New Post
Search
Help[Opinions] pronunciation + Elvis
How do you think a child named Elvis would be received?
Are there any names which you originally mispronounced, only to find that on learning the actual pronunciation you prefer yours? Do you think it would be possible to use an unconventional pronunciation, or would it be too much trouble to constantly correct people?
e.g. I really like
Briseis prn BRI-sees
Natalia prn na-ta-LEE-uh
the spelling Adrienne prn AY-dree-ahn (but I don't like the spelling Adrianne as much)
Berenice prn BEH-ruh-nees
Cheyenne - I quite like the shie-ANN prn, but I also quite like chay-EN
Amaury prn uh-MOR-ee
Constantin - kon-STAN-tin
Also there is a boy at the school I am working with. Some teachers call him Mikhail, prn mee-KIEL and other teachers say something more like nee-HAL. At first I thought they were talking to a different child! He apparently responds to both. Can anyone shed any light?
Are there any names which you originally mispronounced, only to find that on learning the actual pronunciation you prefer yours? Do you think it would be possible to use an unconventional pronunciation, or would it be too much trouble to constantly correct people?
e.g. I really like
Briseis prn BRI-sees
Natalia prn na-ta-LEE-uh
the spelling Adrienne prn AY-dree-ahn (but I don't like the spelling Adrianne as much)
Berenice prn BEH-ruh-nees
Cheyenne - I quite like the shie-ANN prn, but I also quite like chay-EN
Amaury prn uh-MOR-ee
Constantin - kon-STAN-tin
Also there is a boy at the school I am working with. Some teachers call him Mikhail, prn mee-KIEL and other teachers say something more like nee-HAL. At first I thought they were talking to a different child! He apparently responds to both. Can anyone shed any light?
Archived Thread - replies disabled
1
Replies
If I met an Elvis I'd just assume his parents were fans. It's not so bad.
I always thought Berenice was beh-reh-NEES, which it is, in French. The English pronunciation on here seems very odd to me. And I thought Lalage, which I've only ever seen in pre-war novels, was la LAHZH, and Amyas was am EYE as.
My sister dated a Mikhail and it was pronounced mi ka ILL. Your second pronunciation sounds more like Irish Mícheál - maybe someone's confused?
I always thought Berenice was beh-reh-NEES, which it is, in French. The English pronunciation on here seems very odd to me. And I thought Lalage, which I've only ever seen in pre-war novels, was la LAHZH, and Amyas was am EYE as.
My sister dated a Mikhail and it was pronounced mi ka ILL. Your second pronunciation sounds more like Irish Mícheál - maybe someone's confused?
This message was edited 6/14/2015, 4:49 PM
1
I know an adult Elvis, well, he goes to my parents' church. He is African, possibly Ghanaian, I'm not sure. I presume his parents were fans, I don't know. I know my parents found his name amusing at first. I think in a multi-ethnic area with lots of unusual names, something like Elvis probably doesn't stand out as much as some other names would.
1
I definitely think there would be lots of comments about a kid being named Elvis. Maybe not necessarily bad ones, but it would just be surprising to hear and people would take note.
And yes! This happened with Emil. I discovered it when I was a kid, looking for names for characters. I loved it and pronounced it EM-ul, like Emily but without the ee. Years later, I find out that's wrong. Pssh. I have since been told, at least, that my pronunciation is legitimate in a few languages/places.
And yes! This happened with Emil. I discovered it when I was a kid, looking for names for characters. I loved it and pronounced it EM-ul, like Emily but without the ee. Years later, I find out that's wrong. Pssh. I have since been told, at least, that my pronunciation is legitimate in a few languages/places.
1
In Swedish Emil sounds more like EY-mil.
1
Elvis...I don't know. I'm pretty sure Elvis Presley is still relevant enough that most kids can make a connection, and even if they don't, they'd probably make a connection to elves. Which doesn't need to be a bad thing, but you never know. I don't care much for Elvis as a first name, but I think it could make an interesting middle.
I thought Giles was pronounced with a hard G for the longest time. I still like that much better than JIELZ.
I always pronounced Mikhail as mee-KALE. I'm really not sure how right or wrong that is...
I thought Giles was pronounced with a hard G for the longest time. I still like that much better than JIELZ.
I always pronounced Mikhail as mee-KALE. I'm really not sure how right or wrong that is...
1
Chalcedony- I always pronounce it CHAL-si-DO-nee, instead of chal-SED-a-nee. I don't know which I prefer. I also pronounced Levi as LEV-ee instead of LEE-vye, and Eli as EH-lee instead of EE-lye. I much prefer my pronounciations! I also always pronounce 'j' silently, by accident, and 'i' like 'ee', so I originally would have tried to pronounce Camilla as cam-EE-la.
As for Elvis... I would be shocked.
As for Elvis... I would be shocked.
This message was edited 6/13/2015, 10:44 AM
1
For what it's worth, the Hebrew name Eli is pronounce "EH-lee"
1
Is it? Haha, I'll tell my sister! I am victorious.
1
When my little brother was born, there was a mother of twins at the birthing centre. The twins were boys and they were called Elvis and Christian.
"My husband decided that one son would be called Elvis," she said. "He's a big Elvis fan."
I wouldn't suspect anything else. I think it's very rare to choose the name Elvis simply because you like the name.
BTW, Swedish author Maria Gripe (1923 - 2007) wrote a series of much-loved books about a boy called Elvis Karlsson.
Funny that you asked about mispronounced names, because I've wanted to ask just the same thing!
I used to pronounce:
Sorcha - SORE-cha instead of SAWR-ə-khə
Saoirse - SHORE-sa instead of SEER-sha. I thought it was an Irish form of Georgia, because I mixed it up with Seoirse.
Remedios - re-me-DEE-os instead of re-ME-dyos.
I actually stopped liking these names when I found out the correct pronounciations!
I think Mikhail is pronounced mi-CHYLE or mi-HILE (rhyming with "while").
Oh, some other names I have mispronounced:
When I first saw the name Imogen (I read that Andrew Lloyd Webber has a daughter with this name), I was about twelve, didn't know much English and thought "What the heck?" I first tried EYE-mo-ghen and then i-MO-shen. For many years I thought it was immo-GENE before I finally found out that it's pronounced IM-mo-jen.
I also pronounced Sinéad as SIN-ned and Siobhan as SUE-an. Until just recently I thought that Oenone was O-en-one (as if saying "O.N. One") and Mnemosyne MNEM-o-syne.
"My husband decided that one son would be called Elvis," she said. "He's a big Elvis fan."
I wouldn't suspect anything else. I think it's very rare to choose the name Elvis simply because you like the name.
BTW, Swedish author Maria Gripe (1923 - 2007) wrote a series of much-loved books about a boy called Elvis Karlsson.
Funny that you asked about mispronounced names, because I've wanted to ask just the same thing!
I used to pronounce:
Sorcha - SORE-cha instead of SAWR-ə-khə
Saoirse - SHORE-sa instead of SEER-sha. I thought it was an Irish form of Georgia, because I mixed it up with Seoirse.
Remedios - re-me-DEE-os instead of re-ME-dyos.
I actually stopped liking these names when I found out the correct pronounciations!
I think Mikhail is pronounced mi-CHYLE or mi-HILE (rhyming with "while").
Oh, some other names I have mispronounced:
When I first saw the name Imogen (I read that Andrew Lloyd Webber has a daughter with this name), I was about twelve, didn't know much English and thought "What the heck?" I first tried EYE-mo-ghen and then i-MO-shen. For many years I thought it was immo-GENE before I finally found out that it's pronounced IM-mo-jen.
I also pronounced Sinéad as SIN-ned and Siobhan as SUE-an. Until just recently I thought that Oenone was O-en-one (as if saying "O.N. One") and Mnemosyne MNEM-o-syne.
This message was edited 6/13/2015, 10:51 AM
1