pronunciaton problems?

[julia-michelle.livejournal.com]

I really have grown to love the name Genevieve. Love it. And I'm sure most of you know that there are two equally prominent ways of pronouncing this name. For the sake of this post, we'll say "the french way" or "the english way".

Would it be wierd never to choose an official pronunciation for a child and just let people say it how it comes naturally to them? I mean it IS the same name, and both pronunciations are legit (and equally beautiful), even I sort of flip between them depending on my mood...

Also, I have french Canadian family, who would pronounce it "the french way" and the FH has canadian/canadian family (all originating from England but waaaaaaaaaaaay back there) who would pronounce it the "english way". I personally wouldn't see a problem with this, but I worry that it would confuse a child...

Also, wtdy of the nickname Neve?

Comments

[blueberryeyes17.livejournal.com]

I don't really know what to say about the pronunciation... are you living in an English speaking area? In that case I would probably use the English pronunciation and just have your family members who speak French use the other one. I like the way it sounds both ways, though.

I LOVE the nickname Neve. Are you thinking pronounced like "eave" or just "ev"? I like "neave" better if that makes sense.

[lilacmermaid.livejournal.com]

I wouldn't be a fan of this - I do see the two pronunciations as distinct names, even if they are spelled the same. For me it's like Tara - Tare-uh/Taa-ruh vs. Tar-uh are not the same name. If you're saying the name while *speaking* French, that's one thing, but this is different, somehow.

I think the biggest thing for me is that the child will probably become accustomed to whatever pronunciation she hears most often, and so may not respond to other ways of saying it. I think it would be really confusing introducing yourself and not always saying your name the same way.

[sandtree.livejournal.com]

No, I don't think that would be weird. People with different accents or languages are going to pronounce any name differently, anyway. I doubt it would confuse the child. She would get used to it pretty quickly. Do nicknames confuse a child? Maybe at first, but soon they catch on that people are talking to them.

[rowan-belle.livejournal.com]

I don't think it would be a big deal - I feel like people do that anyway. People from different regions pronounce different letters and vowels in different ways. For example my sister's name is Erin - we in the East call her EHR-in. Then our friends in the mid-west say more like EE-rin, and someone we know in California says Aa-ron. I know it's not as noticible a difference as Genevieve would be, but I still don't think it would be a huge deal.

[th3-unicorn.livejournal.com]

I can only say I can't stand "the english way", and I consider it a butchering.
No other french name receives the same treatment in english, they all are pronounced as the closest approximation to the original french version (ie: Michelle, Corinne, etc)

If you like the name, I'd use the french version and let her correct everyone who tries for "the english one" :P

[sarahness.livejournal.com]

I think using the French pronunciation with predominately French-speaking people and the English pronunciation with English-speaking people is fine.

My brother's fiancee's family is Spanish-speaking and they pronounce my daughter's name (Amelia) slightly different than I do (a-MAY-lee-ah vs. ah-MEAL-ya), and that doesn't bother me at all.

Although the difference between the "french" Genevieve and it's English counterpart is a bit more.

[pegasus2o5.livejournal.com]

I kinda like the idea. She may decide *she* wants it to be one or the other, but since you're okay with both, I think that would be fine, and an interesting opportunity for her that not many people get. A more flexible/international identity.

As far as Neve, while I like the sound of it, it seems pretty indirect as a nickname for Genevieve... but hey, how much is Bill like William?

[thellamaqueen.livejournal.com]

I don't think it would be a big deal. It kind of reminds me of a student I have who is named Marisol. Some people call her "mare-ihs-all" and others call her "MAH-ree-sole" (with kind of a rolled "r", the way you would pronounce the name in Spanish). Every once in a while people ask her "so, is your name mare-ihs-all or MAH-ree-sole?", and she just responds that it doesn't matter and she likes both.

[devaretha.livejournal.com]

Makes sense to me. And there's no way the child will be confused. Kids are completely adaptable in terms of language, it's all the same to them, after all. If you speak French and English to her, she'll understand both and speak them to you. Win, win. Though as she grows she might pick a favorite pronunciation of her name, but how fun to have the choice. And I think Neve is an adorable nickname. Go for it!

[mycrazy-journal.livejournal.com]

I also love the name and do not think it would be confusing. Even if you chose one pronunciation over the other, you are still going to have people pronouncing it the other way, and it sounds like you will teach her that this is perfectly fine. I would not have thought of the nickname Neve, but it works.

[lustdumpster.livejournal.com]

what, what are the different pronunciations? i feel like i've only ever heard it like jenaveev. i'm assuming that's the english way.

[spaceandclouds.livejournal.com]

Yeah, that's the English way!
The French pronunciation would be Zhahn-vee-EV (for a lack of a better phonetic spelling).

[how-obscure.livejournal.com]

I'm glad to see this question asked because I like Helena and I like Hel-en-uh and Hel-ay-nuh. I think I might like the 'len' version better but I want the nickname Lena (lay-nuh). Good to know, if I ever use it, it wouldn't be too weird to switch between the two. ;)

I think Neve is a great nickname.

[depeche810.livejournal.com]

I loooove the French pronunciation and hate the English one. If I lived in a French speaking area, I'd really consider it for a girl.

[maine-girl.livejournal.com]

I am french canadian as well, living in an anglo area. My second daughter's name is Agnes, which as you know is pronounced quite differently in French adn English. She's not quite two and responds to both, so I don't foresee any trouble. In fact, choosing a bilingual name seems wise in a bilingual family. Can you imagine your family trying to get around Faith, Hope, or Brayden (this comes to mind as DD1 is in a francophone school and tries to say "Brayden" (her classmate) in a french accent and it's just... wrong:-P

[frost.livejournal.com]

I've only just learned the French pronunciation (from spaceandclouds above, and I can't say I like it. =/

Your child won't be confused, so let French speakers pronounce it one way and English speakers, the other.

[aballard23.livejournal.com]

Well, my niece's name is Julianna - like Jew-Lee-AHN-uh, not jew-lee-An-uh..

But her great-grandmother calls her the second form all the time.

It drives me nuts, but doesn't seem to affect her any? She knows her name is the 'ahn-uh' pronunciation. :)

She's 4, btw. And for anyone who takes offense that I used 'jew', sorry. I don't know how else to write that out phonetically. o_O;

[julia-michelle.livejournal.com]

See, one of the reasons I'm posting this is because I knew a girl in high school who was named Genevieve, but was adamant that people pronounce it the french way ONLY. But a lot of people struggled with the french way, and in general she was kind of pushy about it and it rubbed me the wrong way :(

Wouldn't it be nicer for the child not to have to correct people every day? I know I get tired of it with my last name (also french) and can't imagine how horrid it would be for a first name. So I thought being easygoing about it would be a better choice.

[julia-michelle.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the feedback everyone :) Very helpful!

[julia-michelle.livejournal.com]

Also, I don't generally think of it as "a french name" since it's from germanic roots, and is related to names like Jennifer and Gwendolyn, which I don't consider french at ALL. So I don't see how either pronunciation could possibly be a butchering...

[la-jolie-vie.livejournal.com]

I like the French way.

[ex-bluebonn.livejournal.com]

iawtc. I'm planning to use Geneviève as a middle name, and will most likely not care who pronounces it what way. It's pretty either way. :)