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!

But a schwa doesn't sound like the first 'e' in Helen. It's like the 'e' in 'the'. It's just an unemphasised expulsion of air that sounds like nothing. It even has its own symbol to denote that nothingness : ə

I think if this entertaining thread has proved anything it is that there is no right or wrong in the way different accents make certain sounds. I think a bit of tolerance is the ticket.

*coast

Nanny, when Sophie Helen Rees-Jones married Prince Edward, the Archbishop led her in her vows as "Sophie Helin." She responded, "I Sophie Helen," with schwa. I cheered!

I get quote embarrassed when trying to pronounce people's names, I think for me being both dyslexic and deaf/hard of hearing makes its so difficult. I cannot hear subtle differences in word. My husband finds it hugely hilarious that I cannot for the life of me tell the difference between fairy and ferry, I know what both mean, I know how both are spelt but I cannot hear the difference, they sound the same to me. Also my mum says things strangely lol, no idea why but I obviously picked up some of these quirks, like she saws wasp not wosp, but I guess that she is just saying it phonetically, lets face it the English language can be confusing.

Saying that if someone pointed something out to me I would really try to fix my pronouncation and I would probably explain my deafness and dyslexia cause me a few issues so keep correcting me.

But I really am not bothered how people say my name, when my daughter was born people kept calling her by both her first and middle name, but I never corrected anyone I just kept saying her name and most people figured it out and those who haven't I don't have any issue with, a lot of people can't say my surname right either but I'm not bothered either. If I felt someone was doing it to be hurtful and deliberate then I would be upset, but I've never had anyone mispronunce my name or kids to be hurtful so at no point would I feel the need to correct them, why does it matter really!?!

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

Actually I think quite a lot of people do. Not me as it happens, but a school friends mother could never say my name correctly. Imogen. Which I pronounce as IM-uh-jun. She would say IMmi-JIN. We kept trying to get her to say jun, but she just couldn't do it. I had a brainwave and said it rhymes with engine. (Which I pronounce as EN-jun) - she promptly said EN-Jin.

I am certain (cerTIN!) she also said brokIN.

Isn't it just an accent thing? Hell in is a bit of a "posh" way of saying Helen. I say it more like hell un tbh. Would that annoy you too op? You want to insist it's said hell enn? A that right? If so yabu!
I work with people from lots of different areas of the U.K. and different countries and it's never occured to me to be peeved about how they naturally pronounce my name

yep - my MIL and all the in-laws have pronounced my name wrong for 20 fucking years

say i go by Will, short for William - they have called me Willy all this time

I gave up correcting them about 10 years ago

so bloody rude

I absolutely truly don't mean to be rude here but I really can't think of any other way to distinguish between the two pronunciations that I think you're trying to describe. Do you mean that Helen should be pronounced like bell-end? Again, apologies for the unfortunate comparison.

Will/Willy is completely different to the OP's AIBU. It's not like they're calling her Helena or Helene. They're just pronouncing her name differently in their accent.

I'm also Helen, but I pronounce it 'helun but my dad says 'Helin' which drives me mad

Nanny, when Sophie Helen Rees-Jones married Prince Edward, the Archbishop led her in her vows as "Sophie Helin." She responded, "I Sophie Helen," with schwa. I cheered!

If you met a posh Helen would you change how you pronounced her name? Of course you wouldn't. You'd sound mad, or Iike you were taking the piss: "Hello, Helin, I'm Helen."

Lol, I literally came to ask about bellend too. I cannot think of any way to say Helen that doesn't end with a 'in' sound.

Is there any famous Helen who says Hel-len?

Is there any famous Helen who says Hel-len?

All of them?

Well said EastMids

dafspunk and MorrisZapp

This is the standard way:

smidge I say imogin and en-gin so there

Hahah i say helun!

I say broke-in and fall-in. I think it must be the Scottish accent.

My own mother wrote me a letter and spelt my name wrong. Made me irrationally angry.

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

No-one does. As many others have said, it's a reduced vowel, a schwa. As Horatio has shown, it isn't spelled with an "i" or an "e".

"But a schwa doesn't sound like the first 'e' in Helen. It's like the 'e' in 'the'. It's just an unemphasised expulsion of air that sounds like nothing. It even has its own symbol to denote that nothingness : ə "

A Helen I know lives in Essex. All her friends and family pronounce it Ellen. They also pronounced Carl 'Col'. It's an accent thing. Nothing more nothing less.

I say Imogen with a schwa and engine as a hard IN!