Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:I hate when people use the so-called American pronunciation of my surname when they use the authentic pronunciation of certain other ethnic names. My name is like Lewandowski, obviously a Slavic name. Why on earth would people think the w is like it is English? It has a frickin’ English v sound. Don’t get me started on accent marks accepted for French and Spanish, maybe an occasional German umlaut, but not accent marks for other names.
Pronounce the name the way the person pronounces it. I know several families who pronounce their surnames differently.
I do feel bad for people whose first names are mangled regularly. Usually, they are usually polite and resigned to it when they know people are trying. If you insist on mispronouncing a simpler name even after repeated corrections (eg, LEW-an-dow-ski instead of le-VAN-dove-ski), you’re a jerk.
But some people who are generations removed from their ancestral language use an Americanized pronunciation, and others choose to switch between an Americanized pronunciation and a "correct" pronunciation. It's not up to you to decide how they should pronounce their own name. What is correct is however a person says their own name and your feelings about that choice are irrelevant.
You missed that I said pronounce it the way someone wants it pronounced. If you insist on your pronunciation instead of the name’s owner, you’re a jerk. I grew up in a multigenerational family, in an ethnic neighborhood. Some people gave up on trying to get people to say their name properly, but even their great-grandchildren know how to pronounce their name properly.
Generally, if your name isn’t Western European in origin or monosyllabic, people feel it’s ok to continuously butcher it.Those who try and fail to pronounce it correctly are fine.
It's clear you have an opinion about how other people pronounce their own names since you describe a "proper" way to pronounce them. You are judging people who choose to use the Americanized pronunciation, whether you want to admit it or not.
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:I try to pronounce everyone's names the way they pronounce it.
This. Isn't this just common courtesy? Why on earth would you purposely mispronounce someone elses name?
I try to pronounce peoples' names as they do, but there's plenty of ways this could happen without malintent. You could forget, get confused, not hear the name said often, not be good at rolling your Rs or putting the stress on different syllables, know many people who pronounce the same name in different ways, etc.
How do you "forget" how to pronounce someones name? Forgetting a name? Sure. But forgetting how to pronounce it properly? C'mon. Don't be a racist. Just pronounce the name how people want it pronounced. If you CHOOSE - aka if you make the choice - to pronounce it "the american way" and then argue with said person when they try to correct you, you're just a racist.
What if you know an Andrea, an Andrea, and an Andrea, pronounced the American way, the Italian way, and the 90210 way and you only see them once every couple of years? Easy to forgot.
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:I try to pronounce everyone's names the way they pronounce it.
This. Isn't this just common courtesy? Why on earth would you purposely mispronounce someone elses name?
I try to pronounce peoples' names as they do, but there's plenty of ways this could happen without malintent. You could forget, get confused, not hear the name said often, not be good at rolling your Rs or putting the stress on different syllables, know many people who pronounce the same name in different ways, etc.
How do you "forget" how to pronounce someones name? Forgetting a name? Sure. But forgetting how to pronounce it properly? C'mon. Don't be a racist. Just pronounce the name how people want it pronounced. If you CHOOSE - aka if you make the choice - to pronounce it "the american way" and then argue with said person when they try to correct you, you're just a racist.
What if you know an Andrea, an Andrea, and an Andrea, pronounced the American way, the Italian way, and the 90210 way and you only see them once every couple of years? Easy to forgot.
Anonymous wrote:I hate when people use the so-called American pronunciation of my surname when they use the authentic pronunciation of certain other ethnic names. My name is like Lewandowski, obviously a Slavic name. Why on earth would people think the w is like it is English? It has a frickin’ English v sound. Don’t get me started on accent marks accepted for French and Spanish, maybe an occasional German umlaut, but not accent marks for other names.
Pronounce the name the way the person pronounces it. I know several families who pronounce their surnames differently.
I do feel bad for people whose first names are mangled regularly. Usually, they are usually polite and resigned to it when they know people are trying. If you insist on mispronouncing a simpler name even after repeated corrections (eg, LEW-an-dow-ski instead of le-VAN-dove-ski), you’re a jerk.
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:I hate when people use the so-called American pronunciation of my surname when they use the authentic pronunciation of certain other ethnic names. My name is like Lewandowski, obviously a Slavic name. Why on earth would people think the w is like it is English? It has a frickin’ English v sound. Don’t get me started on accent marks accepted for French and Spanish, maybe an occasional German umlaut, but not accent marks for other names.
Pronounce the name the way the person pronounces it. I know several families who pronounce their surnames differently.
I do feel bad for people whose first names are mangled regularly. Usually, they are usually polite and resigned to it when they know people are trying. If you insist on mispronouncing a simpler name even after repeated corrections (eg, LEW-an-dow-ski instead of le-VAN-dove-ski), you’re a jerk.
But some people who are generations removed from their ancestral language use an Americanized pronunciation, and others choose to switch between an Americanized pronunciation and a "correct" pronunciation. It's not up to you to decide how they should pronounce their own name. What is correct is however a person says their own name and your feelings about that choice are irrelevant.
You missed that I said pronounce it the way someone wants it pronounced. If you insist on your pronunciation instead of the name’s owner, you’re a jerk. I grew up in a multigenerational family, in an ethnic neighborhood. Some people gave up on trying to get people to say their name properly, but even their great-grandchildren know how to pronounce their name properly.
Generally, if your name isn’t Western European in origin or monosyllabic, people feel it’s ok to continuously butcher it.Those who try and fail to pronounce it correctly are fine.
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:I hate when people use the so-called American pronunciation of my surname when they use the authentic pronunciation of certain other ethnic names. My name is like Lewandowski, obviously a Slavic name. Why on earth would people think the w is like it is English? It has a frickin’ English v sound. Don’t get me started on accent marks accepted for French and Spanish, maybe an occasional German umlaut, but not accent marks for other names.
Pronounce the name the way the person pronounces it. I know several families who pronounce their surnames differently.
I do feel bad for people whose first names are mangled regularly. Usually, they are usually polite and resigned to it when they know people are trying. If you insist on mispronouncing a simpler name even after repeated corrections (eg, LEW-an-dow-ski instead of le-VAN-dove-ski), you’re a jerk.
But some people who are generations removed from their ancestral language use an Americanized pronunciation, and others choose to switch between an Americanized pronunciation and a "correct" pronunciation. It's not up to you to decide how they should pronounce their own name. What is correct is however a person says their own name and your feelings about that choice are irrelevant.
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:I hate when people use the so-called American pronunciation of my surname when they use the authentic pronunciation of certain other ethnic names. My name is like Lewandowski, obviously a Slavic name. Why on earth would people think the w is like it is English? It has a frickin’ English v sound. Don’t get me started on accent marks accepted for French and Spanish, maybe an occasional German umlaut, but not accent marks for other names.
Pronounce the name the way the person pronounces it. I know several families who pronounce their surnames differently.
I do feel bad for people whose first names are mangled regularly. Usually, they are usually polite and resigned to it when they know people are trying. If you insist on mispronouncing a simpler name even after repeated corrections (eg, LEW-an-dow-ski instead of le-VAN-dove-ski), you’re a jerk.
Your first mistake was assuming an american would know an "obviously" slavic name.
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:I try to pronounce everyone's names the way they pronounce it.
This. Isn't this just common courtesy? Why on earth would you purposely mispronounce someone elses name?
I try to pronounce peoples' names as they do, but there's plenty of ways this could happen without malintent. You could forget, get confused, not hear the name said often, not be good at rolling your Rs or putting the stress on different syllables, know many people who pronounce the same name in different ways, etc.
How do you "forget" how to pronounce someones name? Forgetting a name? Sure. But forgetting how to pronounce it properly? C'mon. Don't be a racist. Just pronounce the name how people want it pronounced. If you CHOOSE - aka if you make the choice - to pronounce it "the american way" and then argue with said person when they try to correct you, you're just a racist.
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:I went to school with a French guy named Claude and I would cringe when people would pronounce it 'clode'. It came off as pretentious.
French person here. At least they're trying. Better than "clod"![]()
Anonymous wrote:I repeat whatever they say.
My friend's last name is Polish but she goes by the Americanized pronunciation of it. I didn't even know it had a different pronunciation until we had been friends for a decade. It's kind of sad because then you lose the uniqueness of your name, but I do get it.
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:I try to pronounce everyone's names the way they pronounce it.
This. Isn't this just common courtesy? Why on earth would you purposely mispronounce someone elses name?
I try to pronounce peoples' names as they do, but there's plenty of ways this could happen without malintent. You could forget, get confused, not hear the name said often, not be good at rolling your Rs or putting the stress on different syllables, know many people who pronounce the same name in different ways, etc.