Is there really no wrong way to pronounce a name?

[TehCookie]

Names come from all over, the reason it sounds weird is because the origin language isn't English. Why should we demand they change their spelling or pronunciation? It's like people who spell mackinac, mackinaw (how it's pronounced). It's an Indian word, it doesn't quite fit perfectly with English. Same with last names.

 

[Jake Stavroff]

My friend decided to start calling me (Jacob) as 'Yack-ub.' Don't bloody know why, but I couldn't care less. More power to her, as inane as it seems.

 

[JUMBO PALACE]

Of course there's a wrong way to pronounce name. They're just like any other words.

 

[Merkavar]

people pronounce my last name worng all the time. pronounce the C as L or the K as a T

Ugh. My name is Ian, and I'm sick of people mispronouncing it. It's pronounced "E-An", not fucking "I-An". It's like no one has met an Ian before.

i pronounce ian an E An or maybe E In. i dont know anyone who would pronounce it I An. pronouncing it I An sounds like how you would say iron. i think your the one pronouncing your own name wrong

 

[Melian]

That is an absolutely amazing name!

Why thank you! ^^ Your name is pretty cool as well, where's it from?

 

[Engarde]

If that's the case, I could say my name was Bobby, but it is pronounced Jason. Obviously, that would be wrong. You can't change how a language is pronounced just to suit your needs.

Everyone seems to have ignored this part.

You have a point there, though the lines blur when derivatives from other languages come in. For example, I know someone whose last name is written 'Mikic' but is pronounced 'Mikich' because it originates from Croatia.

As far as I am concerned, people can pronounce their names as they will, within reason. I would get very annoyed with someone who insisted 'Bob' pronounced as 'George' but no issue with something like 'Liam' being pronounced 'Lee-am or Lie-am'.

 

[maddawg IAJI]

The person who the name belongs to decides how it is pronounced. If there was no wrong way, then my teachers would still be pronouncing and spelling the C in my last name as a K.

 

[theonlyblaze2]

That is an absolutely amazing name!

Why thank you! ^^ Your name is pretty cool as well, where's it from?

Uhmmm...That's a funny story. We don't know.

See, it was my Great-Great Grandfather's name and we think he was born in Mexico, but we know that he died in Turkey, fighting for the Turkish Army during World War I. So it is either Spanish or Turkish.

Where is yours from? I have never heard it.

 

[RedEyesBlackGamer]

If that's the case, I could say my name was Bobby, but it is pronounced Jason. Obviously, that would be wrong. You can't change how a language is pronounced just to suit your needs.

Everyone seems to have ignored this part.

I didn't. I just want to call a person what they say it is. Whether it is correct or not, it is their name.
Edit: No offense intended. Sorry if I'm coming off aggressively.

 

[effilctar]

There is no wrong way. My name for example is spelt Ross but pronounced Gregg. Never a miscommunication.

 

[infohippie]

Ugh. My name is Ian, and I'm sick of people mispronouncing it. It's pronounced "E-An", not fucking "I-An". It's like no one has met an Ian before.

That's interesting, I've never heard of Ian being pronounced "I-An" before. Who's been calling you that?

Signed,
Raymond Luxury Yacht (pronounced "Throat Warbler Mangrove")

 

[dorkette1990]

Having a kind of strange name, I run into this a lot - my name is Amia. I personally pronounce it Uh-me-uh, although a lot of people seem to think it should be spelled differently. A lot of people cannot pronounce my name for some reason, and usually resort to Uh-my-uh or Amy-uh. I can say that blatant mispronunciations like Aim-ee or Anna (I don't know where they get Anna...) annoy me, I understand when people don't know the version I use. However, if I tell you my name is pronounced as Uh-me-uh and you keep saying it wrong, it will annoy me - I agree that while initial mistakes are common and acceptable, within reason a person should be able to say how their names are pronounced - they get to be stuck with them, after all. (another good example - the last name Goetz, pronounced "gets", but I could see someone saying "go-ets")

 

['Aredor]

If that's the case, I could say my name was Bobby, but it is pronounced Jason. Obviously, that would be wrong. You can't change how a language is pronounced just to suit your needs.

Everyone seems to have ignored this part.

A friend of mine is called Reinhard, but because he thinks that's too old-fashioned, he prefers to go by the name Rainer, which is pronounced a little bit differently but another name altogether. Another friend is called Siriporn, but prefers to be called Siri, for obvious reasons. My aunt's name is Ingrid, but she doesn't like it so she wants people to use her second given name, Karin.

Three people who go by names other than what their given name is written. Would you say that's not within their right, just "that's not how language works"?

To answer the original question, yes, just as all the others said, the right way is to pronounce it the way the person wants you to.

 

[vxicepickxv]

In my native speech, we have a proverb saying "Write as you hear" so usually in my country we don't have misspelling problems.

Your native language isn't English. English is not exactly a language that makes sense.

 

[Melian]

Uhmmm...That's a funny story. We don't know.

See, it was my Great-Great Grandfather's name and we think he was born in Mexico, but we know that he died in Turkey, fighting for the Turkish Army during World War I. So it is either Spanish or Turkish.

Where is yours from? I have never heard it.

That's really cool! Nothing quite like a name with a story!
Mine's an old norse name with danish roots, that pops up once in a while in the population, but not that often. I think there are about 3000 or so in my country who share my name. So yeah, pretty neat as well!

 

[Eumersian]

When I tell people that my name is pronounced a certain way, and they say it the same wrong way that everybody else does, I get pretty mad. It is disrespectful.

In other words, yes. There is a wrong way to pronounce a name.

 

[MellowFellow]

If the person prefers their name to be pronounced a certain way, others should at least make the attempt to pronounce it the way the person wants it.

People butcher my last name all the time, but for awhile now, I have decided to let people pronounce it however they like. From kindergarten to my senior year of high school, I think I had maybe one teacher pronounce my last name right. None of the professors I have had so far have said it right either. I usually don't correct people unless they ask me if they pronounced it right.

My last name is Muchow and it is pronounced much-o.
People have pronounced it mucho, like the spanish word (someone actually asked me if I was mexican one time...). Others are: moochow, moocow, macho, machow.

 

[trollnystan]

My name is mispronounced and misspelt a lot but I don't really care any more. I usually give people a choice when I introduce myself: either call me by my name or my easier nickname. If they call me by my name I will correct them once or twice if they pronounce it wrong, but if they don't seem to get it and it's a casual acquaintance I just let it slide. If it's someone I'll see a lot they'll eventually either get the hang of it or change to the easier nickname by themselves.

My name together with my last name is kinda unique - I'm the only one on the web at least =P - so that's kinda cool

My name gets mispronounced even by native speakers. Apparently it's hard to say, something I've never quite understood. And don't even get me started on english speakers! ^^ My name is Tove (yes it's a girls' name) and it's pronounced with long ooo's (as in Tooove) with a hard emphazis on the v. Everyone and their mother pronounce it like Toh-ve or simply Tohv, which sounds retarded. Oh, the joys of a rare name.

How on earth do native speakers mispronounce Tove?? Helt fullständigt galet. My commiserations =o