Discussion Groups / English Usage / January 2007

1.  Proper names in English are immune from
ordinary rules for the pronunciation of language.
Some proper names are pronounced in ways
that look eccentric to the foreigner.

2.  Without special knowledge, phonetic simplicity
seems obviously best, e.g. here like ash, ash-aw,
hav-i-sham (stressed on the first syllable, I short
as in the word IT):  Havisham is a well-known surname,
in Dickens's Great Expectations.)

Igor wrote:

(snipped)

Is your name enunciated ee-gore or i-gore?

Reminds me of an elderly history professor friend. Her name
is Iris, which most of us would enunciate, eye-ris. However,
she insists enunciation of her name is, ee-ris.

This is fun! Which language, dialect and accent?

My native tongue,

Asshe - Ahs-shey
Asshawe - Ahs-sha-weh
Havisham - Hav-eh-shamm (nasalized mm)

My Okie tongue,

Asshe - As-she
Asshawe - As-shaw
Havisham - Hav-is-ham

How would you enunciate those names?

My name, Okpulot Taha, I would love to hear your enunciation.

Enunciation is a direct function of micro-regional dialect
for any given language.

There is a passage in your story which strikes me as hilarious,

"Ben took his boy and went back to his cattle ranch in California...so when Ben
went away, he went as the prospective master of a ranch...."

* screams *

A master of a cattle ranch! Boy howdy! Goat ropers out in Ben's
bunkhouse would enjoy a sh.t kicking laugh about this!

Purl Gurl