how much say do you have in pronouncing your name or town?

[Georgia Avenue]

I have a weird name, and so have thought about it a little...

My name begins with a "Hey" ...which looks like hay (which is for horses) But it comes from the German "Hei" so it's pronounced Hi (how ya doin?)...SO really, I say it wrong. It has a Y so it should be pronounced more normally. Really it's actually spelled wrong, but again that's my Dutch-Jewish ancestor's fault for trying to be different...

I hear Hay a lot. My policy:

1. Phone solicitors, tellers, clerks, my boss: I don't correct. Let em be "wrong"...it don't matter

2. Teachers, co-workers, bartenders, other acquaintances: ONE correction. If they persist, let it go. Not their problem.

3. Friends, chicks, hookers: correct once…more if necessary, get slightly annoyed if chronic…

In conclusion, names, like all words, have only suggested pronunciations. The standard is determined by the culture at large, NOT by the individuals or groups closest to the words. This can change, and be odd.
Sorry: JAPAN, FARVRUH, PARIS (TX), KANT, NUKELEER, DAYCARTE, oDISSe-us, PRINCE…

Good Work: Beijing, Missourah, Dem-EE, Conan O’Brien, Vagner, Socrates…

And if Steely Dan says: OragON, then so do I! [img]/images/graemlins/tongue.gif[/img]


Personal Greetings in this Holiday Time

--GA