Home
Log in / Sign Up
    Private Messages   Advanced Search   Rules   New User Guide   FAQ   Advertise   Contact Us  
Forum -> Pregnancy & Childbirth -> Baby Names
Mispronouncing names question



Post new topic   Reply to topic View latest: 24h 48h 72h

amother
OP


 

Post Thu, Oct 21 2021, 12:20 am
My name is Tziporah. Of course non-Jews (and sometimes secular Jews) struggle to pronounce my name. I correct them. From that point they either pronounce it correctly or they get pretty close. I never felt it was a big deal. It didn't hurt me, embarrass me, inconvenience me, etc. It never left me wishing my parents had named me something else. It doesn't even come up all that often in my day to day life.

So just wondering, after reading the "Elisheva" post - and there have been so many like this here before - why is this such a concern for parents?

Please don't attack. Genuinely trying to understand.
Back to top

imaima




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Oct 21 2021, 1:24 am
amother [ OP ] wrote:
My name is Tziporah. Of course non-Jews (and sometimes secular Jews) struggle to pronounce my name. I correct them. From that point they either pronounce it correctly or they get pretty close. I never felt it was a big deal. It didn't hurt me, embarrass me, inconvenience me, etc. It never left me wishing my parents had named me something else. It doesn't even come up all that often in my day to day life.

So just wondering, after reading the "Elisheva" post - and there have been so many like this here before - why is this such a concern for parents?

Please don't attack. Genuinely trying to understand.


I don't get it either. Ok so some people make mistakes. It doesn't mean your name is now different.
Back to top

amother
Magenta


 

Post Thu, Oct 21 2021, 4:30 am
I agree. I grew up in the UK with a very Israeli name. It got mis-pronounced the whole time - but so many people these days have foreign names, it's so common.
I don't think it matters.
Back to top

amother
DarkViolet


 

Post Thu, Oct 21 2021, 5:08 am
Some people are more self conscious than others. That's all. Nothing wrong with them preferring to have an easy alternative if that's the case.
Back to top

FranticFrummie




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Oct 21 2021, 5:08 am
amother [ Magenta ] wrote:
I agree. I grew up in the UK with a very Israeli name. It got mis-pronounced the whole time - but so many people these days have foreign names, it's so common.
I don't think it matters.


One of the upsides of political correctness, is the insistence of recognizing someone's culture and getting their name right. Be gracious about it, apologize if you get it wrong, and ask them to repeat it. Then repeat it until you get it right.

If your name is the one being mangled, also be gracious about it. Just repeat yourself, laugh, and say "Yeah, it's hard for some people to get at first. That's OK, you'll get it."

It's one of the many wonderful reasons I made Aliyah. Nobody ever gets my name wrong. Very Happy

Oh, that tricksy, tricksy Chet!
Back to top

imaima




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Oct 21 2021, 5:29 am
FranticFrummie wrote:
One of the upsides of political correctness, is the insistence of recognizing someone's culture and getting their name right. Be gracious about it, apologize if you get it wrong, and ask them to repeat it. Then repeat it until you get it right.

If your name is the one being mangled, also be gracious about it. Just repeat yourself, laugh, and say "Yeah, it's hard for some people to get at first. That's OK, you'll get it."

It's one of the many wonderful reasons I made Aliyah. Nobody ever gets my name wrong. Very Happy

Oh, that tricksy, tricksy Chet!


The thing is, many languages have sounds that other people will hardly ever get right when they were not raised to pronounce them. If you get close enough, it is good enough.
Noone subscribed to learn phonetics of a foreign language to be able to call out a person.
There is a difference between calling Shmuel Samuel out of spite and not being able to get the CH sound right.
Back to top

amother
Lilac


 

Post Thu, Oct 21 2021, 5:41 am
I have a Ches in my first name AND my last name, and so does DH! So most people get them wrong, and a different first name wouldn't help either. I find it amusing.
Back to top

FranticFrummie




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Oct 21 2021, 5:44 am
imaima wrote:
The thing is, many languages have sounds that other people will hardly ever get right when they were not raised to pronounce them. If you get close enough, it is good enough.
Noone subscribed to learn phonetics of a foreign language to be able to call out a person.
There is a difference between calling Shmuel Samuel out of spite and not being able to get the CH sound right.


100% agreed.

Calling someone out rudely is ALWAYS wrong. You'll never win anyone over like that. Just ask any trans person. Getting misgendered is annoying, but you don't get allies by being snarky about it.

If you can get the name reasonably right, you can say "Sorry, I never learned to make that sound when I was little. I hope to get it as close as I can." Do not say "Hey, your name is too hard, so I'll just call you Bob." Can't Believe It

Personally, even after 4 years of Spanish and two summers in Mexico, I cannot for the life of me manage the "rr" sound. I can gurgle an R at the back of my throat, but my tongue will not cooperate.

In my Ulpan, the people from Argentina and Peru have no trouble at all, abut the Anglos are all struggling with the soft "r" in reish.
Back to top

amother
Cappuccino


 

Post Thu, Oct 21 2021, 6:25 am
As a shy introvert, I really dislike having extra attention on me every time I need to do something dumb like have a blood test. Or in college when the teacher had to stop by my name and ask how to pronounce it, so instead of just being able to say, "here" like every other kid in the class, I had to have ninety people looking at me while I said my name, in multiple classes, multiple times a semester. If you don't care, that's fine. As someone who likes to blend in, I didn't appreciate it.
Back to top
Page 1 of 1 Recent Topics




Post new topic   Reply to topic    Forum -> Pregnancy & Childbirth -> Baby Names

Related Topics Replies Last Post
Names for Israel
by amother
16 Tue, Mar 26 2024, 3:39 pm View last post
Inspire me with some girls names please!
by amother
23 Wed, Feb 07 2024, 10:36 pm View last post
Names that go with Esther
by amother
13 Wed, Feb 07 2024, 7:50 pm View last post
[ Poll ] S/o first and last names
by amother
46 Thu, Feb 01 2024, 11:51 am View last post
[ Poll ] S/O Last names- Do you like yours?
by corolla
25 Thu, Feb 01 2024, 2:15 am View last post