Do You Say I Am Or My Name Is

I am a long-time professor, so calling roll in the first couple of meetings of a class is a rite of passage. I take pride in pronouncing my students' names correctly. I'm pretty good at figuring out the proper sounds as I read names representing various nationalities and ethnicities, and I estimate that I get the pronunciations right at least 95% of the time. I always do preface my roll call with a request that students correct my pronunciation if I don't get it right or tell me their preferred common moniker by which to be addressed.

I think it's important to remember that people can get exhausted trying to explain and it's not their job to teach you . For example, there was a kid in my high school who always sighed irritably when a substitute would start calling role. It was understandable though because substitutes would often stop at his name and just go blank. There were kids from lots of different racial, national, and cultural backgrounds in my school so substitutes would often go down the role saying the first or last name .

This student's last name was a challenge and his first was even harder for them. His family was Nigerian and his name was Igbo in origin. I went to school with him for six years and never once learned his first name because he had a nickname. He would tell the teachers his nickname but on more than one occasion they would keep pressing him ("oh, but I want to know how it's pronounced" etc.) It got really frustrating for him.

I think it's important to ask and important to make sure you're respecting the other person's wishes as well. After all, the point of asking is to make people feel accepted and respected and if you do it in a way that doesn't do that, it may be that you're doing it more for your own peace of mind. Once you have mastered the Spanish basics that make up the foundation of the language, it's natural to transition to the longer phrases that are the true backbone of day-to-day conversations. To continually advance your Spanish from the basic/beginner stage to an intermediate level, it helps to focus on key tactics that can accelerate your understanding of the Spanish language. Rosetta Stone makes that process feel natural. As a trusted language-learning software, Rosetta Stone has experience developing language programs that build confidence.

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This is a valuable article, and a good one to think about as the semester begins. I have many students with unusual-to-me names and I try very hard to get the pronunciation right. But I also want to note that I'm hearing impaired which comes with speech issues.

I sometimes cannot hear or produce the pronunciation correctly, which is frustrating. I have learned to make them, but I am sure this keeps me from saying some names as they ought to be said. As far as I can tell, my students have been understanding about this, and I am grateful for it. It's important to remember that teachers are fully human too — with disabilities and "unusual" names and backgrounds, too.

Do You Say I Am Or I M If you want to work on your French introductions, there's no better place to start than this great playlist on FluentU, which includes videos on how to introduce yourself and ask basic questions. If you make your way through the playlist, you'll have a chance to hear many of the basic French phrases we've just practiced, spoken by native French speakers. Plus, FluentU's interactive subtitle feature lets you read along with the dialogue and click on any unfamiliar words for instant access to a definition, pronunciation help and example sentences. They're deeply intertwined with our identity, and hold within their sounds a rich personal and cultural heritage.

Your name is who you are, and at the simplest level, the primary label by which you identify. After a while of having your name mispronounced, it's easy to normalize mispronunciations, especially for people of color. Research has shown that negating one's name can be detrimental to students' psychological well-being from an early age, causing anxiety, stress, embarrassment, and shame around their name. In effect, name mispronunciation is a microaggression, or a "tiny act of bigotry" as Jennifer Gonzalez defines it. It subtly otherizes already marginalized groups and feeds into a larger system of cultural insensitivity and erasure.

In essence, it's another message that you don't belong. The mispronunciations build, convincing us that our names, and the significance they carry, are not worthy. Insisting on having your name said correctly is an act of defiance against assimilation, a reclamation of one's own narrative and identity. Starting in second grade, my parents made the tremendous financial sacrifice to send me to a private, nearly all-white school for the rest of my elementary, primary, and secondary education.

I was one of only two black students in my cohort of sixty students, and the other black student had a nice normal name. I loved the school, thrived in it, and was graduated from it. But at least through eighth grade, it was the same story at the beginning of every class in every term.

During the teacher's roll call, there would be the inevitable pregnant pause, followed by the instructor's honest attempt to read my name, usually mangling it in the process. Most of my teachers quickly learned how to say and spell my name, while a few got by with tolerable mispronunciations that were "unique" to each of those teachers who still struggled with it. And my friends, who had already long since been able to say my name right, came up with convenient alternative nicknames with which I had no problem. Make an effort to hear how someone pronounces their name to other people, even if they just pronounced it for you.

If you're introducing someone on stage or in any public forum, write down a note for yourself on how to pronounce it correctly and practice it in private. If you find that you're introducing someone new in a public setting, ask them in advance — or ask someone who works with them — how to correctly pronounce their name. The memory of the first time I received a professional award will always be tainted by how the emcee butchered my name as they called me up on stage to receive it. I would've been delighted if she had clarified the pronunciation in the 10 minutes we were chatting before we went up on stage. I'm 56 and used to listening for the pause before others try to pronounce my name.

I am happy to volunteer my name before they make the attempt; I think it is polite and gracious to do so. I may have a unique opinion on the pronunciation of my name; each of my parents pronounced it differently. I am named for a great aunt, and my name is Najla. Growing up, my Lebanese father and my Lebanese friends who speak Arabic pronounced it Nuhj'la (like "nudge" without the 'd', with a 'la' at the end).

My mother and most all other family and friends called me Nahj'la, or just Naj . I repeat each name back to them, and then write the name phonetically on my roster. I always ask if the name has a special meaning, and tell them that mine means "beautiful eyes" in Arabic. They visibly relax when their names are pronounced correctly, and they have pride in their voices when they tell others of the special meaning of their names.

My personal beef is with my youngest daughter's name, Mikaëla. Most Americans use Makayla , blasting through that diphthong to make a three-syllable pronunciation. This is understandable, since English typically does not split diphthongs; hence the use of the umlaut over the e to prompt a four-syllable pronunciation.

This is how it is done in French and Spanish . It is very difficult to get teachers and parents to say it correctly however, though classmates usually pick it up instantly. To learn better is an unreasonable call on their time and energy. My name is rarely mispronounced (though when I started teaching in Latin America, I got called "Miss B" instead of "Miss V" on a regular basis), but my first name would get misspelled all the time. I remember teachers adding an H to my name even when they were copying directly off of an attendance list. It made me feel like they were too lazy to care about my name.

Now whenever I have students whose names could have multiple spellings (or it's not a name I'm used to), I always double-check with them. I have a name that is easily to pronounce, but everybody pronounce it differently. As it is common in English language they pronounce as they used to, but to be truthful, it is not how my mother family are calling me since I was born. So when you have universal name, it is hard to correct people. I don't mind it really how they call me, but I do mind they don't even ask me is that correct. They just assume all world say it the same, and I refuse to believe they are ignorant to don't know it is not the true.

For surnames I understand and don't expect they will remember even if they try, I know it is hard. But it is great feeling when someone makes an effort. When I worked for the Open University in London, we spent a lot of time phoning students before the degree ceremony to make sure we pronounced their names right. London, of course, has a population of all nationalities.

I was on jury service once, the old-fashioned judge just would not get the defence counsel's African surname right, though it was quite phonetic. Luckily I have a "feel" for language, but I do know people who just can't remember pronunciation (the "bumblers"). But others seem to think that having a name that doesn't sound typically English is pretentious! I believe that everyone can learn to pronounce everyone else's name correctly, and that making the effort is the first sign of respect.

I don't think they intend either of those messages, but the message gets across anyway. As a long-time teacher, I never allow a student to shorten his/her name or allow it to be mispronounced, unless they actually PREFER to be "Chuck" rather than Chukwenyere, for example. I do not allow other students to mutter a name, stumble and then say "whatever." I let the person named drill us with the actual pronunciation. For me, I ask again as many times as it takes me, and write my own version of the IPA symbols in my record book so hopefully I can do it right the rest of the term. This, to me, is not harder than learning to pronounce the long Latinate medical terms, or the names of Egyptian gods or manga/anime authors.

Though I understand what you're saying and there is definitely truth to it I've always taken a different viewpoint on this issue. I'm a white German girl who's hippie parents gave her an unusual hawaiian name that no one can pronounce or spell. Though it was hard as a child when I grew older my opinion changed. The definition of politeness is making those around you comfortable so I simply shortened my name to something that was easy for everyone. It's just as awkward for the other person trying to say your name so just let it go and don't hold onto your indignation so strongly.

My father's name is Bryan, when we lived in Mexico he went by his second name David because it was easier for the people there to pronounce. Step off your high horse once in a while and just make it easier for others…your family and friends will still always get it right and that's what really matters. Ask the person to pronounce it — and actively listen. Rather than try to say a name you're unfamiliar with, ask the person how to pronounce it. It's awkward and embarrassing when people try to "soldier on" with my name and spend more time trying to correct themselves afterwards. Listen carefully to where the person puts emphasis, and where the inflections are.

If you know you will interact with them often, make a note on how to phonetically pronounce their name . Make an effort to listen intently and ask if you're saying it correctly; I've pronounced my name correctly multiple times for people, only to have them commit to memory a mispronounced version of it. If you still struggle, there are also a number of websites that have sprung up to help people pronounce names correctly. Common German Phrases and Words for your Travels You are planning your next trip to Germany and want to know the most important German phrases and words?

Or you want to impress your colleague or family with your German skills? Here you will learn the German basics such as how to say hello or goodbye in German, but also the German numbers, the difference between formal and informal speech, and other important German basics. Watch the video first, listen to the correct German pronunciation with the audio recordings, and then don't miss out on doing some speaking exercises to practice German for free. I've been teaching for only two years and am certain that I've messed up my students names more than once. Most of my students are from a rural Hispanic area and I often find their names very difficult to pronounce.

Knowing now what I learned in this broadcast I'll make every effort to speak their names correctly every time. Thank you for highlighting the significance of this topic. On the first day of class, you could ask students to introduce themselves and then repeat their names to ensure you pronounced them correctly.

This could be where the "writing them down" thing comes in. So instead of starting class with the classic calling of roll and assigning of seats, we left instructions for each of our students with names on them on the desks. Students found their names and got to work, and meanwhile, we were able to go from student to student, asking them what their name was and what they liked to be called. The first people to say each of their names were the children themselves, and it was never mispronounced aloud to the class. At that point, I would make a note of their name phonetically, introduce myself, and shake their hand (because I'm old school and dorky like that). We did this no matter how common or unique a student's name was.

We should also be talking about human speach limitations. Of course children will pick up the correct pronunciation of their classmate names. They are still in a fluid state of their language development. But as you get older, sounds become hard-wired in your brain, and not just in the pronunciation, but in the hearing. We can try it best, and that's the best we can promise… Your mother tong impose a limitation to what sounds you can reproduce.

By the way, the best way to ask me how I pronounce my name is not "How do you pronounce your name? " but rather "What is the correct pronunciation of your name? Instead, ask me how it is pronounced correctly and I will tell you. And you're SO RIGHT about the special connection between people who use each other's names correctly.

Although this article scolds those who don't make the effort, what I want to convey even more strongly is what a tremendous difference it makes when you DO make that effort. I think a lot of kids have just gotten used to having their names mispronounced…so it's pretty special when someone actually takes the trouble to get it right. I agree that there are far too many people who do not make an effort to pronounce names right, and that this is indeed frustrating and needlessly makes the person feel undervalued. These things make getting the pronunciation difficult.