Nobody can pronounce my American name!

Now, I get the real big chuckle out of Americans pronouncing my English surname of Sankey. I have been called Mrs. Stanley, Mrs. Stankey, Mrs. Swanky, Mrs. Spanky, and Mrs. Skanky!! The last one has me in stitches!

It's a tie between the Swanky, Spanky and Skanky, I mean there is a lot of possibility with each

I once worked with a woman with an unusual first name and an unpronounceable middle-European last name.  My son and his friends, who also worked for us, referred to her as "Vermicelli" for some reason.  Fortunately she never found out.

Hi,

I admit that sometimes I have trouble pronouncing names which are rarer to come across and/or from other countries and cultures. Whenever this happens, I do try as quickly as I can to ask the person if they'd very kindly help me know how to pronounce their name so that I don't get it wrong and cause them any offence etc. This is 99% of the time appreciated.

Travelling Frog - I'm also British born, Indian Punjabi and ever since I was 5 years old, I've been known as Dennis. I was the only brown kid at school up until I was around 11 years old as the area of the North West of England where we used to live I think had just 3 indian families there (up to around 1982) I do remember, teachers and other kids not knowing how to pronounce my Indian name and as I was very often sent to the headmasters office for being naughty in class, Dennis the Menace was often used!

I don't know if you've seen the old re-runs of Goodness Gracious Me that ran first in around 2000/2001, but after the initial show, everyone at work was creasing up the next day when I walked in and announced I was sorry for being late, was held up at the golf course!



A few people over the years have miss pronounced my first name and last name and also in a negative way adding comments uncalled for for which I've not risen to the bait as it were, but instead pulled them aside later and pointed things out. One such person just happened to be a college lecturer, and even after I corrected him in front of the class, he had the audacity to make other comments. I then made a deliberate miss pronounciation of his name and added a smart comment to point out just how ignorant he was and the class did laugh in front of him - that did the trick and he didn't do it again!

That all said, there's also the whole thing about other country and culture names that translate or convert to rude/funny names - both to English conversion and also from names English to other countries/languages and names!!

Cheers, DtM! West London & Slough UK!

I will admit to saying SAH-RUH when I see Sara and SAY-RUH when I see Sarah. It's just how it was and apparently still is in Britain.

Now, my name is pronounced and spelled all types of ways here in Texas. Dominic I thought was a simple enough name to pronounce but I've got people going "Domineek" and spelling it "Dominique" so I have guys who write my name down before meeting me in person imagining I'm some wonderfully sexy French girl and they get this wonderfully sexy English guy instead. (Alright. They only get an English guy. Major disappointment for some of them anyway!)

I've got people going "Domineek"

I can hear this....

"Hot dam! There's ol' mister Domineek. Get on in here son..."

The look on Richard Hammond's face in this is great, the way the camera operator refocuses...