The Name Game
Shortly after the engagement Sweetie commented that I needed to prepare myself because after the wedding I would be TORTURED because no one would be able to spell my last name. I disagreed with him, and continue to diagree with him. I have had occassion to have to spell my future last name and it is not in the least bit torturous.
What Sweetie fails to understand is that although I may have a somewhat common last name (at least compared to his), it does have alternate spellings and no one ever knows which spelling is correct. Add to that the fact I once had a job where the only people in my office were me and my boss. We shared the same last name but spelled it differently. Really, having to constantly spell my last name is not a problem.
But tonight, while listening to NPR, I realized what the problem will be. It's the pronunciation issue. With my last name there is really only one way to pronounce it. I think Sweetie's last name could easily be mispronounced by someone if they didn't know better. So I'm listening to the letters segment on All Things Considered and at the end they give the standard spiel: "If you have a letter send it here and make sure you include your name, how to pronounce it and where you're writing from." I've often tried to come up with something to write NPR about so that I could be a smart ass at the end of the letter and say:
Sincerely,
Swankette (pronounced Swankette)
but once the name is changed I might actually have to give some direction on how to say the last name. I think I'll cope.
What Sweetie fails to understand is that although I may have a somewhat common last name (at least compared to his), it does have alternate spellings and no one ever knows which spelling is correct. Add to that the fact I once had a job where the only people in my office were me and my boss. We shared the same last name but spelled it differently. Really, having to constantly spell my last name is not a problem.
But tonight, while listening to NPR, I realized what the problem will be. It's the pronunciation issue. With my last name there is really only one way to pronounce it. I think Sweetie's last name could easily be mispronounced by someone if they didn't know better. So I'm listening to the letters segment on All Things Considered and at the end they give the standard spiel: "If you have a letter send it here and make sure you include your name, how to pronounce it and where you're writing from." I've often tried to come up with something to write NPR about so that I could be a smart ass at the end of the letter and say:
Sincerely,
Swankette (pronounced Swankette)
but once the name is changed I might actually have to give some direction on how to say the last name. I think I'll cope.
posted by Swankette at 8:55 PM
5 Comments:
Babe,
There are three very common mispronunciations:
--first syllable rhymes with "day" (my German ancestors are rolling over just thinking about it)
--accent the last syllable (so it sounds vaguely Arabic)
--add a "d" to the end.
All of them are like fingernails on a blackboard for me. And someday to you too!
No no no! You've got it all wrong.
Having a last name that has no obvious correct pronunciation is quite useful indeed.
When the phone rings and asks for "Mr. Chair" I know I can safely hang up - it's either a telemarketer or a survey, neither of which I have time or patience. When they call asking for "Mrs. Land Chain" can honestly say there is nobody here by that name (doubly so since Al is also emphatically a "Ms."). I figure if a caller can't get the name right, then I probably don't know them well enough to feel bad about hanging up on them. I feel safer about tossing all that junk mail addressed to "Mr. Lord Shear" into the recycle bin without shredding it, since nobody is going to steal the identity of a person who doesn't exist.
I guess my tolerance is higher after so many years of teachers pausing awkwardly when they got to the "C" section of the roll before horribly mangling a very simple 5 letter name (well, except for that one French teacher in high school). After a while, it was just plain funny to see how badly people managed to mangle it. I started to look forward to a new semester and new faculty just to see in what new and amusing ways they handled it. Apologies to you, TRP - I'm sure it's not nearly as amusing from your place in front of the class - but from my seat it can be damn funny sometimes.
Signed,
Franco-Danish Geek in Stumptown
I had a student with a superfluous X at the end of her last name a couple of years back. (One of the best students I've ever had, but that's not the point here.) First day, I called her first name and had HER pronounce the last. Good way to solve that problem.
And if I screw up a name, whatever. I just won't do it twice.
In my high school days it was always amusing because the teacher always got stuck with name #1 on the list: Usama Abdali. So the teacher would intend to start roll, get a weird look on their face, then the entire class would pronounce the name for the teacher.
And then we'd repeat it all over again with Srijaynth Chakrapani. Thankfully, he went by Jay.
Grigor - I'm ashamed to admit I'm STILL not 100% sure on the correct way to pronounce your name... there are a few different options that will come out of my mouth. Perhaps depending on how many beers I've had.
I can't think of more than one way to pronouce my first or last names, yet somehow telemarketers always manage.
Post a Comment
<< Home