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Anyone know how the name "Grzywacz" would be pronounced? It's the last name of one of my students, and I have absolutely no idea. Any Polish-looking name that doesn't end in 'ski' tends to baffle me. Posts: 952 | Registered: Jun 2005
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quote:Originally posted by aiua: I'd suggest asking your student...
Of course I'll ask her once I meet her. But I honestly have no clue how to even try saying that one other than a "Gr" sound at the beginning. I'm more concerned about embarrasing her than me.
Posts: 952 | Registered: Jun 2005
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posted
Speaking from experience, she's used to it. I had to explain the pronunciation of my last name to every single person I'd ever met in my entire life - up until the moment I changed it, that is.
Ask her, and make notes and a concerted effort to remember. She'll appreciate it. Posts: 8355 | Registered: Apr 2003
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posted
Quid, that's what I'm hoping, but a large part of my concern is from my personal experience - my name is mispronounced pretty regularly, and when I used to be painfully shy, I hated the unwanted attention it got me. I've gotten used to it now, of course, but I still remember how it felt.
Posts: 952 | Registered: Jun 2005
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posted
Yeah, I know. But if you treat her with respect, rather than as an object of scorn or distaste - which many students with unpronouncable names get - then you'll be okay. Again, speaking from experience. Posts: 8355 | Registered: Apr 2003
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Do it "gr-zee-vatz", though it might be "gr-žee-vatz". Check for diacritics that people might've left off.
At least those are the ways you'd say it in Czech (then again, the pronunciation's "check" for the spelling "Czech" which is Polish).
Posts: 2978 | Registered: Oct 2004
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At least in czech "ř" and the sound of the "z" in "azure" are compltely different. If I'm correct, the name for a "ř" is a voiced postveloar fricative-trill - so it's not even on the IPA table.
I thought "cz" was "tz" lust like "c". Oh, well, maybe that was Hungarian...
So "Kasprowicz" is "kas-pro-vitch"?
Posts: 2978 | Registered: Oct 2004
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posted
Thanks, I always thought those commentators couldn't pronounce his name... They still pronounce the "w" as if it were English...
Posts: 2978 | Registered: Oct 2004
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I had a teacher named "Grzlewski," and he pronounced it "Jeh-LEH-ski." Not sure how much help that is.
Posts: 4313 | Registered: Sep 2004
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quote: But if you treat her with respect, rather than as an object of scorn or distaste - which many students with unpronouncable names get - then you'll be okay. Again, speaking from experience.
yeah!
I grew up in the South, and my maiden name (Errickson) is not common there. I used to hate it when the teacher would furrow her brow and say something like "Eric-a-sin?"
quote: I grew up in the South, and my maiden name (Errickson) is not common there. I used to hate it when the teacher would furrow her brow and say something like "Eric-a-sin?"
Were your teachers illiterate? Even if they hadn't seen the name before, it IS pronounced just like it looks.
As Mrs. Haines, my second grade teacher, used to advise: "Sound it out".
And I would call the student by her first name. Posts: 10397 | Registered: Jun 2005
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I didn't think it was too difficult either, but there was much consternation on several occasions due to the congregation of consonants in the center, there. When I appeared for jury duty in 1997, the same scenario played out with the bailiff and judge, who didn't even try. Yikes!
Posts: 516 | Registered: Aug 2004
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as a general rule, yes. There are exceptions, such as some past forms of verbs, numbers from 400-900, and words ending in -yka and -ika (matematyka, fizyka etc) where the accent is on the third syllable from the end.
(I was going to provide your name as an example of the butchered prununciation but I didn't remember how you pronounced it )
Posts: 5700 | Registered: Feb 2002
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quote: The "Ch" is similar to the Hebrew hard "h", though I'm told it isn't same
Yes, it is similar, and it's even translitrated so. You're also right in saying it's not the same: it's a non-glottal version of the Hebrew ח׳ or like a hardened Greek "χ".
But SHEMILOOSKEE? How ignorant can one be? People called me Awerd before, alright, but when they [school] game us "e-mail accounts" in - excuse my language, H*tmail - back in 4th grade, the idiots in the school didn't even bother looking up "Howard", they went for eord@hotmail.co.il (the account is dead, by the way. Don't bother sending me crap there).
posted
Jon, thanks for the self-righteous indignation.
In all likelihood, Americans were butchering my family's name to the point that it was easier to go with the flow, particularly when going into business. Heck, one side of my family changed the name to "Chemis" for exactly this reason. In day-to-day reality, concessions are made.
quote:the problem with American Poles is they butcher the Polish pronunciation to make it pronoucable for other Americans.
quote:In all likelihood, Americans were butchering my family's name to the point that it was easier to go with the flow, particularly when going into business. Heck, one side of my family changed the name to "Chemis" for exactly this reason. In day-to-day reality, concessions are made.
*nod*
I've come to delibrately mispronounce my name when speaking to unhyphenated-Americans.
Posts: 13680 | Registered: Mar 2002
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posted
Well, see, my first name is also complicated... so that's the one I prefer to focus on. If I started getting picky about my last name, too, they'll get really frustrated and give me bad grades.
Posts: 7877 | Registered: Feb 2003
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But I honestly have no clue how to even try saying that one other than a "Gr" sound at the beginning. I'm more concerned about embarrasing her than me.
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