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[bluegenedream.livejournal.com]

I have a last name pronunciation question. I have an awful tendency to pronounce any French name I see with a French accent. (I used to confuse some people so badly when I said 'New Orleans') How would you pronounce Foucault or Feucault (the person has awful handwriting) correctly in English?
Would you pronounce it the French way? Fu-Ko (Foucault). Or Feu-Ko (Feucault). I don't even really know how to correctly write out the French pronunciation for "feu" in English but yeah... Any help?

And another more, what do you think, type of question.

Does a name own a person or does a person own a name?


Ok, that wasn't terribly eloquent so I'll try to elaborate.

Of course a person isn't always defined by their name but I was wondering how much you guys let your impression of a name affect your impression of a person. Like, you know, when you hear things like "She just doesn't look like a Jennifer, she looks like an Evelyn instead." Does it take a while for your preconceptions of a name to settle with a person? Are there some names that you feel need a certain personality or flair for someone to "own" it properly?

And then of course, on the other spectrum is a person who owns a name so completely that you can't ever think of it without that person. Like...for me it'd probably be...Ariel. I always think of The Little Mermaid. No questions asked. And when I finally met an Ariel, who was not little mermaid-like in any way, (he was actually a boy) I couldn't stop imagining him with flowing red hair and a tail. What are some names that are already so owned by a person you can never shake off the connotations?

Basically, I thought it'd be interesting to hear some of your thoughts. What sort of names etc...etc

Comments

[http://users.livejournal.com/__recidivist/]

Anyone who is talking about foo-coh is going to pronounce it foo-coh ("foo" as in "Foo Fighters", "coh" as in "co-op"), and probably mee-shell. There will probably be a slight lyrical quality if they are saying the full name. Because who talks about Michel Foucault? People pretentious enough to want to get it right.

[0o-faerie.livejournal.com]

Or people who are not American. Or people who've taken philosophy in high school. Or people who have taken genderstudies in college.

Not all people who want to pronounce a name correctly are pretentious.

[trishy-h.livejournal.com]

Hey, now! Some of us are just nerdy sociologists.