While proper grammar and precise word choice are essential, the correct pronunciation of individuals’ names holds an even greater significance – and that’s what I’ll be discussing today.
You might be wondering, “What’s so complicated about pronouncing someone’s name, and why does it matter so much?” As non-native English speakers, we often make assumptions about how a name should be pronounced based on its spelling – but those assumptions can easily be wrong.
For many people, their name is a key part of their identity. And trust me, if you constantly mispronounce someone’s name, it can become irritating – and even feel disrespectful.
Now, why are we talking about this? If you’ve seen some of my other posts, you might know that I grew up in Bulgaria and now live in the US. Here, people come from all over the world – which means there are tons of names that might sound unfamiliar to many.
Also, as you probably know, English is not a phonetic language and words are pronounced differently from the way they are spelled. But names are on another level – many times they don’t even follow the standard rules of American spelling and pronunciation. Oh, and these English vowels – they can be so challenging to pronounce 🙂
According to research, 73% of people reported that their names are commonly mispronounced. Almost half of them said they saw this as a sign of disrespect. Some people even felt upset and alienated.
By the way, let me know in the comments if people mispronounce your name. If yes, how does it make you feel? I’m pretty lucky that my first name is quite easy. My last name, on the other hand, gives many people a headache. 😂
Daniela Przybyszewska /da.ɲiˈe.la pʂɨ.bɨˈʂɛf.ska/
So, today I’m gonna share with you some pairs or groups of American names that could be challenging for nonnative speakers to pronounce because of their non-standard spelling or pronunciation.
Al – Elle
The first pair is the male name Al versus the female name Elle.
The difference lies in the pronunciation of the vowel. The male name Al [æɫ] uses the same vowel /æ/ as in the words cat /kæt/ and apple /ˈæ.pəl/.
To pronounce /æ/, drop your jaw low and slightly spread the corners of your lips. The tip of the tongue rests lightly behind the lower teeth, while the back of the tongue rises a little and pushes forward.
This vowel /æ/ is followed by a dark L [ɫ]. A dark L typically appears at the end of a word or syllable.
Spanish speakers: be careful not to make the L too soft. Only the tip of your tongue should touch just behind the upper teeth – don’t let the blade or front part of your tongue press against the upper palate, or the L will sound too light. We want [æɫ] with a dark L, not [æl] with a soft L.
Brazilian and Bulgarian speakers: avoid rounding your lips during the L sound, as this can make it sound like [w]. Aim for [æɫ], not [æw].
To pronounce the woman’s name Elle [ɛɫ], we use the vowel /ɛ/ – the same one you hear in bed /bɛd/, the piece of furniture we sleep on. For /ɛ/, the jaw is slightly higher than it is for /æ/. [ɛl] – nice and short.
It’s very important to maintain the correct vowel quality. I know that the vowel /æ/, as in cat /kæt/, can be challenging for many speakers because it doesn’t exist in many languages. That’s why people often substitute it with /ɛ/. But if you do that here, the other person might misunderstand which name you’re saying.
After the vowel /ɛ/ in the women’s name Elle, we have a dark L [ɫ].
Now, let’s say both names again:
Al [æɫ]
Elle [ɛɫ]
By the way, the same vowel rules apply to the names Allen [ˈæ.lən] and Ellen [ˈɛ.lən], which differ only in their first vowel: /æ/ versus /ɛ/. These names are quite popular as well.
Carl – Carol
Ok, the next pair of names is the male name Carl and the female name Carol.
By the way, here is something interesting: in Poland Karol /ˈka.rɔl/ is a male name, while in the U.S., Carol [ˈkʰæ.ɹəɫ] is a female name.
Carl [kʰɑ:ɹɫ] has only one syllable. Carol [ˈkʰæ.ɹəɫ] has two syllables. The vowel in the first syllable could also be different. For the man’s name Carl [kʰɑ:ɹɫ], we use the vowel /ɑ:/ as in father /ˈfɑːðɚ/ or car /kɑːɹ/, and for the woman’s name Carol [ˈkʰæ.ɹəɫ], we use /æ/ as in cat /kæt/ and apple /ˈæ.pəl/.
Some people pronounce Carol as [ˈkʰɑː.ɹəɫ], with /ɑ:/ as in father /ˈfɑːðɚ/, but in the U.S., I mostly hear [ˈkʰæ.ɹəɫ], with /æ/ as in cat /kæt/.
Let’s first pronounce Carl [kʰɑ:ɹɫ]. We start with car [kʰɑ:ɹ], you know like the vehicle you drive – car [kʰɑ:ɹ]. The first sound is the voiceless velar stop /k/. In this case, because we have only one syllable, it’s stressed by default. And because the stop /k/ comes at the beginning of the stressed syllable, we have to aspirate it [kʰ]. This means that we release an extra puff of air after [k]: [kʰɑ:ɹ].
After the aspirated [kʰ], we have the vowel /ɑ:/ as in father. To pronounce /ɑ:/, we drop the jaw. Make sure that your tongue is laying low behind the lower teeth and is pulled back. Then quickly lift the tongue and press both sides of the tongue against the upper teeth to pronounce the American /ɹ/. Make sure the tip of the tongue is not touching anywhere in the mouth.
Then we add the dark L [ɫ]. To pronounce the dark L, you could – but you don’t have to – touch the tip of the tongue behind the upper teeth, but make sure that the rest of it is low and slightly pulled back.
If you allow the tongue to go up and touch the upper palate, you’re gonna make it too soft, and you will pronounce the soft L [l] instead. You actually don’t have to touch the tip of the tongue behind the upper teeth. You can keep it in the middle inside your mouth, like for the American /ɹ/, but make sure that it stays low. Carl [kʰɑ:ɹɫ].
Let’s now look at how to pronounce the female name Carol [ˈkʰæ.ɹəɫ]. It has two syllables, and the first syllable [ˈkʰæ] is stressed: [ˈkʰæ.ɹəɫ].
We start with the aspirated voiceless velar stop [kʰ] – remember to aspirate the /k/ – and then /æ/ as in cat /kæt/. Again, for the /æ/ we open the mouth and drop the jaw. We keep the tip of the tongue behind the lower teeth, but lift the back of the tongue slightly higher and forward.
Then we follow it with the American /ɹ/. We are now in the second syllable – [ɹəɫ] – which is unstressed, and because it is unstressed the vowel is reduced to a schwa sound /ə/. The schwa is the most relaxed vowel in English. It sounds like UH /ə/ – nice and short. The lips are slightly open and the tongue is super relaxed. /ə/.
And at the end we have the dark L [ɫ]. See how the schwa here connects the /ɹ/ and the [ɫ]? [ɹəɫ]. Carol [ˈkʰæ.ɹəɫ].
Ok, now let’s say both names:
Carl [kʰɑ:ɹɫ]
Carol [ˈkʰæ.ɹəɫ]
Good job 🙂
Aaron – Erin
Next, we have Aaron and Erin.
These two names are spelled differently, but many people pronounce them the same way. Actually, even Americans can’t agree on the difference between Aaron and Erin. Some people pronounce Aaron [ˈæ.ɹən] with a distinct /æ/ as in cat /kæt/ and Erin [ˈɛ.ɹən] with a very clear /ɛ/ as in bed /bɛd/. But many Americans claim that these two names are pronounced the same way – [ˈɛ.rən]. So, if you’re confused, don’t worry, you are not alone. 🙂.
But what we do agree on is that both names are pronounced with two syllables, with the stress on the first one. The second syllable is unstressed – /ɹən/.
Let’s try. /æ/ or /ɛ/ and then /ɹən/:
Aaron [ˈæ.ɹən] or [ˈɛ.ɹən]
Erin [ˈɛ.ɹən]
Don – Dawn – Dan
Next, we have three names and they are Don, Dawn, and Dan.
If you don’t hear any difference between the male name Don /dɑːn/ and the female name Dawn [dɒːn], don’t panic. It depends on the speaker’s accent.
In some areas there was a merger of the vowels that come in the words cot [kʰɑːt̚] and caught [kʰɒːt]. This is known as the cot-caught merger, where traditionally more rounded vowel [ɒː] that comes in words like caught [kʰɒːt] and law [lɒː] is pronounced the same way as the vowel /ɑː/ that comes in the word father /ˈfɑːðɚ/. That’s why many people pronounce Don and Dawn the same way – [dɑːn].
On the other hand, the name Dan /dæn/ has the vowel /æ/ as in cat /kæt/. But because /æ/ comes before the nasal consonant /n/, it’s practically pronounced like [æ.ᵊ] with a very short schwa: [ˈdæ.ᵊn]. This name is often shortened from the name Daniel /ˈdæn.jəl/, but it can be a separate name as well.
Now let’s try to pronounce all three. Let’s start with Dan [ˈdæ.ᵊn] because it’s easier to distinguish from Don /dɑːn/ and Dawn [dɒːn].
To pronounce the vowel /æ/ in Dan /dæn/, drop your jaw, keep the tip of the tongue behind the lower teeth, The back of the tongue pushes forward – [ˈdæ.ᵊn].
Now Don /dɑːn/. Keep your tongue behind the lower teeth, but now we also want the whole tongue to be down and backwards – /dɑːn/.
And because the cot-caught vowel merger is definitely not universal, let’s try to pronounce Dawn [dɒːn] with more rounded lips. Drop the jaw the same way you did for /ɑː/ in Don /dɑːn/, but round the lips – [ɒː], [dɒːn].
Just make sure not to say down /daʊn/. Dawn is spelled with aw, but we don’t pronounce it with the diphthong /aʊ/ as in now /aʊ/. As long as you don’t say down /daʊn/, you’ll be fine. Awesome! 🙂
Ivan – Yvonne (Ivonne)
Ok, the next pair – Ivan and Yvonne – could be confusing because in some languages there is a male name Ivan, but the American pronunciation of this name is different.
Ivan /ˈaɪ.vən/ is a two-syllable name and Americans pronounce it with the stress on the first syllable, which is the diphthong /aɪ/ as in my /maɪ/. The second syllable – /vən/ is unstressed and is pronounced with a schwa /ə/. /ˈaɪ.vən/.
Yvonne [ˌiːˈvɒːn], on the other hand, is a female name. In the US it’s most commonly spelled with a Y, but you can sometimes see it spelled with an I – Ivonne. It can be confusing because the American pronunciation of Yvonne [ˌiːˈvɒːn] sounds almost the same as the man’s name Ivan [iˈvɑn] from other countries. Again, it depends on the region and the person’s accent when it comes to how rounded the second vowel – [ɒː] or [ɑː] – is.
So, to pronounce Yvonne [ˌiːˈvɒːn], we start with the high /iː/ vowel that comes in words like see /siː/, leave /liːv/, or machine /məˈʃiːn/. Then we touch the lower lip to the upper teeth to produce the /v/ sound, then we have the [ɒː] as in caught [kɒːt], and we end it with the nasal consonant /n/.
As I mentioned before when I discussed the vowel in the name Dawn [dɒːn], some people pronounce the second vowel in Yvonne /ˌiːˈvɒːn/ with unrounded lips – /ɑː/ as in father /ˈfɑːðɚ/ – [ˌiːˈvɑːn]. This makes it sound more like the male version as it’s pronounced in many other languages – [iˈvɑn]. That’s why this name could be confusing to many non-native English speakers.
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These are the names I chose for today’s post, but I have a list of more names I can share if you’re interested. Let me know in the comments if there are any American names you find confusing!
As I mentioned earlier, pronouncing names correctly is super important because, for many people, their name is a big part of their identity.
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