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We all have our ways of tracking the correct pronunciation of names, whether it’s phonetically or other little notes that a name sounds like something else. We have also had that problem where someone writes something down, and we have no idea how to announce it. It’s a common announcer problem. Though that would make
We all have our ways of tracking the correct pronunciation of names, whether it’s phonetically or other little notes that a name sounds like something else.
We have also had that problem where someone writes something down, and we have no idea how to announce it. It’s a common announcer problem. Though that would make a great hashtag for our small fraternity of announcers, it’s one of those issues that could mean the difference between saying a name right, and getting it wrong upsetting a good number of fans.
The ever-important phonetic pronunciation guides for @ECS_FC vs. TAFC. Fans, start practicing those last names 😁 pic.twitter.com/hFjTNMxfg2
— James Woollard (@BritVoxUS) August 29, 2015
James Woollard is the voice of the Seattle Sounders and posted this on his Twitter account. The phonetics used in this guide are spot on. If you have a method, you might want to try to emulate this style as well. We’ll break it down below.
In the “Mens II” tab, there is the name Xiao Zhang. Depending on the part of the world Xiao is from, the name could be pronounced a few different ways. You see in the final column it’s pronounced CHOW JANG. That makes it simple to better understand.
Now, let’s take a look at forward, Matt Hara. Pronounced HAIR-uh, that means the accent is put on the first syllable and is pronounced more like the hair on your head, than a short “a” in hard.
Move two rows up and you come to a name that some people write one way, others another, Duarte. The listed pronunciation is doo-ART-eh. Some may write that as doo-ART-ay. Either way is fine, as long as it is easily understood.
When writing names phonetically, make sure the syllables are properly spaces. Case in point to Scott Buschen. It’s pronounced, BOO-shen, however some may mistake it as BOOSH-en.
Don’t be surprised if someone comes to you and tells you the name has been misspelled. Just politely tell the person, “It’s so I make sure to say it correctly.” If you’re keeping a scorebook, type your own rosters, use a computer program, etc., and want to write the phonetic name in place of the proper name, go for it. It’s better you get the names right, than second-guess yourself and possibly get the name wrong.
HAV FUN pro-NOUN-cing AND uh-NUN-see-ay-ting EN-ee DIF-ih-cult NAMES
2 comments
2 Comments
coach roy
September 22, 2015, 4:39 pmWhen we built the 2 Little League websites, we had them put a field for pronunciation on the roster page.
We talk to every player when they check in to get numbers & how they say their names. It works well except when the teams arrive late.
rsl
REPLYJarrod Wronski@coach roy
September 24, 2015, 11:55 amThank you for doing that. Many times we get rosters that have nowhere to put pronunciations. Have also had some TD’s get over-zealous and put a translation for EVERY player. That’s more confusing that anything else. Especially when Jeff Brown’s name in the phonetics is listed as “Jeff Brown”.
REPLY