02 December 2008

Capitulation

I give up.

I no longer even attempt to pronounce our last name correctly when meeting new people. Instead I pronounce it the way German-speakers say it. Otherwise it's just too much work, takes a lot of spelling and they insist upon pronouncing it their way anyway.

Hey, if they want to call us by the same title sometimes used by the Queen of England, who am I to argue?

6 comments:

Marcy said...

My dad's name is Jorge. He lives in the US now. I've noticed in recent years that when he's meeting new people, particularly anyone he doesn't expect to be more than an acquaintance, he simply introduces himself as "George." It's simpler that way. (Which is part of why I wanted to make sure we named D a name that would work in both French and Spanish).

christina said...

Rooting around in my brain for your last name - ah, got it! Yeah, I can see how that would be annoying.

Unknown said...

I had the same problem when telling the train service person I wanted the train to Brunnen - They always said Brunig? OR some of name from GR canton. Talk about annoying. I had to spell it out most of the time..

Ok - I'm still trying to wrack my brain on what the word is.. Does it have to do with being a female Royal? If don't could you shed some light on it... email or facebook works...

DrSpouse said...

Mr Spouse and I both have different first AND last name pronunciations in the US. Although the variations that baristas use are sometimes even more imaginative.

Anonymous said...

Everyone who knows me from Singapore knows me with a different surname from those in other parts of the world - or so everyone thinks! They just pronounce it in their own unique style. I feel for you!!

Princess Cat's Pajamas said...

I've gotten lucky as an expat -- my last name is French, so everyone here pronounces it properly. In the States, though... not so much.