Name pronunciation
When I trace my ancestors to the old country, I often wonder how the name is said over there. And that information really helps one understand how the name changed here.
Sometimes I check pronouncenames.com, but that doesn't seem to have caught on. It would make a lot of sense to integrate something like that into a geneaology site. It would let anyone learn how its said in various areas etc. Thanks for considering this.
Steve
Comments
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A similar point was raised recently, although in connection with Church members wanting to pronounce names correctly when performing ordinances.
Unfortunately, there is very often not a "correct" way of pronouncing a name - even within its country of origin. In the north of England a surname is likely to be pronounced rather differently than in the south of the country. I believe it would be an enormous task to implement what is being suggested - just how many names and regional variations on pronunciations do you think one would be dealing with here?
Just do your best and don't worry even if you are occasionally ridiculed for pronouncing, say, your German "Ws" as a "W" instead of a "V" and likewise with "Vs" that should be pronounced as an "F"!
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How do you pronounce Rainier? Relatives of a friend of mine who bear that name pronounce it like "pioneer" but with an R. (Whereas in grade school, I believed that the mountain's name referred to precipitation, and should of course be pronounced as /rainy-er/.)
Virtually every surname can have multiple derivations, and even when the derivation is the same, the pronunciation could be different. A pronunciation guide on FS would be like the fluff page's "name meaning" bit: only ever correct by accident.
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Sorry to take your example a little too seriously, Julia, but if you are talking about Rainier as a name, try this page as a starting point!
See https://www.kidpaw.com/names/rainier/pronounce
Wish you'd chosen another example?! Maybe not - it does illustrate the point.
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Sometimes Google Translate is helpful in listening to a word in another language. https://translate.google.com/
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