How to Pronounce Surnames
- 1). Show an interest in the person's name. Commenting that it is new to you, interesting, musical or beautiful all show an interest without suggesting that the person is strange or odd. People who come from other countries generally become used to Americans commenting on their names and will often volunteer their country of origin. This should, however, be a topic they raise, not you. Saying something positive about the country--you have seen beautiful pictures, for example--may make the person feel comfortable talking about their name, their language and pronunciation.
- 2). Use considerable tact when asking someone with an unfamiliar surname. Such questions as where do you come from or what kind of name is that tend to be very off-putting. Especially if you are in a service situation, calling unfamiliar client names off a list, you may already be dealing with someone who is uncomfortable asking for help. Treating his/her name as an irritation signals the quality of the help you have to offer and makes the person more uncomfortable.
- 3). Ask the person whose name you are struggling with for help. Stay positive. Admit outloud that you know you may not be pronouncing the name correctly. Spell the written name out loud if you don't get a response. Refrain from observing that it isn't said the way it's spelled. Thank the person for help. You can observe that you are happy to learn something new.
- 4). Reinforce what you are learning by writing the name out phonetically; this improves your chances of continuing to pronounce it right. Write out Noo-yen for Ngyen, Koff-lun for Coughlin, Bu-deeya for Badilla, Vull-ich for Valic. (Adding the phonetic pronunciation to a phone message or other note for your boss is assistance at its best, saving further embarrassment.)
- 5). Research and learn from online language-pronunciation sites or books. This is preparation you can do ahead of time if you know, for example, that the children you will have in your class are likely to have Spanish surnames or the clinic that hired you serves a large number of Asian families. Some pronunciation sites and books will coach you through a specific language; others tackle all kinds of names.
- 6). Be willing to fail with grace, then keep trying. Some languages are hard to pronounce, and regional dialects can complicate this. Further, names written in other alphabets get rewritten in English. Sometimes a single system is used for this; sometimes more than one system is used (See link below to Pronouncing Chinese Names). Especially if you are in a technical position of authority (a teacher, a receptionist, a social worker or other service provider), your willingness to try, fail, and try again lessens the sense that you know everything and your potential client does not.