Re:Pronouncing non-English names for English speakers
by SamBam on Monday July 26, 2021 @10:31AM
(#27959814)
The sounds may be easy to pronounce. The people may just not be devoting the attention to remember it. They've been told it's "Isabeya," say, but they just keep forgetting it's not "Isabella."
I would treat this as similar to forgetting someone's name. Yes, plenty of people have a "terrible memory for names," but at the end of the day it's a matter of respect. If you really care -- if it's someone who's becoming a friend, if it's someone you ought to know for your job, if it's someone who's been introduced to you five times -- it's on you to remember the name, unless you have a genuine neurological condition.
And after failing to do it right after instructions, it is the other people who are arrogant for asking to use something they are able to pronounce, not you for insisting on making them uncomfortable?
Names are just sounds people make when they want someones attention. Respect goes two ways.