The Quizbowl Resource Center

I'll edit this as more comes up:


Charlie Dees is "DEES" (like "fleece,") not "DEEZ" (like "BEEEEEEES!")
Bryce Durgin is "Dur-ghin," not "DURJ-in" (IPA "ɡ", not "dʒ")
Shantanu Jha is "SHAWN-tha-noo," not "Shawn-TAN-noo"
Jonathan Magin is "MAA-gin," (like "wagon" or "Maggin") not "MAY-gin"
Trygve Meade is "Trig V. Meed"
Evan Nagler is "Naagler" (like "nag," then "ler")
Naren Tallapretc. is "Nuh-RAIN," not "NEH-ren"
Guy Tabachnick is "GAI" (like "some guy")

My name's actually Danish and is pronounced [ɣuy] (if anyone can represent that better than "khoo-uh", good for you, because I can't).

My name's actually Danish and is pronounced [ɣuy] (if anyone can represent that better than "khoo-uh", good for you, because I can't).

What? I don't speak linguistic.

DumbJaques wrote:

My name's actually Danish and is pronounced [ɣuy] (if anyone can represent that better than "khoo-uh", good for you, because I can't).

What? I don't speak linguistic.

My name's actually Danish and is pronounced "khoo-uh".

Jonathan Magin's last name is actually pronounced "ma" (like "mama") and "gin" (like the drink).

Well, not exactly. It rhymes with "wagon" and "dragon"; that's the best way to pronounce it.

magin wrote:Well, not exactly. It rhymes with "wagon" and "dragon"; that's the best way to pronounce it.

Damnit Mags stop combatting my attempts to further the mispronunciation of your name.

magin wrote:Well, not exactly. It rhymes with "wagon" and "dragon"; that's the best way to pronounce it.

A relative of yours?

Mine's probably not too different from how you'd think: "Trigg-vee".

My last name has a hard "G", so the second syllable is NOT like the drink. Srsly, no-one pronounces it right the first time.

My name, like Jonathan Magin's, does not have a long a; Nag (rhymes with hag) - ler (same pronounciation as Lrrr, Ruler of Omicron Persei 8).

metsfan001 wrote:

DumbJaques wrote:

My name's actually Danish and is pronounced [ɣuy] (if anyone can represent that better than "khoo-uh", good for you, because I can't).

What? I don't speak linguistic.

My name's actually Danish and is pronounced "khoo-uh".

Guy, ɣ isn't a kh, it's a devoiced kh. And kh is a bad representation of x anyway.
But anyway, when introducing yourself, are you:

"gai" Tabachnick, as in "that Tabachnick guy,"
"gi" Tabachnick, as in the first syllable of the redneck "GEE-tar,"
"ɣuy" Tabachnick, as in a rough hh, then a pure oo, then a French u as in "reçu" or "brûlée"? Said fast, this almost turns into Hwi for me.


By the way, this thread started when I found out my friend James Antony (AANtony, as in, ...and Cleopatra) has secretly been James Antony (aanTOni, as in, Antonioni without the last syllable) and just doesn't correct people who get it wrong.

cornfused wrote:

metsfan001 wrote:My name's actually Danish and is pronounced "khoo-uh".

Guy, ɣ isn't a kh, it's a devoiced kh. And kh is a bad representation of x anyway.

What, you think I was just throwing out random symbols? I know exactly what it is.

But anyway, when introducing yourself, are you:

"gai" Tabachnick, as in "that Tabachnick guy,"

That one.

I've never heard it pronounced wrong by anybody outside of Alabama, but, FWIW, my last name is pronounced "knolls." Like the grassy kind, or like Beyonce/Solange.

Tallapretc.

Why do we need this thread?

Deesy Does It wrote:Why do we need this thread?

Because everyone pronounces my name wrong! [:whine:]

I find it hilarious that on a thread dedicated to proper pronunciation of names, my last name was truncated to Tallapretc. Not that I don't think that's clever...

Aside on an odd thread (I'm with Charlie on this one...): Do people have an absolute right to have their name pronounced in any way they want to? The reason I ask this is not because I am a jerk who wants to tell other people how they should pronounce their own names, but because I have had a couple of weird run-ins with this concept:

1. A girl named Jennifer insisted her name be pronounced Je-nigh-ah-fer. My simple answer to her: No.
2. I've encountered several people who have German names, are third generation here, and still pronounce their name in a way unacceptable to Germans AND in a way that makes NO sense to an American. My favorite example is a woman called Schenk who insisted on being called "Skank." Not even kidding...

pblessman wrote:My favorite example is a woman called Schenk who insisted on being called "Skank." Not even kidding...

Maybe she was trying to tell you something beyond the pronunciation of her name...

pblessman wrote:Do people have an absolute right to have their name pronounced in any way they want to?

Krzyzewski.

Need I say more?

As long as we're insisting on correctness, my name is pronounced "Shan-tha-noo". But honestly, Shmoo, Shmooey, Shnu, or any variations on the preceding, work just fine. Whore of Babylon (WoB) also works.

so Koouh, why is your first name harder to pronounce than your last?

and mine is something to the effect of

[Kviiiiinte] [karrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr]

Unfortunately I've run into plenty of people (not necessarily in the QB world) who attempt to pronounce my last name as listed below. In order of increasing annoyance:

SOW-thurd (which I tolerate)
Southern (close but not quite)
Southland (you're starting to add/substitute letters)
Southerland (Fail!)

Actually correct: SUH-thurd (or: pronounce "southern" but substitute "d" for "n")

~T~

Sollosi. Soh - loh - see. Rhymes with Bela Lugosi. Does NOT rhyme with Haile Selassie.

pblessman wrote:Do people have an absolute right to have their name pronounced in any way they want to?

Sure, unless it entails a clear and present danger – /Skank/ v. US.

Mitu [me-two] Ramgopal [Rahm-go-paul]

wowitsquinthaha wrote:so Koouh,

That IS annoying, Guy. Kh looks like it would be a K, but X confuses with the X in "Xhosa." There needs to be some better English for the IPA "x"...

closesesame wrote:I find it hilarious that on a thread dedicated to proper pronunciation of names, my last name was truncated to Tallapretc. Not that I don't think that's clever...

Naren, it's an oddball thread that I started on a whim... and anyway, tall-a-pret-CET-er-a is just plain fun to say.

mcn46 wrote:

pblessman wrote:Do people have an absolute right to have their name pronounced in any way they want to?

Sure, unless it entails a clear and present danger – /Skank/ v. US.

Kudos.

[Er-ic] [MOO-cur-jii]

eh vihn aaaaa dums

ToStrikeInfinitely wrote:[Er-ic] [MOO-cur-jii]

I've been saying MUCK-er-jii.

cornfused wrote:I've been saying MUCK-er-jii.

Yeah that's a common thing. I've also heard Muk-hair-jee, mulaharjee, makerjee...

I originally pronouced it like "mu-KAIR-jii". I HAVE NOW SEEN THE LIGHT

A running joke during UCLA's 2004 CBI play was for captain Steve Kaplan to pronounce Charles Meigs' last name as MvGS, where v represents any vowel sound. This led to entertaining Roll Calls where Steve would try to hand Charles' name card to players such as "Mowgs" and "Moogs".

Not that most people in the community have trouble with it, but while we're on the topic:

My first name is one syllable. No De-white or Du-white or Dwi-git or Dwi-jit (the acceptability of some of these pronunciations is highly variable depending on who you are and how long I've had to get used to you mispronouncing my name).

Various ways to pronounce my last name:
"Win" (the right way, and the way most reasonable people pronounce it)
"Whine" (wrong, but a reasonable assumption for people who know people with first name "Wynne")
"Whiny" (only terrible people do this)
"Wayne" (I have no intention of ever becoming Batman)

The "authentic" way to say my name is pronouncing da / i (short i) / chi as distinct, separate sounds, without stressing any of them. Since that sounds pretty weird in normal conversation, I choose to have the middle i stressed (as in ee), but it's pretty much arbitrary, so I don't really care. Actually, DA / i / chi is closer, but it's too late to change, and again it's not important to me. I care a lot more that my name is spelled right. I've seen Diachi so many times and it's irritating.

Dwijit?

HAD-dad with short A's like in the words "had" and "dad" (except Meigs can call me Had-DAD with a hard H).

And then Fonda just like Jane and Henry (who are 17 and 16 leaps of the family tree away from me, respectively).

uhh-row-nee not aw-row-nee

Saiem (rhymes with time) Gilani (Gill-Ah-Nee)

My favorite player name pronunciation is John Lesieutre = luh-SEERT. No joke.

I've noticed a that bunch of quizbowlers aren't familiar with the concept that first name is all that's required when there is familiarity between parties and no one else with the same first name around.

As written several times at HSNCT/PACE/PAC, but always ignored, "J'oe" in "J'oe Wells" is pronounced "jah-oh". No one says it.

theMoMA wrote:I've noticed a that bunch of quizbowlers aren't familiar with the concept that first name is all that's required when there is familiarity between parties and no one else with the same first name around.

But Andrew Hart, last names are fun!

Lee Hen-ree.

You would actually be surprised at how many people try to make "Henry" three syllables. I have had DOZENS of people even misspell it as "Henery."

quizbowllee wrote:Lee Hen-ree.

You would actually be surprised at how many people try to make "Henry" three syllables. I have had DOZENS of people even misspell it as "Henery."

You mean like in the song?
Hear it here.

theMoMA wrote:I've noticed a that bunch of quizbowlers aren't familiar with the concept that first name is all that's required when there is familiarity between parties and no one else with the same first name around.

I was on the same team as another Mike for essentially all of high school and half of college. My last name IS my first name.

Marisol [rhymes with "parasol"]

Brady [BRAY-dee]


Both butchered at HSNCT this year.

Goff. Hard G, short o.

It's not that hard, yet some people want to use a short G.

And no, my first name is not Geoff.