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Why it's so hard to pronounce Kamala [video]

3 points by Kye 2y ago

yawpitch 2y ago
Isn’t simplest rule of thumb to just ask the person whose name it is?
- Kye 2y ago
  It is, but it's also interesting to learn how pronunciations diverge so much.
  - yawpitch 2y ago
    Sure. Which you should happily delve into after you’ve asked the person with the name and consistently been able to pronounce it in public.
    - Kye 2y ago
      Okay. Not sure what this has to do with the submitted video though. The topical bit is mainly a springboard into discussion of differences in pronunciation by a linguist.
- ZeroGravitas 2y ago
  Yes, but as the video explains, people from different countries may struggle to hear and produce certain sounds even when trying to do exactly that in good faith.
  - yawpitch 2y ago
    As an English-speaking person who has had to try to say the Danish word “hygge” several thousand times and never once correctly, I’m sensitive to that fact… however most of the people I hear (very often intentionally) mispronouncing her name all speak English as their first language and all can hear both “comma” and “la” (as in do re mi fa so la) just fine. If you’re Indian her name is easy. If your native language is English, it’s easy. If you’re a Trump supporter, you trip over it somehow and then pretend you’re deaf (usually while also pretending you’re colorblind).
    - Kye 2y ago
      I had trouble with the pronunciation. I wouldn't throw Trump in a septic tank to put him out if he were on fire. The world is bigger than stereotypes and worst assumptions. Trumpers and adjacent gremlins aren't the only people vulnerable to mind-narrowing beliefs.
      - yawpitch 2y ago
        The problem, in this case, is that there’s a group of people intentionally mispronouncing the second black (de facto) nominee’s name, and that this is precisely the same group that, again intentionally, mispronounced the only first black nominee’s name… in this case said group also backs the candidate that both intentionally mispronounced both names and also implied both nominees were illegitimate because of their “exotic” names. The correct pronunciation of both names is, and always was, trivial to a native-English speaker. Both candidates repeat their names a lot and so everyone could eliminate whatever confusion they initially have by going, again trivially, to the primary source. I’m happy for everyone to be interested in the ways that the written name could be pronounced, but the answer to the question “why [is it] so hard to pronounce Kamala” is “it isn’t, unless you want it to be”. BTW, I never said you were a Trump supporter, I merely pointed out that Trump supporters are the main occupants of the Venn diagram overlap between native English speakers and people who continue to experience trouble pronouncing her name once they’ve heard it correctly pronounced once.
        deleted 2y ago
        [deleted]

3 points by Kye 2y ago

yawpitch 2y ago

Isn’t simplest rule of thumb to just ask the person whose name it is?

Kye 2y ago
It is, but it's also interesting to learn how pronunciations diverge so much.
- yawpitch 2y ago
  Sure. Which you should happily delve into after you’ve asked the person with the name and consistently been able to pronounce it in public.
  - Kye 2y ago
    Okay. Not sure what this has to do with the submitted video though. The topical bit is mainly a springboard into discussion of differences in pronunciation by a linguist.
ZeroGravitas 2y ago
Yes, but as the video explains, people from different countries may struggle to hear and produce certain sounds even when trying to do exactly that in good faith.
- yawpitch 2y ago
  As an English-speaking person who has had to try to say the Danish word “hygge” several thousand times and never once correctly, I’m sensitive to that fact… however most of the people I hear (very often intentionally) mispronouncing her name all speak English as their first language and all can hear both “comma” and “la” (as in do re mi fa so la) just fine. If you’re Indian her name is easy. If your native language is English, it’s easy. If you’re a Trump supporter, you trip over it somehow and then pretend you’re deaf (usually while also pretending you’re colorblind).
  - Kye 2y ago
    I had trouble with the pronunciation. I wouldn't throw Trump in a septic tank to put him out if he were on fire. The world is bigger than stereotypes and worst assumptions. Trumpers and adjacent gremlins aren't the only people vulnerable to mind-narrowing beliefs.
    - yawpitch 2y ago
      The problem, in this case, is that there’s a group of people intentionally mispronouncing the second black (de facto) nominee’s name, and that this is precisely the same group that, again intentionally, mispronounced the only first black nominee’s name… in this case said group also backs the candidate that both intentionally mispronounced both names and also implied both nominees were illegitimate because of their “exotic” names. The correct pronunciation of both names is, and always was, trivial to a native-English speaker. Both candidates repeat their names a lot and so everyone could eliminate whatever confusion they initially have by going, again trivially, to the primary source. I’m happy for everyone to be interested in the ways that the written name could be pronounced, but the answer to the question “why [is it] so hard to pronounce Kamala” is “it isn’t, unless you want it to be”. BTW, I never said you were a Trump supporter, I merely pointed out that Trump supporters are the main occupants of the Venn diagram overlap between native English speakers and people who continue to experience trouble pronouncing her name once they’ve heard it correctly pronounced once.
      - deleted 2y ago
        [deleted]