Is there really no wrong way to pronounce a name?

[Melian]

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

Ha, du skulle bara veta... Jag har hört de mest idiotiska uttal som får mig att undra vad de egentligen läser när de ser mitt namn. Till exempel Töve (I kid you not!)... Dreadful business indeed! ^^

 

[theonlyblaze2]

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!

Norse as in Vikings? Even awesomer!

 

[Paksenarrion]

I believe this thread needs a real life example of how names can be mispronounced:

 

[Eri]

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.

There's nothing stopping them from changing it if they don't like it. Assuming they are of legal age.

 

[Melian]

Norse as in Vikings? Even awesomer!

Yup, though it's not quite established if the exact version of my name is that old, but they have found etchings on a runestone of a name that's almost exactly like mine or comparable which was from the viking days. So yeah, pretty neat! ^^

 

[rabidmidget]

Yes there are wrong ways to pronounce someone's name. I think it is rude and shows a lack of respect to mispronounce a person's name, especially when you should know better. Innocent mispronunciations are fine obviously, but everyone should strive to pronounce someone's name the way that person wishes them to.

If my name was Ana and it was to be pronounced "Ann-uh" and you kept calling my "Ay-nuh" I'd politely correct you. If you kept doing it I'd be annoyed and tell you it's not my name.

When the OP was referring to mispronouncing names, I think what he/she meant was the pronounciation of the word, not the pronounciation of a specific person's name. Example, if a couple wanted to name their child Samson, but wanted to have it pronounced same - son (rather than sahm - son), would they be wrong in doing so?

 

[trollnystan]

snip

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

Ha, du skulle bara veta... Jag har hört de mest idiotiska uttal som får mig att undra vad de egentligen läser när de ser mitt namn. Till exempel Töve (I kid you not!)... Dreadful business indeed! ^^

Nä du skojar! Töve? Wow, indeed the world has gone mad... (Tycker Tove är ett jättefint namn förresten ^_~ det är därför jag är så förfärad =o)

 

[necromanzer52]

Most people mispronounce my name despite multiple attempts to correct them. I've given up at this point, but I still make sure any new people who learn my name get it right. Whether they remember the correct pronunciation instead of reverting to the way everyone else says it is up to fate.

 

[Melian]

Nä du skojar! Töve? Wow, indeed the world has gone mad... (Tycker Tove är ett jättefint namn förresten ^_~ det är därför jag är så förfärad =o)

Japp, dialektala uttal är en fasa! Tackar, tackar, jag gillar det med! ^^ Alltid kul med ett namn som man oftast är ensam om.

 

[AWDMANOUT]

"L-I-A-M"
"Dude, how do you even pronounce that"

That hurts.

Never really had that problem. Alex. Everybody knows how to say that.

But I suppose names are just words, and words change for everyone. It's not something you can hold against them, you can only teach them the error of their ways. You know. Break the language barrier.

And if you want someone to know what a banana is, the first step is telling them.

 

[lettucethesallad]

Swedish people mispronounce my name all the time if they read it before I've introduced myself, say when those pesky phone sales people call. Most of the time they just go "Oh" when I correct them, which I find a little rude. So yeah, there's absolutely a wrong way to do it.

 

[lettucethesallad]

Nä du skojar! Töve? Wow, indeed the world has gone mad... (Tycker Tove är ett jättefint namn förresten ^_~ det är därför jag är så förfärad =o)

Japp, dialektala uttal är en fasa! Tackar, tackar, jag gillar det med! ^^ Alltid kul med ett namn som man oftast är ensam om.

Wow, Töve, hur är det ens möjligt?

 

[Vern]

My name is spelled Raymond Luxury Yach-t, but it's pronounced Throatwobbler Mangrove.

 

[Melian]

Wow, Töve, hur är det ens möjligt?

Dialekter är en fasa... ^^ Vad har du för ett ovanligt namn som uttalas fel hela tiden då?

 

[Jaeger_CDN]

I get it all the time as well.. My first name is Stefan but I've had it butchered and mispronounced my entire life. It's gotten to the point that I really don't care how you pronounce it as long as it's not Steve. Here is Canada the French have a name that's similarly pronounced but spelt differently (my background is German). When I put my name in for the 'do not call/junk mail' lists, I had to provide about 8 different spellings of my name to try and catch all the variations I've seen over the years. Also get quite a few people who send me work emails that bounce because they mispell my first name (they use first and last names in the email address).

On a similar note, my mom uses a different name than her birth name in day to day life. When she was a little girl she couldn't say her name properly so she made up her close approximation and used that. Another reason she hated her first name was because it was the name of her dad's mistress.

 

[SangRahl]

My daughter's name is Kaylan. (Pronounced: "Kay-len" It's a compromise made by her mom and I, since we know that every teacher she has would mispronounce her namesake Kahlan as "Collan".)

Without fail, every third adult to hear her name will call her "Kaitlin".

[rage]
There is NO frakking "T" in my daughter's name. Please stop calling her by the wrong bloody name.
[/rage]

Yet, I'm still glad we didn't go with Eqwene ("Eh-gwayn")... Heheheh.

Thankfully, my son Perrin hasn't had any issues with pronunciation, just origin. (Goldeneyes Perrin Aybara of The Wheel of Time, not Peregrin 'Pippin' Took from The Lord of the Rings.) Yep, had more than one person asked if he was named after the hobbit.

 

[LadyRhian]

My first name is impossible to mispronounce. But my last name? Yeah, the only people who get it right have either heard me pronounce it or are Italian (it's one of the long and difficult ones). If I get a call and hear my last name mispronounced, I hang up, because I know it's a telemarketer. One of the compensations of having a difficult last name.

 

[FalloutJack]

Trust me, it's "Du-MOSS", not "Dum-ASS". There are names out there that you DO NOT want to get this wrong.

 

[lettucethesallad]

Wow, Töve, hur är det ens möjligt?

Dialekter är en fasa... ^^ Vad har du för ett ovanligt namn som uttalas fel hela tiden då?

Jag heter Ellika. Det uttalas _egentligen_ som Annika fast med Ell istället. Dubbel-L tänker man, hur svårt kan det vara? Tydligen väldigt. Det blir allt från Eeel-llika till Eliiiika. Helt hopplöst. Där jag bott i övrigt (Toronto, Canada och Liverpool, England) har folk fattat rätt på en gång. Underligt det där.