juror read the verdict she was mocked for messing up his name, but perhaps she didn’t? All I remember for sure now is that she didn’t pronounce it as I expected. (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? ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2016, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-names-you-mispronounced-for-the-longest-time/747973/154 "2016-03-12T12:51:48Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > a-ra-go-NES, please. Kindly stop sticking consonants in the previous syllable. AIR- tells me how to pronounce the “a” sound. a- is ambiguous. Rhymes with cat? Crate? Craw? (Same issue with ra-, but to a lesser extent. Rhymes with the sun god Ra, yes?) ---
**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 12, 2016, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-names-you-mispronounced-for-the-longest-time/747973/155 "2016-03-12T12:55:55Z")
> [@EllisDee](#): > > AIR tells me how to pronounce the “a” sound. “a” does not. It tells you the wrong way to pronounce it. ah-rah-go-NES A clue here—pretty much with every Spanish name you’ll get closer to the proper pronunciation if you separate the R from the preceding vowel. And Spanish vowels are pretty simple. You don’t need extra help to know how they’re pronounced. ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2016, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-names-you-mispronounced-for-the-longest-time/747973/156 "2016-03-12T13:02:46Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > And Spanish vowels are pretty simple. You don’t need extra help to know how they’re pronounced. I don’t speak Spanish, and do not know what the simple, never-changing vowel sounds are to begin with. (Nor am I particularly interested. Just pointing out that when you spell a name phonetically, it’s best to use unambiguous phonemes.) ---
**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 12, 2016, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-names-you-mispronounced-for-the-longest-time/747973/157 "2016-03-12T13:15:30Z")
I always find I have a lot of trouble with [Hubert Blaine Wolfeschlegelsteinhausenbergerdorffwelchevoralternwarengewissenhaftschaferswessenschafewarenwohlgepflegeundsorgfaltigkeitbeschutzenvorangreifendurchihrraubgierigfeindewelchevoralternzwolfhunderttausendjahresvorandieerscheinenvonderersteerdemenschderraumschiffgenachtmittungsteinundsiebeniridiumelektrischmotorsgebrauchlichtalsseinursprungvonkraftgestartseinlangefahrthinzwischensternartigraumaufdersuchennachbarschaftdersternwelchegehabtbewohnbarplanetenkreisedrehensichundwohinderneuerassevonverstandigmenschlichkeitkonntefortpflanzenundsicherfreuenanlebenslanglichfreudeundruhemitnichteinfurchtvorangreifenvorandererintelligentgeschopfsvonhinzwischensternartigraum, Sr.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hubert_Blaine_Wolfeschlegelsteinhausenbergerdorff,_Sr.) Maybe it’s just me, 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 12, 2016, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-names-you-mispronounced-for-the-longest-time/747973/158 "2016-03-12T13:16:07Z")
> [@EllisDee](#): > > I don’t speak Spanish, and do not know what the simple, never-changing vowel sounds are to begin with. (Nor am I particularly interested. Just pointing out that when you spell a name phonetically, it’s best to use unambiguous phonemes.) “Air” is hardly unambiguous. I can think of three common ways to pronounce it in American English. (And it’s not a phoneme, although it is an attempt to identify a phoneme.) If unambiguous is what you’re looking, for then you should be using IPA. [a ra go 'nes] (Of course Spanish vowels are so straightforward you don’t even need to use the special IPA character set for them.) And it seems a little odd to be offering advice on pronunciation of a Spanish name without basic knowledge of Spanish pronunciation. ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2016, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-names-you-mispronounced-for-the-longest-time/747973/159 "2016-03-12T13:19:39Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > “Air” is hardly unambiguous. I can think of three common ways to pronounce it in American English. I can only think of one. > [@](#): > > (Of course Spanish vowels are so straightforward you don’t even need to use the special IPA character set for them.) And those vowel sounds are instinctively known by all humans from birth, I guess? > [@](#): > > And it seems a little odd to be offering advice on pronunciation of a Spanish name without basic knowledge of Spanish pronunciation. Good thing I didn’t do that, then. ---
**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 12, 2016, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-names-you-mispronounced-for-the-longest-time/747973/160 "2016-03-12T14:07:23Z")
> [@EllisDee](#): > > I don’t speak Spanish, and do not know what the simple, never-changing vowel sounds are to begin with. (Nor am I particularly interested. Just pointing out that when you spell a name phonetically, it’s best to use unambiguous phonemes.) Thank you. Exactly. Nava and Acsenray are referring to some rules that apply to SPANISH syllable division locations. This has some importance for Spanish speakers, when speaking Spanish. It has no bearing at all on how best to convey to English speakers how to clearly approximate a Spanish word or name. In English, the precise location of syllable boundaries almost never matters at all\*, certainly not for pronouncing, and is in fact debated by experts. The important thing here was to find common English words, whenever possible, to unambiguously convey the sounds, without forcing anyone to learn IPA. (\*They are sometimes important for knowing where to put a hyphen when a word is broken between two lines of text, but only so as preserve etymological parts, like “trans—mute.” Even then, it’s not about pronunciation.) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-names-you-mispronounced-for-the-longest-time/747973.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-names-you-mispronounced-for-the-longest-time/747973.md?page=9)