No one is complaining (I don’t think) because a stranger initially mispronounces their name. They are complaining, and rightly so, because after said stranger is told the correct pronounciation, said stranger says, “No, that’s not how it’s pronounceed! It should be whatever.”
It’s not the act of having the name be pronounced incorrectly, it’s the fact that people are arguing with someone on how their name is pronounced! I’d be fucking pissed too. How dare anyone tell ME how I should pronounce MY name. It’s MY fucking name, not yours. I don’t care if the person knew 297523 people that pronounced it “their” way, I do not. It doesn’t make me “wrong”, it simply makes me different. It’s downright rude not to make an effort to pronounce someone’s name correctly, let alone tell them they are wrong about it. Sheesh.
I’m sure if these same people made the mistake, were corrected, then stopped making the mistake, or at least made an honest effort to pronounce the name correctly, no one would have a problem. They would understand that their name is uncommon/hard to pronounce and know such is life.
My surname begins with the letters EU, like the mathematician Euler. In Germany this would be pronounced OY but here in the States we just pronounce it “YOO”. I’ve had two professors who were native speakers of German though who pronounced it OY upon first seeing my name, but at least they changed when I told them how we say it here.
In reference to the OP I have a surname in *my * lineage spelled Lietz and we do say “Leets” But I would never try and tell someone else *their * pronounciation of their own name was wrong. “Dites” is just as likely as “Deets” but I’m suprised people try and tell them “Dits”
My first name is Lezlie. It’s pronounced with a “z” not an “s”. My stepfather of 17 years still calls me “Leslie.” People at large still call me “Les.” Funny thing is, it doesn’t really bug me (I hardly notice it) but it sure bugs the hell out of my friends! They’ll LOUDLY correct people when I first meet them, which is quite embarrasing for me. Makes me sound like a prententious bitch. Of course, if someone tried to correct me on how to say my name, them’s would be fightin’ words…
pk: Reminds me of the very first time I got in trouble in school. First day of First Grade it was. I was writing my name on some paper the teacher handed out. My name begins with McG. The teach came by and told me that it was spelled Mag at the beginning. My response: “Bitch, do I tell you how to spell your name.”
"No one is complaining (I don’t think) because a stranger initially mispronounces their name. They are complaining, and rightly so, because after said stranger is told the correct pronounciation, said stranger says, “No, that’s not how it’s pronounceed! It should be whatever.”
You’re entirely correct. I’m probably reacting not so much to the OP as to my countless experiences with people of ancestry that sets strict rules of pronunciation but who have decided to disregard those rules because “I am an American.” In Italian for example a “g” is sometimes omitted in pronunciation. This omitted “g” is not optional, it’s simply omitted in certain formations all the time. If I’m reading off names and I come across one of these, and I pronounce it according to the rules of the language the name comes from, I’ll often get corrected, very snottily, “That’s wrong! It’s pronounced blablabla.” More appropriate, I’d think, would be if the person realized that I’m trying to show him some respect by pronouncing the name the way his ancestors pronounce it, and sought me out privately and told me in a non-aggrieved tone of voice that he prefers the blablabla pronunciation.
Hey, if you want to invent new rules for pronouncing names, that’s great, but don’t expect me to make memorizing everyone’s rules for pronouncing (and mispronouncing) his or her own name a top priority. I don’t show extra consideration for people who get in my face.
There is a very large RV dealer in Indiana named Tom Raper.
When you consider the environmental impact of RVs and the nature of car dealers in general, Raper is an extremely appropriate name.
“Dahta, come here and take a look at this.”
“Dayta.”
“What?”
“My name. It is pronounced ‘Dayta’.”
“Oh?”
“You called me ‘Dahta’.”
“What’s the difference?”
“One is my name. The other is not.”
-Pulaski and Data, “The Child” (TNG)
I’m not saying I’m right and they’re wrong. They’re right and I’m wrong. It’s their name and they can insist it’s pronounced however they like. But they need to be aware that it’s going to be mispronunced by people who don’t give a rat’s ass one way or the other how it’s pronounced, and adjust their attitudes accordingly.
If you have a foreign name like Bietz, or Gauthier, and you want to speak it with an Americanized pronunciation, that’s your privilege. But you should be too hard on those who are fluent in the language in question. They can find this very confusing and forget sometimes when they address you. I’m American, but studied German for years in college and would have a hard time pronouncing Bietz any other way than “BEETS”.
The worst is when people totally murder their name. I heard recently on NPR about a songwriter named “Gauthier”. French speakers would pronounce this, approximately, “go-tee-ay”. But this singer, did she americanize to “go-Teer”, or something like that? No she pronounced like a totally different french name, Gaucher!
Somewhat peevish, but, well, this is the Pit after all.
Bah! When I talk to customers at work, they all mispronounce my first name as Wendy, Britney, Ronnie, Randy, Linda, Rebecca and Elizabeth. At least the mispronunciations you get have a vague relationship to your actual name.
pkbites, you clearly pronounce your last name incorrectly. Correct your pronunciation, and you will no longer be pissed off with people who know better than you.
There’s a simple solution to every problem, you see.
…and pity the people whose surname is “Cholmondeley” (if you know how that is correctly pronounced, you’ll understand that pkbites is very lucky only to have to deal with a vowel aberration).
My last name is Polish, and begins with Le. People whom I’ve had written correspondence with (read: I’ve written my name on documents they’ve received), like to decide it must be French, and write my name LeCapitalizedthirdletter. Also received a nametag from the state agency I was working for with my last name changed to a more common Polish surname. Thanks, I really did get the spelling of my own name correct when I filled out the name tag request.
Yes, I know it’s spelled odd. Here’s my mother’s number, explain it to her.
I have people in my office who after three years, still call me Tan-ya. Hello, you hear me answer the phones with the correct pronounciation, or other people use the right way, so here’s a mitt. Please catch a clue.
