Was I being racist?

[bullywee]

In work today we were going through a list of names, discussing each person. The vast majority were English names and were easily pronouncable. There was one non-English name which was a difficult to pronounce (to me). Prior to saying this name, I said apologies for any mispronounciation and attempted to pronounce the name.

Anyway, long story short, my line manager pulled me aside after the meeting and said I was being racist because I implied it was "unpronouncable".

Was I? I was genuinely only pre apologising for any mispronounciation but not sure after the verbal bollocking I got.

Your manager is wrong. I'd complain.

No. Your line manager was being overly PC for the sake of it. Ask for a chat and fight your corner.

No you werent

Unless you tried to do it in some hilariously offensive accent at same time

Ridiculous!

Probably depends what the name was, your tone and any other non-verbal indicators. On the face of it though, no, you weren't being racist.

Plenty of white and BAME people have names I can't pronounce.

You did nothing wrong.

YANBU people can not pronounce my last name they always get it wrong and I am white English. Some names have different ways in which you can pronounce them, doesn't mean you are racist to pronounce it wrong.

many 'english' names are unpronouncable with their unusual spellings. manager has a pc problem

No, you were not being racist, you were apologising in advance for any mangling of their name that might happen in your effort to pronounce it. Then you took (I assume) your best stab.

My daughters, who have very traditional Welsh names that are routinely mangled or refused to pronounce, would be truly appreciative of such an approach.

Thanks. The line manager is poison but I was genuinely concerned about being viewed as a racist.

Thar does not sound like a racist comment to me. I’d probably talk to my boss and say you feel their criticism is unfair, your comment wasn’t racist and that you would like them to apologise.

If they were steadfast I’d contact HR.

What a stupid comment from your manager!!
OP I work in a school with 95% non-British children, many of whom have names that to me were unpronounceable/unfamiliar when I started. I stumbled, I repeated myself, I clarified...I would NOT have welcomed being labelled "racist" and would have given short shrift to anyone who would have suggested I was. Your manager needs a kick in the genitals; calling people racist is a pretty serious allegation!

Well, if that is the whole story then no of course you weren’t being racist. Did you do a hilarious accent, or suggest what sort of person the name holder might be?

Of course you did nothing wrong. Why is it racist to struggle to pronounce names that are unfamiliar to you and not from your native language?

Your manager sounds like an arse who takes political correctness much too far.

No, you weren't. You were being polite, I think. I have a Welsh name that people mispronounce a lot and I appreciate it when people say things like that. It shows you care.

Not racist at all, and I would be having another word with that manager to stand my ground on it.

Also, what race of people does he think you've offended... The race if people with oddly spelt names? Because they aren't a race. Apologising for pronunciation is not an attack on any race, even if the owner of the name happens to be a different colour from you. If you did it in a "oh, haha, your name is ridiculous" kind of way then that would be bad, but you didn't. So have a word with him about bad management and catastrophising an incident which was absolutely innocent.

Depends on the name, on how it's spelt and whether it contains sounds English speakers find difficult. The "oh my God, it's spook forrin, I can't possibly pronounce it" is a well-known utterance of the closet racist, so I can see why eyebrows might raise.

Probably depends what the name was, your tone and any other non-verbal indicators

This. A nervous giggle, an eye roll, something like that? Maybe.

I routinely have to pronounce names I struggle with. Mostly I check pronunciation beforehand if possible.

FFS. I've heard all sorts of mangling of Scots and Irish names, as well as English - Cholmondley or Featherstonehaugh anyone?

I have a very strong Glaswegian accent, I attempted to pronounce the Chinese name to the best of my abilities but am happy to say I no doubt (definitely) failed miserably in my pronounciation.

It has annoyed me all day.

"the race of people with oddly spelt names"

Yes here we go.

I have two surnames. One people can't pronounce (or if they can spell incorrectly) and one I use (still have to spell it though. It's a common British word)

I would agree in general with you
However I have a difficult to pronounce foreign name and a lot of the time people roll their eyes, sigh, just make a noise they imagine is in the language they think my name originates from. They'll laugh, complain etc

It may be that this has happened a lot in your workplace and people are feeling quite down about it and you have been scapegoated. Not fair, but I thought may help you understand and be slightly less annoyed.

Imagine how bothersome it is every single time you meet someone to do a big explanation on how to pronounce it how to spell it, correct them, explain where it's from, reassure them it's ok if they can't say it, have them give you a nick name and tell people loudly it's because your own name is far too difficult for anyone to say etc.

I have an usual non-English name that most people I meet can't pronounce at first. It never bothers me and I have never considered it racist if they point out that it's hard to pronounce!

Nope, not at all, your manager is in the wrong.