What's in a name?
By Judy Evans
@JudyEv (382240)
Rockingham, Australia
October 14, 2018 3:02am CST
I just used the word ‘wincing’ in a comment and as these things do, it brought to mind something I can write about. My husband’s name is Vincent but mostly he gets Vince or Vin. Vincent is mostly reserved for when he is in trouble.
When we travel, some nationalities have trouble pronouncing his name. One Austrian friend would call him ‘Wince’ which at first made ME wince but then always made me smile. This guy could say Volkswagen without any difficult but for some reason he couldn’t manage ‘Vince’. Then there was another person who called him ‘Bince’ which sounded very strange.
If I don’t pronounce my name carefully and slowly, people often think I’ve said ‘Jenny’ or ‘Julie’. The only one who had trouble with my name was a cute little three-year-old Austrian but she managed ‘Judy’ about a week after we came home. If we ever get back there I look forward to hearing her call out my name.
I don’t really want to put a photo of her here. This is one of the many beautiful statues in Vienna.
15 people like this
14 responses
@wolfgirl569 (135819)
• Marion, Ohio
14 Oct 18
Mine is always said wrong when reading it. They say it with a long E but it is a short E. I was named after dad who was Everett They took the EV and added an A is the easy way to learn to pronounce it.
2 people like this
@GardenGerty (169490)
• United States
15 Oct 18
Now when we meet you we will know how to say it correctly.
1 person likes this
@wolfgirl569 (135819)
• Marion, Ohio
15 Oct 18
@JudyEv Yes most people do. My son as a kid would even tell people no one lived here by that name and hang up on them. I finally got him to understand lol
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (382240)
• Rockingham, Australia
15 Oct 18
That's a bit different. I would have given Eva a long E too.
@pgntwo (22405)
• Derry, Northern Ireland
14 Oct 18
Something in this post reminded me of a scene from a film known for mispronouncing common words or proper nouns...
Just one of many brilliant scenes from the epic comedy "Life of Brian", by Monty Python. PS: Subtitles is the originals from the blu-ray. PS 2: Yes, we know ...
2 people like this
@DWDavis (25797)
• United States
14 Oct 18
Has Vince ever complained about being "Wince" or "Bince," or has he learned to smile and go along with it?
My name is easy for most westerners to pronounce but my last name gave my Korean friends trouble when I was stationed over there. Korean phonetics doesn't have a "v" sound so I became Dabis to them. I was reminded of this when you mentioned the person who pronounced Vince's name with the B in place of the V.
2 people like this
@JudyEv (382240)
• Rockingham, Australia
14 Oct 18
He is very tolerant really and sees the funny side to most things. If I'm introduced to someone who has a name I've never heard of before I find it very difficult to remember their name. A little Chinese waitress was named Too Ling and on our way to the restaurant we'd recite 'too ling, too long, too ling, too long' to help us remember it.
2 people like this
@GardenGerty (169490)
• United States
15 Oct 18
When I was young, my younger girl cousin called me "Heifer" which I found funny because my grandparents had Hereford cattle, with plenty of heifers. Childlike minds, you know.
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (382240)
• Rockingham, Australia
15 Oct 18
We had Hereford cows too. I have always liked Heather as a name - not so keen on 'heifer'. 
@lovinangelsinstead21 (36847)
• Pamplona, Spain
14 Oct 18
A few German surnames have gotten me a bit tongue tied as not sure whether I am pronouncing them right or not.
No problem with Spanish ones and its funny because I can pronounce Welsh names and surnames very well and they are very tongue tying for most people but not for me.
I would say Vince outright no problem as they say here in English and they are all Spanish who love to use English when they can.
1 person likes this
@teamfreak16 (43618)
• Denver, Colorado
22 Oct 18
It's my last name that always gets mangled, but someone actually once butchered "Scott." It's such a common name, and so self explanatory, how is that even possible?
1 person likes this
@arunima25 (93194)
• Bangalore, India
14 Oct 18
My name is quite tough to pronounce. I have heard all funny versions in US. My younger students call me with all funny names and that really makes me smile.
1 person likes this
@arunima25 (93194)
• Bangalore, India
14 Oct 18
@JudyEv Mine is a really tough one especially for kids.
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (382240)
• Rockingham, Australia
14 Oct 18
Yes, that's true but they have trouble with the pronunciation - even if we say it for them they still find it hard to get right.
