30-Day Accent Challenge, Day 20

Today we talked about how to help Americans pronounce your name correctly.

Because your name may be unfamiliar to Americans, either in the sounds, the spelling, or both, it can be helpful to learn some ways to make the correct pronunciation clearer to an American.

Firstly, help your listener know where the syllables are in your name.  For example, if your name is Beate, say it slowly with the syllables clearly delineated:  Be- a -te

Next, make sure your listener understands the sounds in your name. So Beate might say: Bay -ah - tuh or show her listener the name spelled with the sounds in mind. Someone named Nguyen might say their name is like “new win.” Even though this is not exactly correct, it will help Americans approximate your name more accurately.

Lastly, you might try to pair your name with something more familiar to Americans.  In the video below, the actress Saoirse Ronan tells Stephen Colbert that her name sounds like “inertia.”  Not only does this help people say it correctly, it also will help them remember.  People might be able to imitate your name correctly when they hear you say it, and then later they will forget how it sounded. 

The video below is a humorous look at the Irish accent and pronouncing Irish names.