I love these threads about mangled pronunciations.
I grew up near a town named “La Place”.
Did they pronounce it “Leh Plahss”? Nope. “Lay Playce”.
Another apparently dyslexic name is that of the American tennis player MaliVai Washington. The last part of his first name is pronounced Vee-yah, as if the “i” and “a” were interchanged.
Not so much a pronunciation thing, but I bet French people wince when they see the name of Shia LaBeouf. That surname is “wrong” on at least two levels.
Getting back to Brett Favre, his surname is actually pronounced in a fairly standard “English” way. The French port of Le Havre, which is served by ferries from England, is generally pronounced “Le Harv” in English. In French it’s more like “Le Ahv(ruh)”. I’ve never been able to work out why it’s not called L’Havre, though.
There are two different Hs in French. One acts as if it isn’t there at all. The other acts like a consonant. To an outsider, they look the same. Oh, and both are silent.
Simple, eh?
Also, see English pronunciation of “hors d’oeuvre” which contains the same “vr/rv” reversal.
You 'aving a laugh? :dubious:
This article summarizes the issue (in English).
:rolleyes:
I know. Crazy French.
Guess I’m jut an idiot, sorry!
Didn’t know that his name came from another language, for one thing. That being said, foreigners should be a little more specific when translating to English! (or english speakers should be more aware) "favre will never be “farve” to those who know the english language. And sorry about my mispronunuciation! I had no idea the last syllable should be pronounced “ruh” instead of “ray,” although I continue to use it! Glad there is not the not the name-calling minions on this website that I normally run into! (Check out the “All or Nothing” comments to my original post to that awful movie on the IMDB, if you wish to excoriate me!)
Didn’t mean to come off so prickish, I seem to be doing that a lot on the internet lately.
My mother and her twin brother pronounce their family name differently.
“Pleased to meet you, Mr and Mrs Differently.” 
I agree with the general sentiment that the best (or most correct) pronunciation is the one used by the person whose name it is.
However, I add to that a sub-rule that the pronunciation as used in the language of origin of the name is not incorrect and I consider it freely acceptable in polite society.
The old SCTV show had a good joke about this; the “Earl Camembert” character (played by Eugene Levy) insisted that his name should be pronounced “Canenbert.” When challenged on this he would just say “That’s just how I pronounce it.”
I’ve found that people are usually flattered if you ask them, “How is your name pronounced?” before taking a stab at a difficult name. What amazes me, however, is how some people have trouble with an ordinary name. My first name is “Stephen” and I’ve had people call me “Steff-en” or “Step-hen.”
I completely disagree. The only correct pronounciation of someone’s name is what that person says it is. How could any other pronounciation be correct?
Brett Favre isn’t French. His surname may be of French origin, but it’s simply not pronounced like it would be if actually French.
I agree. It’s one thing if you don’t know how a name is pronounced, and you make an assumption. It’s another if you know how the person pronounces it, and deliberately say it a diferent way you think it “correct.” That sounds like the farthest thing from polite to me.
Fine, disagree with me. You haven’t changed my mind. Fact is that no two people are likely to pronounce all things exactly the same even if they try. Look at all variations in “short O” and “aw” sounds just in the United States. If John Doe pronounces his name [dZAn] am I pronouncing it wrong if I say [dZA.n] or [dzOn]? Am I pronouncing Tony Blair’s name wrong if I rhoticize the end when he doesn’t? I don’t think so. And I doubt an actual native French speaker would be able to pronounce “Favre” the way Bret Favre does.
So given that it’s reasonable to allow variations of pronunciation of a name based on one’s own accent and dialect, I think it’s also reasonable to allow pronunciations of a name based on how it was originally pronounced, before it got transmogrified into another accent.