AIBU to think my son's name isn't that hard to pronounce?

[SailorByTheSea]

Or is this an acceptable pronunciation!?

We live in London, so 'fear' is 1 syllable (this is relevant!)

My son is called Theodore... You know, 3 syllables, 'The-uh-door'?

All he gets is 'fear-door' please tell me that this isn't an acceptable pronunciation? It makes me regret his name massively

I'm from South London and would say fee-uh-door. Fear has two syllables when I say it.

I don't see how th-fronting is any less legitimate a regional variation than rhotic/non-rhotic, long/short a, etc.

This is an interesting thread. I grew up in Brighton (so the local accent was a little like the London one - Brighton would be pronounced "BWOI'un"). I never picked up the local accent, although my brother did.

I would pronounce Theodore as Thee-uh-door. Thee-oh-door sounds a bit forced in my accent.

My son went through a phase of pronouncing "th" as "f" - I didn't much like it but he only stopped when he started reading (as he had to pronounce the "th"s).

I do see MrsDV's point - it isn't nice to sneer at someone's accent. However, if it gets to the point where someone else will not understand that person, it is a bit difficult.

I'm saying pool and Paul and they really don't sound the same.

Years living in London has knocked my northern vowels out of me by osmosis, certainly not deliberately

Whenever I go back oop north, my vowels come rushing back

I find I shock myself now saying barth and glarse and grarse - although as soon as I'm around another northerner they'll return to an a sound like tax and fran and spam (non SALT so don't know the correct phonetic terms)

I'd still say France like fran and pasta with the same sounding 'A' as in pattern. Faster could come out as either rhyming with how I still say pasta, or also with a long ahhhhhh so faster is the same sounding A as fart

Basically I'm a polygot northerner being assimilated to a southerner. Never lived sarf of the rivuh though

CruCru I lived in Brighton for a few years and never heard anyone pronounce it other than as Brighton. I don't think I could even get my mouth round your phonetic spelling.

Having said that I didn't go to school there so probably didn't meet a lot of young people and I'm guessing that is a young persons' pronunciation.

DH is from Brighton and I've heard it equally called Brigh-un and Brite-un (never brite-on to rhyme with lights-on though)

He does often say noo instead of nyew for new, which I gently rib him about in retaliation for piss taking of when I lapse into northern vowels again

I have read most of this thread and I too hate the f instead of th. The mouth moves in a very different shape to make the too sounds. As I keep having to tell my daughter.

However, please please can someone tell me, how fear could only have one syllable?

How is that possible? What would you say? surely it is fee-er?

oops, the two sounds

I don't see how th-fronting is any less legitimate a regional variation than rhotic/non-rhotic, long/short a, etc.

Because it's not even the same letter!

*TheFirstMrsDV

wornout so?
A child's parents choosing how to pronounce their son's name? shock*

they also pronounce the other 3 children called Ethan in their son's class (who's parents quite definitely have Ee-thans, not Eeffuns) the same way.

it's not that they chose to name their child Eeffun!

We have a similar problem with my daughter's name - Naomi. Even family members call her NIomi

Must admit I like the French pronunciation of Tay oh for Theo

I know a Naomi who hates Nay-oh-mee, she pronounces it nair-mee

In Yorkshire no one pronounces the H at the beginning of a word.

I do for a start!

We don't say it quite as pronounced as Nay-oh-mee, a bit more blended. Going on the nickname topic my DH calls her Norma so there you go

Because it's not even the same letter!

You could say 'there's an /r/ on the end of the word, of course you have to pronounce it!' But instead it's accepted that rhotic/non-rhotic is just a variation and people don't tend to react negatively to hearing either.

/f/ for th has been commonly used in parts of London since at least 1850. It's not new and I don't see why it's seen as so terrible.

According to Wikipedia, th-fronting is most widespread in South London and Estuary English, but is very much class-related and was rare in the middle classes but has spread (geographically and class-wise) a bit.
I've met quite a lot of people who generally speak with th-fronting but drop it when trying to sound 'posher'. Or vice versa - BIL th-fronts when amongst his mates from home, but not when talking to me and dh or when he's at work (teacher). Many kids I've taught do it when they are tying to sound a bit 'street' but not when talking to a teacher. Much of that can also be applied to peoppe 'toning down' regional accents in different company too, I guess.

The fone voice my grandad sounded almost upper mc on the phone

Yes it can be a class thing or as with (or wiv) my family knowing that you are judged by your accent losing it though it does slip out on occasion

wornout so you are just being rude about they way the parents talk.
Nice

I worked very hard with my north London born DD to get her to say the th sound, unlike her norf Luhndun born and brought up father.

I am Scottish and despair at the pronunciation down here where there is so much confusion in writing, when different words sound the same to them but certainly don't to me (hour/our/are, where/wear/were are just some of the many examples).

We are Londoners. Oh and ds are in the 'f' camp but me and dad are in the 'th'. Dd (2) is undecided!

Funnily enough oh has a friend called fee-o!!

That should be 'me and dd'

@Sailorbythesea

I don't think people are not pronouncing your sons name correctly OP. It's their regional accent.

I remember a woman I met (a decade or so ago,) who was Danish, and married to an English man. She lived in a village in Hereford for a while, but moved to Wolverhampton for her husband's work. I lived in Coventry at the time, and I met her through an online forum. Her English was pretty good.

Anyway, we met for coffee in Birmingham once, and she went on a rant about how people in Wolverhampton and Birmingham 'can't speak properly.' She said 'they say how AM ya?' And then went on to say 'how can you not speak your own language correctly?'

Silly judgemental moo. I said 'it's not that they can't speak properly; it's called a regional dialect.' She just shrugged and said 'they are obviously badly educated and stupid.' I was raging. I never saw the woman again.

People pronounce things differently, and no-one is pronouncing your son's name 'incorrectly.'

Also, since when has 'fear' been a two syllable word without massively mangling it?

since forever in Wales. not mangled, just different.

Don't come to West Wales CheerfulYank - here it is (more or less) Meg-Ann with at least an equal stress on the second syllable, sometimes more

Yeah, those pesky welsh people, pronouncing a welsh name as its meant to be pronounced....

Also, since when has 'fear' been a two syllable word without massively mangling it?

from Scotland - fee-yur

(like going to see a FIL-UM at the cinema)