I just had a sober realization. Some of you may not know how to pronounce my name (collective gasp). I was over at Tara's blog putting my vote in for her to use my name if her baby is a girl and realized that some of you out there in blogland might be mispronouncing my name as you read it. This troubled me so greatly that I felt the need to clear up any confusion IMMEDIATELY.
I'm not sure why it troubled me, because people have mispronounced my name all of my life. It is so common that many times I don't even correct the person. In fact, there was a lady at church who said my name wrong for YEARS before she realized her mistake. Another man has been mispronouncing it for just as long and still hasn't caught on. I always wonder if they don't NOTICE that everyone else says it differently???
Of course, my favorite mispronunciation memory (try saying that 10 times really fast) was on my first day of junior high when my name was listed on the roster as Alan. They forgot the "a" on the end and I had to explain to EVERY TEACHER for EVERY CLASS that I was not a girl named Alan. Yes siree, just the kind of nondescript entrance every girl wants for her first day of 7th grade. Good times. I'm not traumatized, either...not one bit.
But, I'm sure you can see why I might feel the need to clear up any misunderstanding here.
No?
Just humor me.
Are you ready?
(drumroll please)
My name is pronounced...
(uh-lay-nuh)
So, there you have it. Were you pronouncing it correctly in your head as you read it or no?
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
The Proper Pronunciation of My Name
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35 comments:
You are so funny! Let's hear it for the long-a-sound names!! (I would be "tair-uh" (as in rhymes with bear) but have been called "tar-uh" (as in rhymes with car) my whole life.
And nope -- I would have guessed A-lah-nuh. Thanks for clearing that up so that I can be precise in my name deliberation.
So far I have Earen, Elizabeth Anne and Alana in the ring. Hmmm -- wonder what we'll come up with??
:) By the way - it's a beautiful name. What's your middle name (if you don't mind sharing)? I'm nosey.
P.S. - That IS totally funny that you had a feeling about me having another baby!! Was it like a "I bet she's pregnant" or like a "I bet she'll have another one" or maybe a "She is just too weird not to show up unexpectedly pregnant someday" sort of a thing?
Uh, yeah, oops...I've been reading it in my head as Uh-Lana (as in Lana Turner)...Sorry.
It is a beautiful name. Ala(y)na!
I'm just plain Sarah, (ryhmes with Tara). =)
Although, I used to have a Scottish friend and I loved the way she said my name...It came out like...Seed-ah. =)
Nope, I was wrong too...but thanks for setting me straight!
A friend of mine named her daughter you name...she spells it Elayna. They call her Laynie...it is cute! (All of their kids have a "y" in their name...it is a thing they have going...)
Anyway, nice you meet you Uh-LAY-nuh
(Sort of like Anne with an "e"...got to spell it right in your head!)
Nope, I was thinking A-lah-nuh, too. I love your pronunciation, though.
HI! My name is Zsa-nelle. Like the French.
At least that is my cool fake name!
I am glad I am not the only one who mispronounced you at first. Thanks for being bold enough to tell me immediately...I would have been MORTIFIED to let that go on for years!
I read your name in emails before we did anything together, and the first get together (I think Christmas shopping last year), I purposefully avoided saying your name for a couple hours until I heard several people call you uh-lay-nuh. I'm glad your mommy spelled it Alana instead of Uhlaynuh, even though it would have been easier to say!
And that would be why I sent you a card with pictures after that first MOPS pumpkin patch. I enjoyed your company and our boys liked each other, but I couldn't call you because I had no idea how to pronounce your name!
Imagine if I had not sent the card, would we be friends???
Hmmm....?
ps...so glad you called me and left your name pronunciation on the machine! I love being your friend!
Uh-lay-nuh,
I had it all wrong. Please accept my apologies...I did gasp at the end when you spelled it out for us.
I was saying Uh-lah-nu.
I wish you could have heard me, or actually seen me, mouth that out 10times silently to make sure I was typing it the way I said it in my head. :)
And, my name is straight forward.
Unless your my dad and he calls me Frannio.
wow...it's destiny. for us to be friends, that is. totally correct the whole time. way to go me! and for the record, it's janet WIZ-ner. so you can clear your own conscience.
I HAVE been pronouncing it wrong. But I have a good excuse. One of the women in my small group (at church) is named Alana, pronounced like Banana.
No offense to her, but I like your pronunciation best. :)
Alana, You are my Lannie, and I don't think I ever mispronounced it...but I had much advantage over some of the others that you blog with!!! I love you girl!! (Wish we were so much closer!)
What a great post Alana! If I would have known you before we named Elaina she might have been an Alana also! I think your name is beautiful!
HORAY! I for once was actually saying it right in my head!! I love your name though. Do you know how many times people mis-pronounce my name? Lots! It's said as Erin, but spelled Earen. I've gotten ear-en (as in your ear). I've also gotten people that have left out the last "e", so then I'm Earn...HA! Then I have people just butcher it completely. Anyway, now that you know all about me too!! THank you for making sure I was saying your name right. It's important!
I actually did have it right in my head, but I admit I have wondered if you pronounced it uh-lah-na (banana).
AND yes of course you can come to meet with Earen (not like ear) and Tara (not like car). I, too, think it would be totally do-able for us to meet. Surely, you will be visiting your family here at some point. We definitely have to meet in person - that would be so much fun!!!
Nope..wrong in my head, but right in my heart! I totally relate to the whole name thing.
My name is Alexandra and instead of calling me Alex, my parents opted for the far less frequently used name "Xandra". Not X-andra, or Xandria, or (and my personal favorite since I've been married to my husband for 10 years and his grandmother still calls me this after repeated corrections) Xandree. It's pronounced like Zandra. Simple and easy, yet apparantly complicated and difficult for some.
Whew! I'm glad I got that off my chest and I'm sure that every reading this post cared! LOL!
I was saying it right! It was kinda funny reading the other variations in the comment section. :)
Do you know how to pronounce my name? :)
Knowpe ~ eye wus sayun it awl rung. Eye half uh slite prahblum whith funetiks tho. =(
~ Lee-Yuh
great post alana! uh-lay-nuh...i think i've got it! and seriously...you are becoming a blog rock star! and all the b-town bloggers can say we knew you when! : )
I think I've always pronounced it right...I can't remember ever saying it wrong...but we both know how good my memeory is!
I know I said it wrong with I first met you! I do remember asking you why there was a line over the 2nd "a" in your name you wrote on your cup and you telling me it was so people would pronounce it as a long "a". It took be a few times, but now I'm good! I still can't say Dixie's last name right!
My maiden name is Nopoulos. I can totally relate to the mispronounciation issue! It's pronounced na-pole-us...unless you are my black sheep cousins who pronounce it nop-ole-us. Good times!
I will have to stand with the 'Uh-lon-a' crowd on this one, although I like the real pronunciation better. It's a beatiful name, and now I can say it right in my head!
I've been called Renny a few times. I don't think my name is very hard to pronounce either, but people just seem to have a hard time. (Just in case you're wondering, it IS Ruh-nay)
:)
Okay, could somebody please translate this into Texas. There has to be more than three syllables to your lovely name. Don't tell me it's just three. I've got at least four coming out of my mouth. And the "uh" has to be an "ah" in Texan. I bet the 2nd syllable is the one with 2 syllables in it. But I was wrong anyway with the short a sound not the long "a" vowel. Alana was my best friend in high school---she was president of the Beatles Fan Club and I was secretary...I just LOVE you to pieces---thank you for your sweet comment to me. It meant a lot to me on this winter's eve.
I'm just gonna call you ANNE with an E.
I had it wrong too.... dang it! LOL! I think your pronunciation is much nicer and more exotic than mine, though... :)
Heather (rhymes with "feather")
Okay... my daughter's middle name is Alana, pronounced uh-la-nu. It is a Hawaiaan name meaning gift. And so I HAVE not beeing reading your name correctly! So sorry! I can so relate with you on this though. I don't ever correct people because it has gotten old. My fav story is when I was in high school, somehow the teacher called me Roxanne (yes, really) and because I didn't correct her, it lasted all year long. Crazy!
Oh, the problems we've passed on to OUR Alana! :) It's so funny...since we met you
11 yrs. ago, the pronounciation of your name seems so simple. It didn't dawn on Mark and I the difficulty until we chose to use your beautiful name for our Alana. Oh well, she can just include that in her therapy sessions. :0
I say it right in my head :)
Love you, friend!
(PS--finally figured out the password thing)
Cute post! Pam is pronounced Ginger... at least in Mexico!
I was calling you a-lan-uh. You know, like banana??
I watch a little girl whose name is Alanna, like what I have been calling you. I also know a girl, Alana ,pronouced just like you do. So I guess I'm not too quick like that! :)
Oh well, thanks for the clear up. That was fun!
can you read anything on my blog...i just posted the holiday tour thingy and the text is so TINY you can't read it...how weird...and i can't delete it either...oh well...you must have read Scrabble...I love Scrabble and nobody plays with me...will you play Scrabble with me? LOL
Miss you! Just stopping by to say hello! Hope you and your crew are well. Merry Christmas~
Hello! Thanks for visiting my blog! I have seen your comments on many of the blogs I visit, and I am happy to say that I have been saying your name correctly in my head! :) Have a wonderful Tuesday!
I had it right.
By the way, I'm Sue-zan. But I like Alex. Which would be my cool celebrity name. If I had one. If I was a celebrity. Or just if I decided to say one day, "hi...I'm Alex". With a British accent. How could would THAT be!?
Just found this through google, my name is Alana too, though I pronounce it uh-lan-nah. Amazing how many dfferent pronounciations there are, and how many people continue to get it wrong even after being corrected for years!
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