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The polite thing to do, I think, is to ask how to pronounce their name at the start of the conversation. Or ask how they would prefer to be referred to. (Many

The polite thing to do, I think, is to ask how to pronounce their name at the start of the conversation. Or ask how they would prefer to be referred to. (Many of my asian relatives have an anglo pronounciation they'd be willing to offer).

Grustaf 8y ago
Exactly, if you care about how people with other native languages pronounce your name, I feel that it's up to you to help them do that. Either by coming up with a more reasonable version of it or choosing some local name, like many Chinese do. When I lived in China I certainly didn't expect anyone to even come close to pronouncing my name in proper Swedish. That would have been absurd. My name is Gustaf and that simply can't be rendered in Chinese, so how would they be able to do it, even if they wanted to? Most people at my school ended up calling me Difdif.
- dentemple 8y ago
  Yeah, but if others are just bulldozing through a pronunciation, they haven't actually given you the chance to help them with it. When exchanging the usual pleasantries, it's often the interviewer who is the first one to attempt the name, not the interviewee. If I were to answer my phone every time, "Hi, this Nguyen, my last name is pronounced pronounced S-- E--- O--- whatever", it would come off as a little odd. And possibly as annoyance or haughtiness on my part. All this goes to show that the "rules of politeness", themselves, are part of the secret hiring process.
  - Grustaf 8y ago
    It would come off as odd because it IS odd. The normal thing is to expect foreigners to butcher your name and don’t give it another thought. What does it actually matter? And even if they ask, how would an interviewer be able to actually pronounce all these names? They would have to be polyglot geniuses. Interviewer: So hello Mr Bezwzględny, how do you pronounce your name? Interviewee: Bezwzględny Interviewer in perfect Polish: Ok Mr Bezwzględny, can you tell me a bit about your background?
    - dentemple 8y ago
      Just because it's expected, doesn't mean it reflects well on the butcher-er. I can be polite enough to ask for a pronunciation (and apologize if I get it wrong). When an interviewer doesn't even attempt that, it reflects poorly on their ability to view a candidate on their own worth.

Grustaf 8y ago

Exactly, if you care about how people with other native languages pronounce your name, I feel that it's up to you to help them do that. Either by coming up with a more reasonable version of it or choosing some local name, like many Chinese do. When I lived in China I certainly didn't expect anyone to even come close to pronouncing my name in proper Swedish. That would have been absurd. My name is Gustaf and that simply can't be rendered in Chinese, so how would they be able to do it, even if they wanted to? Most people at my school ended up calling me Difdif.

dentemple 8y ago
Yeah, but if others are just bulldozing through a pronunciation, they haven't actually given you the chance to help them with it. When exchanging the usual pleasantries, it's often the interviewer who is the first one to attempt the name, not the interviewee. If I were to answer my phone every time, "Hi, this Nguyen, my last name is pronounced pronounced S-- E--- O--- whatever", it would come off as a little odd. And possibly as annoyance or haughtiness on my part. All this goes to show that the "rules of politeness", themselves, are part of the secret hiring process.
- Grustaf 8y ago
  It would come off as odd because it IS odd. The normal thing is to expect foreigners to butcher your name and don’t give it another thought. What does it actually matter? And even if they ask, how would an interviewer be able to actually pronounce all these names? They would have to be polyglot geniuses. Interviewer: So hello Mr Bezwzględny, how do you pronounce your name? Interviewee: Bezwzględny Interviewer in perfect Polish: Ok Mr Bezwzględny, can you tell me a bit about your background?
  - dentemple 8y ago
    Just because it's expected, doesn't mean it reflects well on the butcher-er. I can be polite enough to ask for a pronunciation (and apologize if I get it wrong). When an interviewer doesn't even attempt that, it reflects poorly on their ability to view a candidate on their own worth.