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[Facts] French names with accent marks....would you still use it if....
you aren't French?
I really like the French name Amélie (a-may-lee), but was told I shouldn't use it if I'm not French (but I'm part French lol) making it Amelie (which looks like it has less pizazz IMO). Would you *personally* still use Amélie with the accent mark if you're not fully French/living in France?
ѕαяαн єℓιzαвєтн
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No, it`ll make you sound pompous as well as perpetuating the stereotype of the popmpous French person. Exactly how French are you?
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You can certainly do this if you want. However, you will have to put up with the fact that the accent mark will simply be ignored most of the time in the United States. There are still a lot of official records in the US which don't even have the capacity to include them. You will note that they are never found in the SSA lists, for instance. And sometimes they are replaced by an apostrophe (Ame'lie) because that's the closest people can get to printing one given the fonts available to them.
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I think this is what SugarPlumFairy said below, but I would use the accents only if I were planning on pronouncing it in a way that was the best approximation of how it would be said in French. So with Amelie, that means saying it ah-meh-LEE, otherwise, leave off the accent. It's there to tell you how it sounds. For something more neutral, like Adèle (which is my name) that is going to be said the same without the accent... I'm not 100% on my opinion but I'd leave it off. My family is French, so it made sense, but I'd think it strange in an English speaking family in an English community.
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Yes, absolutely!In French, accents determine how the name is pronouced. If I were to use a French (or Italian/Bulgarian/Japanese/etc.) name, I'd make sure I spelt it the original way. Amelie (without the accent) is a perfectly legit name - only it's German, not French!And, btw, the pronunciation of Amélie is actually closer to [ah-meh-LEE]. The sound "é" doesn't exist in English, but it certainly doesn't sound like "ay" ;)
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completely agreeFrench: Amélie, pronounced ah-meh-LEE with the French 'é' sound
German: Amelie, pronounced AH-me-leeJust pick one ;)

This message was edited 8/9/2010, 4:47 AM

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This probably should be on the opinions board. You'd get a lot more feedback there, too.
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