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coopolon

Member
Oct 25, 2017
383
This is not what I am saying. I am not saying people should not have accents or they should know all languages, but they should at least put some effort, especially in the cases that a names looks familiar in English. Marie Konda made it clear how her name is pronounced every time she introduces herself but people decide to ignore and go for the French "Marie".

Is Konda another equivalent translation of her last name or do you keep misspelling the name of the person you're criticizing others for mispronouncing?
 

Burly

Member
Oct 25, 2017
5,070
Shouldn't we really be calling the people and the language Nipponese? "Japan" is just some bullshit a lazy white person came up with +200 years ago, that stuck.
 

mugurumakensei

Elizabeth, I’m coming to join you!
Member
Oct 25, 2017
11,320
People from non-English speaking countries always pronounce my last name wrong. They tend to not realize the h is silent.
 

Deleted member 33887

User requested account closure
Banned
Nov 20, 2017
2,109
I hate to say it, but Anglification and its equivalents elsewhere exist for a reason. English already is a horrible mismash of many different languages. If you don't know a root word's origin, you can completely botch it because it's French originally, for instance. There are a lot of different languages with non-Latin alphabets. A lot of sounds don't exist in one language or another. And you're busy talking about not liking the sound of a foreign word in English. I hate to say it, but language is about communication first and foremost, not how you personally feel about something. You don't know how seriously a person is taking another person's name- it's entirely possible to just botch it constantly because of unfamiliarity or they don't hear the difference.

I tried to learn Thai for several years before just giving up because I cannot for the life of me tell the difference in tones, especially at a speaking speed. If I botch a Thai name, it's 100% because the language is just so unfamiliar.
 
Oct 28, 2017
1,854
I am an expat. If I expected people to use the English pronunciation of my English name while speaking their native language, people would either call me crazy or some kind of linguistic imperialist
 

Riversands

Banned
Nov 21, 2017
5,669
What actually strikes me most is the fact that even though every time she introduces herself as "Mah-lee-e", people would all just be lazy and call her "Marie" as Mary in French. But her actual name is 麻(ma)理(ri)惠(e
This! I try to pronounce name based on the country the owner is based on. Some words are similar to each other but it doesnt mean they are all pronounced the same. That's the very basic example of cultural appropriation

But it is okay if you talking about marie kondo with ur friend. But, it is extremely inappropriate if you are talking to marie herself while saying her name "mary"directly in front of her face.

Why? When you are talking to your friend, you speak in your own language in that case you can culturalize that name. But when you are talking to that person herself or himself, you must address his or her name in appropriate way. Because if not, it means you do not aknowledge the country he or she comes from. To me it is both micro aggresiom and cultural appropriation
 
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Magni

Member
A more accurate title would be: "people should learn to call others by what they wish to be called".

If Marie Kondo is fine with the French reading of her name used by most westerners, then that's fine. If she were to correct people all the time, then it would be very disrespectful to intentionally keep using the wrong name.
 

h1nch

Member
Dec 12, 2017
1,907
I feel like you could replace 'English' in the thread title w/ quite literally any other language.
 

Riversands

Banned
Nov 21, 2017
5,669
I also know some people tend to mispronounce some brand names like yves saint laurent, luis vuitton, peugeot, etc.
 
As a deaf person, I wouldn't have any idea how to pronounce anything if I can't hear it being pronounced. :/ Deaf accent does a lovely job of screwing up things as it is anyway. (...my husband gets called "Silber" a lot.)
 

teacup

Attempted to circumvent ban with alt account
Banned
Oct 28, 2017
686
I hardly think this is an issue with just English. My whole extended in law family butcher my name in Malaysian / Chinese
 
Nov 11, 2017
2,249
I am a supervisor and I work with a lot of artists from all over the world. I try my best to learn pronunciation. A lot of people will butcher the pronunciation of foreign names and I just cringe... but I don't really want to correct them all the time as it must be tiring for foreigners to constantly talk about how to pronounce their name.

Also, a lot of them call me by my surname. Doesn't bother me but it's interesting that it goes both ways :p
 

Stinkles

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
20,459
the case with Marie Kondo is the result of being lazy to stay in the comfort zone and to a certain extent rejecting things from another culture.

This is quite a claim without receipts or even meaningful examples. Most people haven't seen the show - the SNL exposure is likely a joke that flew over a lot of heads, let alone the vagaries of pronunciation. And the Netflix UI - if you don't watch the show (and as you point out, even when you do if you listen to the families) you're gonna think her name is Marie.

If I spent my life correcting Americans for mispronouncing "Glasgow" as "Glass-gow" (it's "Glaz-goh") and Edinburgh as "Edin-burg" (it's "Ed-in-burr-uh") not only would it be a rude, intolerant waste of everyone's time including my own - as well as showing a profound misunderstanding of where and how these words are encountered, learned and adapted - it is true also true to some extent between every major variation in language and often by region or a district.

My father-in-law calls one of his own daughter's "Cassie" - her name is NOT CASSIE. Language and communication aren't just proninciation, thank god - and intent and context can fill in those gaps.

People learning a new language, moving to or traveling to a new place have a special responsibility to pronounce words properly - but the general population doesn't have time, necessity or tools. Hell we don't even use the right word for whole countries. See Germany, Japan etc. I'm not saying we shouldn't or can't or won't, just that most people aren't thinking about it at all. Most Americans never travel abroad. Are working paycheck to paycheck. Can only speak one language. Call "Chipotle" "Chah-pole-tay" and it's fine. We know what they mean. They're note bieng disrespectful.

And we have weird stuff like brits anglicizing multiple languages and France defining Vietnamese in the European alphabet and yet it all sort of works. I like it in fact. It's OK.
 

Stinkles

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
20,459
Hmm...Even when she introduces herself she goes for a sound that's more R than L. She's already trying to make the name more accessible, which might further make people think it's french Marie.

I think the OP's point is about the intended Japanese phonetic - vs the actual content of the sound, which makes it really difficult for me to parse his ultimate point, if so. But I hear what I interpret the soft Japanese "u-R" which is frequently used for "L" so maybe my ears are racist. Like the way my Japanese colleagues or friends would say "Lamborghini" isn't quite "Ramborghini" but more like "u-ramborghini" wiuth a bit of "L" in it. No idea how to capture it in english.
 
Oct 26, 2017
792
I think the OP's point is about the intended Japanese phonetic - vs the actual content of the sound, which makes it really difficult for me to parse his ultimate point, if so. But I hear what I interpret the soft Japanese "u-R" which is frequently used for "L" so maybe my ears are racist. Like the way my Japanese colleagues or friends would say "Lamborghini" isn't quite "Ramborghini" but more like "u-ramborghini" wiuth a bit of "L" in it. No idea how to capture it in english.
I've seen the Japanese R being written as L quite a few times. Both in French and English.
The English R sounds like a vowel, really, and the French R comes from the back of the throat. In both languages the L-sound is formed with the tip of the tongue, which is closer to the Japanese R sound... Hence the approximation.

The Japanese R is like the Italian one but with just one single trill. Although some Japanese speakers definitely pronounce Rs like Ls (probably because the tip of the tongue stays too long on the alveolar ridge... And it stops being a trill). But it doesn't matter to them as all these sounds are allophones (objectively different sounds that nevertheless don't contribute to a change in meaning... Like the B/V in Spanish).

But no, your ears aren't racist! (some info)
 
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The Masked Mufti

The Wise Ones
The Fallen
Oct 25, 2017
3,989
Scotland
My name is Zamaan. Like The Man but with a Z.
I've heard people here (UK) pronounce it as Zaamun, Zamnam, Zim-un, and a few other weird af attempts.

It gets annoying.
 

massoluk

Member
Oct 25, 2017
6,573
Thailand
Everyone making a YouTube video about Chinese history should get an introduction lesson to Pinyin. Facepalm too many time on the Q and Z
 

Hypron

Member
Oct 27, 2017
4,059
NZ
I've seen the Japanese R being written as L quite a few times. Both in French and English.
The English R sounds like a vowel, really, and the French R comes from the back of the throat. In both languages the L-sound is formed with the tip of the tongue, which is closer to the Japanese R sound... Hence the approximation.

The Japanese R is like the Italian one but with just one single trill. Although some Japanese speakers definitely pronounce Rs like Ls (probably because the tip of the tongue stays too long on the alveolar ridge... And it stops being a trill). But it doesn't matter to them as all these sounds are allophones (objectively different sounds that nevertheless don't contribute to a change in meaning... Like the B/V in Spanish).

But no, your ears aren't racist! (some info)

Yeah, this. There are three main ways to pronounce the Japanese R. Like you mention, the alveolar tap is the default, but some speakers pronounce it as a L which sounds softer and more feminine. On the opposite end, some speakers roll their Rs which sounds harsher and more masculine (and makes you sound like a gangster haha).
 

RocknRola

Member
Oct 25, 2017
12,194
Portugal
Always funny to see English (and most non-Latin or non-Arab based languages, really) speakers trying to say:

  • José
  • João
  • Frederico
  • Inês
  • Joana

Or even some town names:

  • Guimarães (literally have not ever heard any non-Portuguese nail this one)
  • Estremoz
  • Valença
  • Águeda
---

Foreign languages are hard OP. Unless you have constant and direct contact with one, it's never that easy to pronounce things correctly without some actual time and effort to learn all the different nuances. It can be laziness in some cases, sure, but more often than not it's just not knowing any better really.
 
Oct 26, 2017
2,237
Foreigners trying to pronounce English (as in England) placenames is always amusing.

For instance the two closest places to me are Loughborough and Leicester. The amount of times people mispronounce them are numerous.
 

Dingens

Circumventing ban with an alt account
Banned
Oct 26, 2017
2,018
This is definitely not an "english-speaker" issue, but rathern an American one. In my experience Brits and UK-like english accents pronounce things way differently, and in the case of japanese names like the op mentions, way closer to their accurate pronunciation
 

El-Suave

Member
Oct 27, 2017
4,829
I have mixed feelings on that. On German football commentary we have a few people who go out of their way to pronounce foreign names like a native of the country of origin would or how they've heard from the club or the player's management. Everybody then is politically correct and follows their example, even if you think it sounds off. Then, sometimes years later it turns out that those people were wrong and the pronounciation is actually closer how you would normally read or instinctually do it, so everybody sounded and looked foolish for years.
When a pronounciation is widely accepted and seems to make sense, use it even if it might be slightly wrong!
 

RocknRola

Member
Oct 25, 2017
12,194
Portugal
Foreigners trying to pronounce English (as in England) placenames is always amusing.

For instance the two closest places to me are Loughborough and Leicester. The amount of times people mispronounce them are numerous.

The whole Leicester ordeal when they won the Premier was quite fun to watch lol

Though I 100% can't say Loughborough properly. I'd have to hear it quite a few times and repeat the word to get it.
 

astro

Member
Oct 25, 2017
56,887
I agree 100%. I always try my best to do this. Being someone who has a terrible short term memory and is terrible with names it doesn't always work out.

I've actually taken to righting down names and hints, the simple act of doing that cements the name in my head more often than not.
 
Oct 26, 2017
2,237
The whole Leicester ordeal when they won the Premier was quite fun to watch lol

Though I 100% can't say Loughborough properly. I'd have to hear it quite a few times and repeat the word to get it.
Most people pronounce it "luff-bra" or if you wanted to pronounce it fully "luff-buh-ra". There are lots of "borough" place names in England so you'd have an easier time with them if you can figure that out.
 

Mendrox

Banned
Oct 26, 2017
9,439
There wasn't one person in Japan who was able to pronounce my name correctly even after correcting them many times. So no, people should get corrected but I don't force them to pronounce it correctly if they are not able to.
 

Nephtis

Banned
Dec 27, 2017
679
Ehhh. My name is Daniel, and I was born in Mexico. I don't expect English speakers to pronounce my name in Spanish, much less ever get my middle name right. Some people are weird about their name, but most understand. When I went to Blizzcon I was invited to a house party with devs and voice actors. I met with Anjali, the VA for Symmetra. I totally messed up her name, I called her anjAlee and it's more like ahnjlee (I was putting the accent on the second a, but it's really more silent) , but it wasn't her that corrected me. It was Carolina (Sombra's VA). Normally this would've irritated me a bit because I feel it should've been Anjali, not anyone else, that should have corrected me, but I do understand where she's coming from. I just apologized and moved on with the conversation. I did make an effort to get the pronounciation right but I messed up a few times after that. She seemed to appreciate the effort.

My point is, while attempting to get it right should be praised, getting it wrong should not be criticized or condemned.