Pronunciation

[Sutch]

I've just found out that the name "Niamh" is pronounced Neve.

I have to say, I find that very hard to beliamh!

[UncleEbenezer]

If Cholmondeley is pronounced "Chumley", how would you address Mr Bottomley?

[stewamax]

Face to face...

[ReformedCharacter]

If Cholmondeley is pronounced "Chumley", how would you address Mr Bottomley?

My contention is that Ian Botham's name (for example) should be pronounced 'bot-ham', I suspect that pronouncing it with a soft 'th' is a modern affectation to avoid it sounding like 'bottom'.

RC

[NomoneyNohoney]

And yet you still sign yourself, "RC..."

[UncleEbenezer]

If Cholmondeley is pronounced "Chumley", how would you address Mr Bottomley?

My contention is that Ian Botham's name (for example) should be pronounced 'bot-ham', I suspect that pronouncing it with a soft 'th' is a modern affectation to avoid it sounding like 'bottom'.

RC

It shall be called Botham's dream, because it hath no Botham.

No, doesn't quite have the ring to it.

[panamagold]

I was in grade school with a kid with the surname 'Onions'. He, and his parents, would freak out if they were referred to with what we kids loved to call them - Onions. Well you would, wouldn't you. They were most insistent that their name was O'Nions. Yeah, right Mrs Onions.

[TUK020]

I once worked in a multinational with a white American guy whose surname was "Kuehn".
I can vividly recall him insisting to a room full of Germans that no, it was pronounced "Keen".
A wonderful display of cross cultural comprehension gap was visible in the expressions and body language

[UncleEbenezer]

I was in grade school with a kid with the surname 'Onions'. He, and his parents, would freak out if they were referred to with what we kids loved to call them - Onions. Well you would, wouldn't you. They were most insistent that their name was O'Nions. Yeah, right Mrs Onions.

A distant cousin of Pratchett's Magrat?

[ReformedCharacter]

And yet you still sign yourself, "RC..."

Yeah, it's a bummer... I should have picked a different user name.

RC

[AndyPandy]

And yet you still sign yourself, "RC..."

Yeah, it's a bummer... I should have picked a different user name.

RC

I wouldn't worry. You are in good company. A few years back I was a Red Cross Volunteer helping out on First Aid Duties. Our Senior Officer's callsign was RC 1 - (no phonetic alphabet used for callsigns).

[panamagold]

A distant cousin of Pratchett's Magrat?

I had to look that one up.

Had I been subjected to to the misfortune of being saddled with either of those two family names, leaving me open to much jockular derision, I would have considered getting around the title by deed polling myself to Mr. 'Allium'. It would, I imagine, pass over the heads of most.

To save you all searching Allium

[UncleEbenezer]

Just don't let news of your name change leek out.