4 ms·

I think there’s a paragraph or two of context missing in the original post. It’s just not reasonable to expect an uncommon name to be pronounced correctly. My

I think there’s a paragraph or two of context missing in the original post. It’s just not reasonable to expect an uncommon name to be pronounced correctly. My last name is Lund-Molfese. The first part is Swedish, the second part Italian. It’s utterly impossible to know how to say it without asking me, and my response when people ask if they’ve got it right is usually “sure that’s fine,” because it’s not a good use of anyone’s time (in the workplace) to coach everyone I meet on the pronunciation of my name. Professionally, I go by my initials now, to avoid the need for others to speak my last name entirely. All that being said, I wonder if the author is talking about nicknames like “Jackie” instead of “Jacqueline.” They don’t specify, but deliberately choosing a nickname without asking (or even asking, honestly) is obviously offensive and not appropriate in a professional setting. It is fine to mispronounce names, but you should make a good-faith effort to replicate whatever nomenclature someone is introduced with.

behnamoh 4y ago
Correct pronunciation is more difficult than correct spelling. When people also consistently misspell your name despite knowing the correct version, you'd start to find it irritating.
- jlund-molfese 4y ago
  You’d be surprised! I have a friend named Jorden; it’s not a very common first name here. Recruiters and coworkers constantly misspell his name. Jordan is used frequently, and he’s even seen “Jordon”. They ever call him “Carter,” which is part of his last name. It’s just life, he doesn’t mind (as I don’t mind when my last name is misspelled) Why do you think people are deliberately misspelling or mispronouncing your name? Isn’t it much more likely that they’re making mistakes because they subconsciously assume letters go in a certain order in English? Have you tried bringing it up when you see these typos? They’ll most likely apologize and be embarrassed, but won’t argue with you. You’re assuming they know the correct version of your name, but most people don’t actually read letter by letter if they’re sending out hundreds of emails a day. People read words, not letters. “Benham” and “Bentham” are English names, and the reader is subconsciously looking for something they’re familiar with
  - behnamoh 4y ago
    You're right, and maybe I should correct the article to avoid making that assumption. In my case, I have corrected people in the past but they keep making the same mistake. It doesn't bother me because I agree with you that some order of letters are more common in English. It is just frustrating to have to correct people every single time.

behnamoh 4y ago

Correct pronunciation is more difficult than correct spelling. When people also consistently misspell your name despite knowing the correct version, you'd start to find it irritating.

jlund-molfese 4y ago
You’d be surprised! I have a friend named Jorden; it’s not a very common first name here. Recruiters and coworkers constantly misspell his name. Jordan is used frequently, and he’s even seen “Jordon”. They ever call him “Carter,” which is part of his last name. It’s just life, he doesn’t mind (as I don’t mind when my last name is misspelled) Why do you think people are deliberately misspelling or mispronouncing your name? Isn’t it much more likely that they’re making mistakes because they subconsciously assume letters go in a certain order in English? Have you tried bringing it up when you see these typos? They’ll most likely apologize and be embarrassed, but won’t argue with you. You’re assuming they know the correct version of your name, but most people don’t actually read letter by letter if they’re sending out hundreds of emails a day. People read words, not letters. “Benham” and “Bentham” are English names, and the reader is subconsciously looking for something they’re familiar with
- behnamoh 4y ago
  You're right, and maybe I should correct the article to avoid making that assumption. In my case, I have corrected people in the past but they keep making the same mistake. It doesn't bother me because I agree with you that some order of letters are more common in English. It is just frustrating to have to correct people every single time.