Please help with peculiar spelling

[Finessa]

Please help!

My sister is calling her new baby Mya but spelling it Maja. Now I remember names by picturing how they are spelt so to me, Maja says "Marge-ah", Mya says "My-ah". I am wandering around the house going "Marge-ah, no, Mya, no, Marge-ah, no Mya!" and this has been going on for 2 days.

How do I learn this impossible name/spelling without upsetting her?

I am thinking about:

• learning it as Myah and trying to avoid writing it down
  
• learning it at Maja (Marge-ah) and try to avoid saying it
  
• call her "M" !
  
• use her middle name (Lizzie)
  

We don't live nearby so it's not like I am hearing it daily.

Suggestions please?

(keep thinking it is Mah-Jong!)

[Kayano]

Just keep trying to remember it as Maja but pronounce it Maya. Kid and patent alike will get annoyed if it is aptly wrong

To be honest it is not that unusual of a spelling in some places... You'll het used to it

My niece is Meghen

Meg... Hen

I keep saying it like that when not around them. Makes me
Chuckle but my poor granny hasn't got
It right written down yet

[CheerfulYank]

You'll get used to it. :)

Maja is My-ah to me because of the Scandinavian influence around here.

[LeMousquetaireAnonyme]

def. Maja = Maya
not mya and even less marge-a

[LeMousquetaireAnonyme]

it does sounds like my-ah though.

[greenzebra]

I would think of it as Ma- (j)a so the brakets mean to silent that sound. And Ma can make a 'my' sound in names. Or silence the first 'a' in your thoughts when you think of her name.

I think of sounds as pictures (Im pictorially brained) so I think of pictures that go with the sounds so I know how frustrating it can be.

[savoycabbage]

I know a Mia and I have to say Mir (space station) in my head. I live in fear that i will call her Mir space station out loud one day.

[EdithWeston]

It'll come with practice. After all, you probably don't pronounce Thomas as it is spelt.

[inmysparetime]

Ja is yes in German. Think "Ma-Ja"

[Finessa]

Lol, I'm loving the Meg-Hen and Mir space station :) I'm the same with Mia - will remember it now...

I had no idea German yes was spelt ja instead of ya. That's a shock but will definitely help!

I have never come across a j pronounced as a y before, so once I've got used to this the j might make more sense. Ma-(j)a helps too.

Yes I can promounce and spell Thomas but always say th-om-as as I write it :)

Am now thinking about the maillot jaune (yellow jersey in Tour de France) as I only did French...

Thanks for all suggestions, they're all helping ;)

[GwendolineMaryLacey]

I don't understand. You can't remember your niece's name because you don't like the spelling? What am I missing?

[seeker]

It's 4 letters!

[jkklpu]

Are you really trying to say that you don't think you'll be able to remember the name? Is there something else going on here?

[cece]

I thought Maja was the correct way of spelling it in Europe?

I would either spell it like that or Mia or Maya. I even know a Maia....

The only problem I have is remember which of the two ways you say it...

My-a or Me-a!

[nooka]

I'd be more concerned if the baby was called Mya, because to me that sounds like mmm -ya, with no 'why' type sound at all. I'm not great on spelling, but as it's only four letters I'd just learn them to be honest. I've only come across Maia/Mia, but the j for y is more unusual than peculiar.

[ShoutyHamster]

But can you say Philip, Thomas, Sian, Francesca?

Can you say tough and through and not be bothered by the fact that their last two letters are the same but they are pronounced entirely differently?

You seem to be saying that you are not capable of learning a new word which is not spelled phonetically. But if you have no problem with the words above, then it's just a case of practice and familiarity, surely?

This is your neice, so you'll be saying the name all the time - it will soon be second nature!

[GwendolineMaryLacey]

I wish someone would explain this thread to me because I'm totally lost...

[BuntyPenfold]

Does her name rhyme with, for example, fire?
Or rajah?

Make up a little rhyme with her name in; a playground ditty will do eg. Peta is sweeter.

[Finessa]

Yeah, it's getting a bit easier, thanks.

Part of the problem (for us but not for DN as she doesn't live here) is that there are a lot of little My-ahs, Mee-ahs and May-ahs here - 3 or 4 in each class in lower primary school and they're all spelled and pronounced differently, so it's already a name I find confusing. I made a really good effort to learn which child was which a couple of years back until I realised there were My-ahs spelt Mya and Mia and Mee-ahs spelt Mia and Mya. At which point I gave up!
I now know My-ahs spelt Mya, Mia, Maya, Maia and Maja, Mee-ahs spelt Mia, Mya and Maya, and May-ahs spelt Maya and Maia.... I think!

I'm getting quite good at Irish names but don't really come across any European/Scandinavian names here (town in central Scotland).

[nooka]

Well that makes much more sense, I can see why you are confused :)

[Thumbwitch]

I know a lady called Merja - I sort of assumed it would be pronounced Merr-ya (it is) because of having done German at school. Her name is Scandinavian though, not German (but same pronunciation thing). She still gets called Merge-ah often though because names like that aren't common in Australia, either - certainly not round where we are, anyway.

I can see your confusion - hopefully the German link will help now?

[GwendolineMaryLacey]

Still don't get it, sorry. You can't remember your niece's name because there are too many around? This is a really odd thread.

[Thumbwitch]

GML - the OP has said how she remembers names, by visualising them in her head. Her problem is that, for her, the spelling doesn't match up with the pronunciation so she's having troubles remembering exactly what the name is.

Seeing as how half my relatives have been permanently unable to spell my name correctly for my entire 40+ years, I think it's nice of her to try and find a way around her issues with it. (my name isn't in anyway unusual, btw - it just has two alternative spellings and half my relatives ALWAYS choose the wrong one. It's a bit tiresome and insulting really).

[allhailtheaubergine]

I know just what you mean OP.

I spent a lot of time with a little Maia (pron. My-ah). Then dd made friends with a Mia (pron. Mee-ah) and it totally threw me, because i = eye sound and the new Mee-ah name was spelled with an i. I called her "Mee-ah I mean My-ah" for weeks. I was trying so hard to get it right.