Kacpar

[Theresacatinmywashing]

I've just had an email announcement from a friend (her DD has just given birth).

Its Casper isn't it? They called the kid Casper but spelt it Kacpar. I'm going to do a bland congrats reply and not even mention it.

Because I have more than a scrap of common sense and can see a name like "Kacpar" and think "oh, I've never heard of anyone called 'Cack-par,' perhaps it's a foreign name - oh wait, it could be Casper."

I would pronounce it Caspar, but I have a Caspar so would notice the similarity.

I do have an Eirik though, and am seriously thinking of removing the first i as no one pronounces or spells it right so I feel bad for him.

Well said Sandberry!

I live in a northern mining town and I know 4 of them. It is an odd choice of spelling for people with no Polish background though, surely.

Well, it is difficult to pronounce until someone tells you how to! That's kind of how unfamiliar stuff works, you're unfamiliar with it until you get familiar with it.

I don't think it's out of order to suggest that people may not get the pronunciation right on first sight.

It's not difficult to pronounce once you're told. Jeez, you wonder if people in Poland are so precious about our heritage and pronouncing things correctly...

I think sniggering about baby names is pretty not on. It is obviously not 'cack-parr'. Would you ever seriously meet an adult who has a name you haven't come across before and laugh about the spelling of it? It reminds me of something horrible people at high school do.

Think about how lovely little babies are and how they'll all grow into their name.

Even little Mowgli out of The Archers sounds cute to me now I've heard it a few times, and when he grows up it will be his name. (I hope they didn't change it, I haven't caught up on last week's episodes.)

When I meet people with unusual names or spellings I just think it's kind of cool.

There's a Kacpar in DD's class, as well as an Erik and a Klaus. There are several Oskars in her school.

I also know a Caspar.

I live in Cornwall and have lived in Bristol and in Wales and have never met a Kacpar or indeed a Casper.

I've never met a Bernard

I know one Bernard.

Tbh I genuinely did think it was pronounced cackpar until told otherwise, because phonetically that is how you'd expect it to be said. Simple as that.

In what was is it obviously not pronounced Kacpar when it's spelled Kacpar?

I'm not being sarky, I genuinely want to know why we are all supposed to be wonderfully multicultural and intuitive so that we know the proper pronunciation of all foreign names, lest we be accused of being parochial or faintly racist?

Seriously, you've never looked at a new word and mispronounced it? It doesn't make it different because it's a name.

I think if you moved to a country where your name meant shit you'd either not move there or adopt a different name rather than expect a whole country to change to accommodate you.

It's not so much the not knowing how it's pronounced, it's the kind of sniggering. If it is kack-parr then the correct response is 'how lovely, congratulations'

There's a difference between things being difficult to pronounce and not knowing how to pronounce something. I find rhotic consonants hard to pronounce, even though I know how they should sound. With Kacper, it's pretty straightforward. Is what I meant.

And to be fair kacpar isn't quite that bad is it? It's just a misprounciation

But it's not hard to ask how a name is pronounced. It's okay to think "well how the hell do you pronounce that" but instead of thinking that it's stupid to use the name, you should just ask how to say it. Everyone should be able to name their children what they wish.

I've seen "Lora" described as a made up spelling on here!

Yes but unless you are told, phonetically in this country the automatic pronunciation would be crackpot.

Usually the sniggering/bemusement on here is about Irish names, glad to see it's being spread around. Progress, perhaps?

Cackpar! See even my predictive text doesn't get it!

LOL at Donna and "James" meaning shit in some forrin country

If I saw a Kacpar or Kacper I would just assume some Polish link somewhere, and pronounce it as Caspar/Casper.

My children have forrin names, luckily I am not from the UK, so I am "allowed" these "eccentricities"....

But the OP has been polite and kind.

Of course its not hard to ask how a name is pronounced, I was just saying that the boy will probably get asked that a lot, through his whole life. Whereas with Caspar, not so much.

I think if I saw it written, I would assume it was a name of a foreign origin or spelling and check how it was pronounced.

Mind you, I want through the first year of reception thinking one little girl was called lucky, because she had Lucy written above her coat peg.

And I was well into college before I learnt that Siobhan was pronounced Shivaun, genuinely thought they were two different names.

I do think it's a bit naff to make fun of spellings of baby names, though.