to want in laws to correctly pronounce my very ordinary name?

[DrSeuss]

I have a very ordinary, English-of-Greek-origin name. Spelled in the traditional way, couldn't e simpler, really.
For over twenty years, ILs have mispronounced it. For twenty years, I and my husband have periodically corrected them. Not a huge thing, granted but it grates every time they say it wrongly.

AIBU to slightly mispronounce their names just a little, e.g. Sarah becomes Sorah, Jim becomes Jom? Childish, I know, but it is pretty much the only thing I have asked of them in twenty years! Other family members ask for and receive special food despite having no real grounds for this or meals served at a particular time despite having no children. I'd just like them to say my name without me mentally wincing!

It does sound like an accent/dialect issue, rather than a deliberate mispronunciation. My name has the letter R in the middle. Most people in England do not pronounce the R, though I do (I'm not English). I don't insist that people pronounce my name as I do, since that would require a conscious change in their accent and would probably sound very odd indeed.

However, I pronounce Helen as the OP does.

Christ naiceham mispronoucing someone's name when they have corrected you in bloody rude. It's not up to you to decide whether it's worthy or not.

Poor you, that would irritate me no end. It's like I could never call my daughter (if I ever have a daughter) Michelle because my mum says it "Me-Chelle" whereas to me the 'Mi' part is not emphasised.

Hunter, at last I know I'm not alone! I shall follow your method.

Ooh my MIL says HEL-in rather than HEL-en and it annoys the fuck out of me, and it's not even my name. Accent-wise she's quite old-school posh (also a bit of a hippy).

This sounds a bit precious TBH - it's an accent thing. My PIL and various others shorten my name without permission, but I can't get excited about them pronouncing it with their accents (which are different from mine). After all, I pronounce their names differently from their parents / siblings because I'm Scottish and they are not. No big deal.

I can understand the poster upthread who would prefer her foreign relatives use the English version of her name though, but that's a bit different from accent.

My accent is my accent & mine happens to be a flavour of central belt Scottish. If you asked me to change my pronunciation of your name because I was annunciating in a my own accent, but not changing the name
, I would think you were a precious flower tbh and perhaps a bit rude (is my accent not good enough?)

She also said tissyou and choklit

Okay, 'tissyou' is annoying but how else would you pronounce 'chocolate'? I'm Scottish, if that makes a difference.

The food stuff sounds ridiculous. And I'm sure is highly annoying. If they were nice and the pronunciation of your name was the only issue, I would hope it to be a non event. Tbh hearing how they behave, it wouldn't surprise me if they think you're being really ridiculous and controlling not to mention childish to challenge their accent. So you're not doing yourself any favours. As I said before, perhaps consider a way to pick your battles. This complaining about such a small difference in pronunciation when others names are being completely bastardised does sound a bit precious.

OP be strong. I hated how people called me Helll-len not Helun so much I changed my name. It actually makes me cringe. It just sounds effected and all you can hear is "hell" but I think it is an accent/known way rather than intentional but still cringie!!!!

fast fallen does indeed usually sound like fallun because we tend to pronounce the e softly, as the emphasis is on the first syllable of the word- as it is with Helen.

So fallen becomes fallun and Helen becomes Helun but NOT Helin.

I can't off the top of my head think of a single other word ending in en, which regardless of the accent or dialect of the the speaker sounds like in instead of en or un.

Oven, proven, leaden, sodden, all sound like Helen. Or Helun. Not an in sound anywhere.

I'd say Hel-lern...

Weekend we agree. I've completely lost who I agree with on this thread.

I think the problem is that Helun is the middle ground which most people agree with. Hel-in and Hel-en are two different types of crazy.

WeekendAway

We've had a bit of a discussion about chicken, actually :-/

Do you say brokin instead of broken and fallin instead of fallen? No, I didn't think so.

YES. Brokin, Helin, Fallin.

I keep mentioning the schwa. Much more accurate rendering of my chosen pronunciation than my own clumsy effort.

PrimalLass

So these sound the same to you?? o.O

He's fallen.
He's going to fall in.

Seriously?

weekendaway in mine and my parents and everyone I knows world it's Hell-In. You know, what my parents chose to name me and call me It may well be that it's accent(not in UK) but it IS the norm here.

My mother is Helen as well and my father has NEVER been able to say her name properly, they've been married over 30 years. It's a running joke now. I often wonder, did he mispronounce her name whilst saying their vows? Did she correct him mid ceremony!? ITS HEH-LUN!!

Come to think of it, my boyfriend struggles to pronounce my name (Felicity) he says it with more of a Z sound in the middle. Give me strength. 

PrivatePike Nope. I've never heard anyone who pronounces fallen the same as fall in, and I know plenty of people from north, south, east, west England, Scotland, Wales, etc.

I can't off the top of my head think of a single other word ending in en, which regardless of the accent or dialect of the the speaker sounds like in instead of en or un.

Scottish, east coast. I don't say 'un'.

ovosmexidos

Yes. Normal east coat Scottish accent. Slightly more emphasis on the 'in' in Fall in. But the same pronunciation.