Pronouncing baby's name wrong

[MrsLeighHalfpenny]

Friend has had a baby girl - Anaïs.

Lovely name, but they pronounce it Annay, and not An-eye-ees.

I saw it written down before I heard them say it, and said “I love the name Anaïs” to the grandmother (also my friend). She told me that that’s not how it should be pronounced.

Should I explain what a diaeresis is for?

OK KatharinaRosalina, would you correct someone who called their child Deirdre and pronounced it Deirdree, which is quite wrong though not uncommon in England, and according to this NetMums thread, Annay is quite a common if wrong pronounciation of Anaïs.

www.netmums.com/coffeehouse/pregnancy-64/baby-names-643/1467601-how-would-you-pronounce-anais-all.html

Though [zay vee err] is a correct English pronunciation of the name Xavier, as [sha vee er] is the Portuguese.
Annay is an over correction of Anaïs and incorrect in French, Englis, Spanish, Provençal and Catalan.

OMG are you going to correct all the parents who have given their child the French name Catherine? I'm sure the Middletons would like to be put right.

Then you can go on to Michelles, Alberts and Maries.

There is a Scottish/French name Annice (Scots sometimes Annis) which is a alternative version/variant to Agnes' conflated with Anne, as is the name Anaïs, itself, but in ProvençalCatalan.

The Welsh name Annest probably follows the same pattern.

I have heard the name Anaïs pronounced with less of a clearly articulated second a, but always the s is pronounced.

But Catherine isn't analogous here. The English pronunciation is logical within the English language. A legitimate Anglicised pronunciation of Anaïs would be either ann-ayce for the spelling with no diaeresis, or something pretty close to the French for the spelling with it - viz. other adopted words with diaereses where its purpose is preserved, such as 'naïve.' (Quaintly, the New Yorker still uses a diaeresis on 'coöperation' and 'reëlect').

The 'annay' pronunciation, as has been mentioned several times, is based on a misunderstanding of French pronunciation, and is illogical in both languages unless the name is spelt with no diaeresis.

All the netmums thread shows is the level of ignorance on there.

Anais pronounced annay made my shortlist, and despite being aware it isn't the correct French pronunciation it wouldn't matter. It's my choice

No, that's not how language works. Words aren't pronounced according to your choice. You can't just decided elephant is pronounced elevator.

Annay is not correct in English any more than it is in French. You can exercise your choice in calling your daughter what you like - but ffs spell it right.

I used to struggle with a child I taught who was called Genevieve - even allowing for it not having a grave as in Geneviève as form childhood I had had the pronunciation of a family friend's name constantly reinforced as being [dzen vee eh]. It took me a while to get over seeing the name and remembering the pronunciation required also the variations of Maja, Mayh, Mya, Myah, Maya, Mia, Miah, Mayah, Majah, Meah.... And knowing - as a teaching in a number of. classes every week for an hour or two which name on the register was pronounced which way for which child.. When there were, in one class, 8 girls with a combination of spellings and pronunciations of the name some of which counterintuitive or same spelling/different pronunciation for different children, different spelling/same pronunciation.

Honestly, it's none of your business. Harry pronounced Aero made my shortlist, and despite being aware it isn't the correct pronunciation, it wouldn't matter. It's my choice.

Friends how close the friend is. All my friends are very close to me and that would be the first thing I'd have said and we would have had a giggle. But def not pronounced annay

Forgiveness I don't know myself how Deirdre should be pronounced so in this particular case I would not. I would and have voiced my opinion about Anais though.

Pronouncing a foreign name correctly is not pedantry, but despite the overwhelming urge to make a point of using the correct pronunciation (and I understand this one perfect!) it will only offend the parents and, as has been mentioned, it is their right to pronounce it however they choose. You could always, if feeling particularly wilful, call her Annie....

I think it is ok to choose a name with the intention of having an idiosyncratic/incorrect pronunciation, which Annay is . I wouldn't but I think people should be free to. I think it is important to do it knowingly though, because otherwise you can't factor in whether you like your version enough to justify a lifetime of correcting people, or would rather choose a different name. Maybe the child will get used to going by both versions.

I don't think I would say anything now if the name is a done deal. Not worth it. However I think I would have said to the grandmother, oh well actually that is the correct pronunciation but your version is nice too...

Both of my daughters get their names said wrong. I assumed they were quite easy names to say. But my older one has a French name and she gets called everything but her own name. I thought people would have heard the name before with Renee zellweger being so popular in bridgit Jones

Incidentally I used to wear that perfume when I was in early teens, and every time I said 'Annay annay' I felt embarrassed and knew I must be saying it wrong because that did not sound right looking at the word. Luckily I got to know someone with the name so I discovered the way to say it.

I wouldn't say anything to the parents, but I agree that their pronunciation is illogical and (to my ears) "wrong". I can't ever remember the perfume being advertised as anything other than an-eye-eece, although I have heard English people say it that way occasionally.

There is a Scottish/French name Annice

I really like that name - we bought our house from someone who had it as a middle name, and it stuck in my mind as looking and sounding very attractive.

This reminds me of hte mentos thing...
I always said "men-toss", whereas everyone English I know says "men-toes" (I got the pronunciation from my Dutch family)
BUT the new advert says it like I do :)
Finally vindicated!

My daughter was at school with a girl called Chryseis pronounced Sherice

Well, since I think she did appear in that (bloody awful) Troy movie, you could have said: Sorry, but doesn't Chryseis rhyme with Briseis? ( I AM making the great big assumption that Briseis is pronounced correctly in the film?)

Still can't quite see how they got Sherice out of that!

Not a great name either way, since both apparently just mean daughter of X, and were both spoils of war being argued over by the trojans. So, no names of their own and just currency in effect. Yep, great choice of female names!

People make up names, make up new spellings of old names, or make up new pronunciations of classic names all the time.

I clicked on the link upthread to a similar thread on 'Netmums' (), and came across this very sensible comment from a poster on there! There's no point in saying anything, op. It's not going to make them change the name or the spelling, and might affect your friendship with the family.

I’ve always thought it was pronounced Ann-eye-eece! It has an S on the end of it so how it could be pronounced Annay is beyond me!!

Lozz22 because a lot of French words (but not that one) have a silent S on the end, so if you knew a smattering of French but didn't know what the accent on the I meant, you could end up assuming the S was silent, like in Jacques or Georges.

Oh God - I just read the NM thread linked to. I feel full of despair that so many numpties are breeding.

I don’t think it’s worth correcting...

The parents chose a name they like and spelt it as they wish!

my name is Sarah and I always get different types of pronunciations and spellings as you like...

In the end I know what my parents named me and choose for me doesn’t really matter any other way....

SarahVanstone13

I agree we named our youngest girl Laurie and although she gets called lorry and it annoys us a little. As parents we named her that because it is an anagram of her grandmothers name Auriel

My mum has a friend Laurie - pronounced Lorry.

How else is it pronounced?

I’d leave it. We have tons of kids whose names are spelt so badly you wonder if the Mum was still high on pethidine. She’ll only have to correct people once. I’m also a French teacher so whilst you’re right I’d just leave them to it!