American pronunciation of your foreign name

How do Americans pronounce your name? Do they struggle to say it? What name do you give when ordering coffee at Starbucks, your real name or an Americanized version?

This is a common topic that comes up in my classes. Some of my students insist that Americans should pronounce their name the way it's pronounced in their native language. They say that Americans don't want to make an effort to do this.

I understand that your name is your identity. It's the name your mother and father chose for you. It's who you are.

If you are Korean and your name is Kim, you're lucky.

However, your name may contain a sound that does not exist in English. Therefore, it's possible that an American simply cannot imitate it or that a long pronunciation lesson would be required first. So, to expect them to say it the way native speakers do may be unrealistic. Imagine how hard it is for non-native speakers of English to say the name "Doug." It can end up sounding like "dog" since the vowel sound in "Doug" (neutral vowel) does not exist in many other languages.

So, you have three options:

1) You can pronounce your name like you do in your native language. You can try to help people to learn to say it like you do. Be patient with them when you teach them. Some will get it and some will always mess it up. It can depend on how gifted they are at imitating new sounds. If you work in the mainstream American corporate environment, this could be a disadvantage. People might feel uncomfortable using your name in conversation because they're afraid they cannot say right. Also, some people may actually mistakenly start to "hear" a strong foreign accent. It's a wierd psychological thing that actually happens sometimes if the sound of your name is too foreign.

2) You can start using an American name. Find one that you like, or one that sounds similar to your name. Make sure that you choose a name that's popular among your age group. For example, women with names like Dorothy, Mabel, or Doris are often around seventy years old. And Taylor and Tyler are usually under fifteen. I suggest doing an internet search for most popular babies' names of the year that you were born. I did that with my students when I was teaching in China. I was helping them find suitable names. They were speaking English on the phone with the US. Some of the poor students had chosen names from Shakespeare or from American literature of 200 years ago. No, no, no, don't do that!

3) Just Americanize the sound of your name so that it is familiar to the American ear. For example one of my Russian students in named Elena. She asked me why no one can say her name the way she does and why no one understands it when she says it. She thought it was such a simple name. However, to Americans it sounds like Russians add a short "y" sound in the front, and the "l" sound is different from the American L. That confuses them. I told her to pronounce it as "e - lay -na". This worked; she no longer gets puzzled looks from people when introducing herself. It just sounded more familiar.


I could go on and on with this topic. It comes up a lot. I know it's a bit controversial. My main intention was to give you some suggestions. I would love to get your comments and learn about your experiences.