The Mangling of Names...

[johno]

See mdlbear's post about the use of names for where this started. My response got very long, so I decided it needed to be a post to my own journal.

My last name (O'Halloran) is fairly long, but actually fairly simple by Anglo/American pronunciation rules. Even when there is a choice, the alternate pronunciations come out fairly close.

O {full stop} Hal - lor - ran (preferred)
or
O {full stop} Hall - or - ran

I'll even accept (as not all folks recognize the apostrophe as full stop):

Oh - all - or -ran

Every letter is used and there are no implied sounds.

So how do folks come up with:

Hull-er-en -en -en (yes, some folks echo the last wrong syllable and where did the O go?)

Hill-er-en (What's with substituting of e for o and a?)

Ah-hor-ro-ron (Hmm, Will all the O sounds added, where did the leading A come from).

And a few more that I'm now sure how to even spell out.

When I'm in a really sadistic mood, I'll let a sales droid, telemarketer or checker dangle, as they attempt to pronounce it two or three different ways.

I've actually told sales droids "If you can't even come close, how do you expect to sell me anything?"

Comments

[neuroptik78.livejournal.com]

Be thankful you don't have my first name... Only about 5% get it right the first time...

Rhianna

[neuroptik78.livejournal.com]

Be thankful you don't have my first name... Only about 5% get it right the first time...

[scendan.livejournal.com]

Try "Staehle" as a last name...

[knaveofhearts.livejournal.com]

How common is "oh hall ran", skipping the internal "o".

I have recently spent some time researching my mother's branch of the family in an attempt to justify my application for foreign birth registry with Ireland (effectively, applying for Irish citizenship) and came across something amusing: my grandfather's name changed at Ellis Island from Mahoney to O'Mahoney.

I wonder why it happened.

[twjudy.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I get

"Judy Gggggggggggggggggghhhhhhh….."

and then I just go up and take whatever they have. Okay, my name is only seven letters. Granted, not the easiest, but pronounced *exactly* the way it's spelled. (Ellis Island made quite a few changes so this would be so). And I always spell it when people ask for my last name, I don't even think about it anymore. I just automatically spell it… My name is Judy, Grivich, spelled… "G.R.I.V as in victor.I.C.H.)

And what do I get??
Grech, Gritech, Gricitch, Gr Vich, Gretch, Grivitch, and my *personal* favorite, on a superior court petition for conservatorship,

Gribitch.

Just keeping it real, yo. :)

[snmnstrz21.livejournal.com]

Mine gets mangled all the time too. It's also phonetic. Three very simple syllables. Van (you know, like the vehicle)- den (like a place where wolves live)- berg (just like in "ice berg"). And yet, no one, I mean no one, can pronounce it. It's as if they see more than five letters and their brains implode. My husband's last name gets even more mangled as it is Asian in origin. That's one of the reasons I didn't change my name. I've spent 20+ years having my last name mangled, I didn't think I could adjust to having to hear a new last name mangled too.

Re:

[johno.livejournal.com]

They mangle Erin????

How?

Re:

[snmnstrz21.livejournal.com]

No, my last name, silly. Vandenberg.

My husband's last name is Kositarut. Pronounced Koh-sih-tar-uht.

[xsongbirdx.livejournal.com]

It's amazing, isn't it!? My maiden name was Krause. Boy, that one got some doozies. Cross, Cruse..you name it. Now I'm a Martino. No, not Martinez, it's Italian, not Mexican. Not Martin either. Learn to read, people!!

[owl-tn.livejournal.com]

How in the *&%$ would anyone mispronounce O'Halloran, unless English wasn't their first language?

Seriously. I think some people are just too lazy at trying to interpret things they've never seen before.

I know someone whose last name is Balasubramanian. It's really long, but (I think) easy to pronounce. Just piece it together phonetically, left to right, and you've got it.

Honestly, if fluent English speakers don't use the first two pronunciations of your name, what's wrong with them?

You owe me two cents,
Alex

mangle, mangle...

[karisu-sama.livejournal.com]

Nobody gets my last name right either. (I forget whether you do?)

Willrich: In German, it's pronounced rather like "Vill - rish" (slight german roll on the R, an a slight "ee" quality to the I's), but my father "anglicized" the pronounciation to "Will - rick". However the last part is still spelled "-ich", so everyone says "-rich". It is NOT "Will - rich", spelling notwithstanding. "Ick" is a typical anglicization of "ich", as in JFK's famous badly-pronounced line "Ick bin ein Berliner". (Don't see why "ish" is so hard to say, either!)

[redrob.livejournal.com]

I knew a woman once who had a very difficult maiden name (sorry, forget what it was, but Germanic and at least 4 syllables), and was ecstatic to get married and change her name to 'Treat' - how could a name like Treat be mangled? (She soon found out that it got mangled as often as her maiden one).

Alex

[redrob.livejournal.com]

And while we're on the subject, I go by my middle name - always have, always will. My first name is a fairly useless dangling appendage to honor my ancestors. And this causes untold problems to this day.

I was applying for a 'Club Card' for a Las Vegas casino - the equivalent of a Safeway card. They needed to see an ID to verify identity, so I showed them my driver's license. Then the fun ensued. My driver's license reads "William Alexander Borders"

The clerk entered 'William A. Borders'

I said that was not correct - 'William A. Borders' was not my name. My name is 'Alex Borders'

The clerk informed me that they had to use my legal name. I offered them three choices, 'W. Alexander Borders' (which I use for most legal documents), 'Alex Borders' (my standard use-name) or 'William Alexander Borders' (just spell it all out).

Apparently the full name would not fit in their computers, and neither of the other options was my 'legal name' (isn't my bank, the Social Security Agency, the IRS, and my employers going to be surprised). My only options were 'William Borders' or 'William A. Borders' as any other choice could be seen as an attempt to defraud the casino.

A manager was called over, and repeated exactly the same thing, although in better English. At that point, I told them I was unwilling to sign a fictitious name, and left. I figure the right to be me is more valuable than a 1/2 price lunch coupon.

Alex

[poorprncesstina.livejournal.com]

That last sentence was one of the best things I've read in a long while.