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> My family has been pronouncing it incorrectly Well, the French usage for names generally is just to use either a straight French pronunciation based on how t

> My family has been pronouncing it incorrectly Well, the French usage for names generally is just to use either a straight French pronunciation based on how the name is written, or an approximation of the foreign pronunciation using sounds that exist in French. Only a handful of well-known names get to have a special pronunciation. If your family has been in France for 100 years, I wouldn't say they pronounce the name "incorrectly", they just pronounce it the correct way in France.

neltnerb 5y ago
This reminds me of the story of the town of Versailles, Indiana. It was common knowledge nearby that anyone who came in and pronounced it "ver-sai" was from out of town. Because everyone living there called it "ver-sails". I use this as an example of how if anyone gets to decide how something is pronounced, it's the people who live there. The city is simply called "ver-sails" and that's all there is to it. It is not "wrong", anymore than pronouncing it as you likely say "karate" is not more wrong than "ka-ra-te" (the japanese pronunciation) or that the japanese prounciation of the english word "sweater" being "su-we-ta" is wrong. Borrowed word pronunciation is entirely up to the user.
- Radim 5y ago
  And also of "Socrates", an American Quake 3 player who insisted on the "soh-crates" pronunciation :-) I also love the double mind-fuck of "karaoke": EN: pronounced "owe-kee" JP: "oh-keh"! EN: but "oke" comes from the English "orchestra" (kara-oke = empty orchestra)… so really should be pronounced "or-keh"? Are we mispronouncing a Japanese mispronounciation of OUR OWN WORD?? (and then of course the Greeks chime in, OG)
  - MereInterest 5y ago
    There's a apocryphal story about a translator at an anime convention being asked why he changed a name in the English dub, using an L sound, where the name in Japanese used an R sound. The translator's response was a very flat "Because 'Alucard' is 'Dracula' spelled backwards."
- soperj 5y ago
  > This reminds me of the story of the town of Versailles, Indiana. Detroit would be the same way if it wasn't such a big city. Easier to see when you add back the accent, Détroit.
  - myself248 5y ago
    Oh, DEE-troit is just the beginning. Other notables include the home of Milan Dragway, pronounced MYL-in, or Lake Orion, pronounced OR-ee-yin.
  - b3morales 5y ago
    Versailles, France, is much more well-known than Le Détroit, France, though. (In the U.S.)
    - frosted-flakes 5y ago
      I don't know if it's the city that's well-known so much as the Treaty of Versailles.
- s3cur3 5y ago
  Here in Missouri (or rather in Missourah country), we have a ver-SAILS, MAH-l'n (Milan), New MAD-rid (Madrid), BALL-ah-ver (Bolivar), and La PLATE-ah (La Plata). :)

neltnerb 5y ago

This reminds me of the story of the town of Versailles, Indiana. It was common knowledge nearby that anyone who came in and pronounced it "ver-sai" was from out of town. Because everyone living there called it "ver-sails". I use this as an example of how if anyone gets to decide how something is pronounced, it's the people who live there. The city is simply called "ver-sails" and that's all there is to it. It is not "wrong", anymore than pronouncing it as you likely say "karate" is not more wrong than "ka-ra-te" (the japanese pronunciation) or that the japanese prounciation of the english word "sweater" being "su-we-ta" is wrong. Borrowed word pronunciation is entirely up to the user.

Radim 5y ago
And also of "Socrates", an American Quake 3 player who insisted on the "soh-crates" pronunciation :-) I also love the double mind-fuck of "karaoke": EN: pronounced "owe-kee" JP: "oh-keh"! EN: but "oke" comes from the English "orchestra" (kara-oke = empty orchestra)… so really should be pronounced "or-keh"? Are we mispronouncing a Japanese mispronounciation of OUR OWN WORD?? (and then of course the Greeks chime in, OG)
- MereInterest 5y ago
  There's a apocryphal story about a translator at an anime convention being asked why he changed a name in the English dub, using an L sound, where the name in Japanese used an R sound. The translator's response was a very flat "Because 'Alucard' is 'Dracula' spelled backwards."
soperj 5y ago
> This reminds me of the story of the town of Versailles, Indiana. Detroit would be the same way if it wasn't such a big city. Easier to see when you add back the accent, Détroit.
- myself248 5y ago
  Oh, DEE-troit is just the beginning. Other notables include the home of Milan Dragway, pronounced MYL-in, or Lake Orion, pronounced OR-ee-yin.
- b3morales 5y ago
  Versailles, France, is much more well-known than Le Détroit, France, though. (In the U.S.)
  - frosted-flakes 5y ago
    I don't know if it's the city that's well-known so much as the Treaty of Versailles.
s3cur3 5y ago
Here in Missouri (or rather in Missourah country), we have a ver-SAILS, MAH-l'n (Milan), New MAD-rid (Madrid), BALL-ah-ver (Bolivar), and La PLATE-ah (La Plata). :)