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[Opinions] Pronunciation - Help or Hindrance?
For years I pronounced Solveig "Sole-VEEG" which I love. Then I learned the 'correct' pronunciation is closer to Sylvie. I don't like it so much now.
On the other hand, I hated Ceridwen because I pronounced it "Serry-dwen". Now I know it's 'correct' pronunciation is "Kerrid-when". I love that!Are there times when learning the 'correct' pronunciation of a name changed your opinion of it?
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I like Vera as veer-ah but not vehr-ah.

This message was edited 10/17/2019, 12:36 AM

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I used to think Dashiell was pronounced Dash-ull after watching The Incredibles, but then I learned it was actually pronounced Da-SHEEL and I'm not a fan.

This message was edited 10/16/2019, 11:27 AM

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I was under the impression that Dash-ull is the most common pronunciation. I know of several kids with the named who all pronounce it that way.
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I used to pronounce Deirdre as Dare-drey when I learned it's supposed to be Day-druh it really turned me off the name.
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I always hear it pronounced as Deer-druh
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I think it's actually keh-RID-wen, rather than KER-rid-wen ? (the way you have it written, it's not clear which syllable you are emphasizing). I thought it was KER-rid-wen for a long time, and was sad to find out it was ker-RID-wen, but then it grew on me and now I prefer the second syllable stress.I just now found out Elowen may be el-LO-en and I'm disappointed about that. Not that I really liked Elowen to begin with, but I think I like it less well with second syllable stress.
I used to not know how to say Agnetha ... to me it looked like agg-NEATH-uh, but then I read it is pronounced with the GN like in lasagna and t like in Theresa so it's ahn-YET-a, roughly, and that's pretty.
Same with Ottilie - always saw "oddily," then learned to read it as oh-TEAL-yuh and hated it less.
And Wilhelmina - a long time ago I read "will HELM in uh" but now I read WIL-el-MEE-na and like it much more.
Thought Gisele started with a Gh sound like give ... I much prefer it as zh.
I liked Briony when I thought it was said "BREE-ony," and disliked since hearing it's "Brian-y".
I would sort of like Ghislaine if it were said, as I have sometimes heard, "zhil-len". But apparently it's "ghee-len"? yuck
Liked Roland if the Rol- rhymed pol- in politics, but I know it's like bowl, and don't care for that.
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I like Genevieve pronounced the French way, not so much the English way.
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I value accuracy. Which means that I'm highly likely to check pronunciation and other things - language of origin, for one.I've always loved Eloise, though South Africans have always been rather bad at French so I wouldn't risk Heloise. It's probably a bit too frilly for me to consider as a fn, but it gave me a lot of pleasure one day, when my mother came home from work with a baffled smile. She had met a colleague from a different branch of the organisation she worked for, and this - perfectly pleasant, perfectly ordinary - person introduced herself as Hell-loys. Which left my Francophile mother with no choice but to use this extraordinary pronunciation as if it was as ordinary as Jane or Mary.

This message was edited 10/15/2019, 11:33 PM

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I'm not a native English speaker, and I used to dislike the names Abigail and Phoebe, because I thought they were pronounced "a-bi-jail" and "fobe" respectively. I like both names now.
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SolveigI thought Solveig was pronounced sol-vay in Sweden, and sol-vie (like "eye") in Norway? I happen to prefer the Swedish pronunciation, if that's the case.
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It depends on the region, but yes, sol-vay (mainly Sweden I think) and sol-vie (like eye) are the common pronunciations in Sweden and Norway. SOOL-vie (like eye still) is also a Norwegian pronunciation. I do know that some in Norway also say sol-vay as well, including my cousins. Not entirely sure about the other regions of Scandinavia. Solveig is my middle name! For simplicity in English and because of my Norwegian family members' pronunciation, I say sol-vay.
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Yes! Elowen. I used to hate it bc I thought it rhymed with "bellowing" or "yellowing", but then I learned the coreect prn. of El-O-en; I love it now! Now if only I was of Cornish ancestry...lol
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