Pronounciation guide to surnames

[donnap99]

I was just going to ask one question, but then it occured to me that this could be an ongoing thread. Are there surnames (usually non-English) that you a) don't know how to pronounce, or b) do know how to pronounce but think others may not? Let's list them.

At the moment, I need to know how to pronounce Tsui (I believe it is Asian?)

TIA!


DonnaP99

[susans]

I used to go directly into voice mail and listen how they were pronounced.   This is only works  if they have voice mail.

[officeguru]

One way I get around this... whether I don't know the pronuciation or think someone else may be wrong.... is when I start to say the name, I preface it with the statement 'now, I'm afraid I'm going to butcher the pronuciation on your/her/his name'... and then make my best attempt.  I usually get a smile and either a correction or acknowledgement that it was correct or close, etc.  Now if its a case of someone else pronouncing it differently, might have a side conversation on why we think its pronounced however we feel it is.

[msmarieh]

Well I asked a Chinese gentleman in my office and he said it should be pronounced similar to "chew-ie". I would have guessed "sue", so apparently I would have been wrong...

LOL... his answer was, well just the way it looks hehehe

Marie

[dettu]

[grin] That's what my Chinese husband would say, too!

Depending on who transcribed the Chinese name and what part of China the person is from, a general guide:

Ts="ch"
E="uh" if it's at the end of a word, short "e" if it's in the middle
G is a hard G as in ghost, not as in George
Ao="ow" as in "ow, I broke my ankle"
Ui=rhymes with "gooey"

So if it's spelled "Tseng Ge," the name is pronounced "chen guh."

Fortunately, my husband's name is spelled phonetically, so nobody has a problem with it!

[donnap99]

Give your husband a big hug for me!!! I've printed your post & put it on my bulletin board. You have no idea how many doctors and researchers I deal with and I'm so embarrased when I don't know how to pronounce their names!

DonnaP99

[juspeachy]

Great topic!  I recently saw a doctor's name and it was spelled "Choi."  The receptionist said it was pronounced "Shay."  Since I've never seen the doctor, your guess is as good as mine as to his nationality.


JusPeachy