Often at when I am at work seemingly intelligent co-workers will ask me to pronounce last names of clients who have Jewish sounding names that I am so familiar with that I find it startling that they are asking me how to pronounce them. After being asked this so often I realized that its culture and not stupidity that inspires their question. When I look at some Latino, Chinese , Japanese or Greek names I am often not sure how to pronounce them but my multi-cultural co-workers are often able to pronounce them . Its all what you are used to. I am used to pronouncing Jewish names, they are used to pronouncing names from other cultures.
Showing posts with label names. Show all posts
Showing posts with label names. Show all posts
Saturday, October 5, 2013
Monday, November 14, 2011
too much in common
when i was in college i had a roommate who had the same first name as i do and the same first initial of our last names. my dad passed away a year and a half ago and her dad passed away a few months ago . turns out our fathers were born the same year a day apart . is this just a coincidence? i do not know , but it does give me the chills thinking about it.
Sunday, December 21, 2008
a rose by any other name...
one of my favorite shows is that seventies show. i always wondered what fez's real name was. i think i had missed the episode when he came to town , told everyone what his name was and then everyone decided to call him fez because no one could pronounce his real name. i can relate.
when i came to new york i found it really funny how people pronounce certain letters and insist that this is the proper way. the new york way isnt the proper way. newscasters always affect a midwestern accent because its easier to understand thank you very much.
when i first heard the last name kaufman pronounced 'cow f man' instead of 'cough man' i was really glad that kaufman isnt my last name. i realize that 'cow f man ' is the german pronunciation and is probably the "proper " pronunciation , but it just sounds so awful . and who wants to have a last name that has the word cow in it if its not necessary?
on 90210 the andrea character wanted her name pronounced 'ahndrea' instead of 'and rea'. and she was lucky because both are easily pronounced by her fellow californians. but what do u do when the pronunciation of your name is really difficult for the inhabitants of your new city to pronounce? what then? what happens when the way they pronounce your name sounds like nails on a chalk board? then what do u do? what do u do when they insist the way they say your name is the way it should be said? EXCUSE ME!! are you inferring that i dont know how to pronounce my own name, you of little intellect? i of course offer alternative pronunciations that arent as abhorrent to my ears. most people are cooperative. some arent. which is quite rude.
i really feel for those who have foreign names that no one can properly pronounce. thats even worse. at least some people are able to pronounce my name the way i like to hear it said.
when i came to new york i found it really funny how people pronounce certain letters and insist that this is the proper way. the new york way isnt the proper way. newscasters always affect a midwestern accent because its easier to understand thank you very much.
when i first heard the last name kaufman pronounced 'cow f man' instead of 'cough man' i was really glad that kaufman isnt my last name. i realize that 'cow f man ' is the german pronunciation and is probably the "proper " pronunciation , but it just sounds so awful . and who wants to have a last name that has the word cow in it if its not necessary?
on 90210 the andrea character wanted her name pronounced 'ahndrea' instead of 'and rea'. and she was lucky because both are easily pronounced by her fellow californians. but what do u do when the pronunciation of your name is really difficult for the inhabitants of your new city to pronounce? what then? what happens when the way they pronounce your name sounds like nails on a chalk board? then what do u do? what do u do when they insist the way they say your name is the way it should be said? EXCUSE ME!! are you inferring that i dont know how to pronounce my own name, you of little intellect? i of course offer alternative pronunciations that arent as abhorrent to my ears. most people are cooperative. some arent. which is quite rude.
i really feel for those who have foreign names that no one can properly pronounce. thats even worse. at least some people are able to pronounce my name the way i like to hear it said.
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