Names which you mispronounced for years, before eventually realising...
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Re: Names which you mispronounced for years, before eventually realising...People seem to have difficulty with Irish Gaelic names, like Caoimhe, Niamh, Seán, Siobhán etc above.
My name is Gráinne - I've only once met an English person who pronounced it correctly the first go, and it was a philology tutor at Oxford. I was impressed.
Last edited by medbh4805; 22-12-2011 at 11:25. -
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Re: Names which you mispronounced for years, before eventually realising...My Mum was convinced that Hermione was Her-moyn when she was reading the books. It was only when she was talking about it to me that she realised it wasn't right! -
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Re: Names which you mispronounced for years, before eventually realising...Surely once you tell them once that should be enough?(Original post by fredscarecrow)
In my head I still say it 'sib-oh-han' but try and remember say it properly out loud.
It's not a name, but I say burial as 'bur-ree-all' rather than 'beh-rial'
People get my name wrong all the time. It's Teresa (Ter-ray-sa), not Theresa or Therese....(or any of the multiple options people provide me with). Te-rees-a drives me mad, but a lot of my associates call me it, and sometimes I just give up correcting them. -
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Re: Names which you mispronounced for years, before eventually realising...Fast pronunciation of 'mi' and 'tsu' would be almost unnoticeable, though. I don't think the clerk at Bic Camera would jump over the counter and molest you for getting it wrong, mind.(Original post by Acidedge)
I think most people mispronounce Mitsubishi though. As a Japanese word it should be Mi-tsu-bi-shi and not Mit-su-bish-i.
Maybe, anyway.
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Re: Names which you mispronounced for years, before eventually realising...Embarrassing, or deadly.(Original post by nexttime)
For a period i thought Niger was pronounced the same as the N word, rather than ni-jair. Could have been embarrassing. -
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Re: Names which you mispronounced for years, before eventually realising...People have a problem with names that aren't pronounced how they are spelt!(Original post by medbh4805)
People seem to have difficulty with Irish Gaelic names, like Caoimhe, Niamh, Seán, Siobhán etc above.
My name is Gráinne - I've only once met an English person who pronounced it correctly the first go, and it was a philology tutor at Oxford. I was impressed.
My best guess would Gra-een, or maybe Gra-inn-ay. I bet its actually something like 'ryan' though
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Re: Names which you mispronounced for years, before eventually realising...Lenited m's have a v sound in Irish before and after slender vowels.(Original post by SpiritedAway)
Neimh (or however it's spelt), no idea where it gets the v-sound from :/
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Re: Names which you mispronounced for years, before eventually realising...Apparently not. People seem to have to be trained into it.(Original post by Dominic101)
Surely once you tell them once that should be enough?
I even get it when I tell people my name, like when in the doctors or something.
Receptionist: So, can I take your name?
Me: Ter-ray-sa
Receptionist: Okay, thankyou Ter-rees-a, can you take a seat
Me:
It's like they think I've got my name wrong... -
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Re: Names which you mispronounced for years, before eventually realising...They are pronounced as they're spelt - it's because Irish has a different spelling system from English(Original post by nexttime)
People have a problem with names that aren't pronounced how they are spelt!
Grawn-ya or Gran-ya depending on dialectMy best guess would Gra-een, or maybe Gra-inn-ay. I bet its actually something like 'ryan' though
edit: looks like I've taken on the role "defender of the Irish language" in this thread
....
Last edited by medbh4805; 22-12-2011 at 11:33. -
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Re: Names which you mispronounced for years, before eventually realising...Receptionists are a contemptible species, though. They're up there with tort lawyers, investment bankers and Royal Mail sorting officer workers.(Original post by fredscarecrow)
Apparently not. People seem to have to be trained into it.
I even get it when I tell people my name, like when in the doctors or something.
Receptionist: So, can I take your name?
Me: Ter-ray-sa
Receptionist: Okay, thankyou Ter-rees-a, can you take a seat
Me:
It's like they think I've got my name wrong... -
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Re: Names which you mispronounced for years, before eventually realising...I make no bones about saying that I have trouble pronouncing both Irish and Polish names. Not so much the latter these days, though I'll almost assuredly make a fool of myself with the former.
I can pronounce Taoiseach, though. That puts me above many other Englishmen.
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Re: Names which you mispronounced for years, before eventually realising...Siobhan.
Until I was about 13, I pronounced it as "see-ob-han". It's made worse by the fact I used to have a friend called Siobhan and never caught on..
Edit: Also reminds me of my friend Beata. It's pronounced "Bay-ah-tuh" but at first I kept on calling her "Beater". -.-Last edited by TattyBoJangles; 22-12-2011 at 11:38.
