The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #146685 Message #3396780
Posted By: Bill D
28-Aug-12 - 10:37 PM
Thread Name: BS: BBC America and names
Subject: BS: BBC America and names
My cable company carries BBC America, and I really enjoy getting world news with a different slant and topics that our many networks don't often bother with.........however..
Now that our elections are approaching, I hear many mentions of the candidates. Mitt Romney is discussed often... but who is this "Barrack O' Bomber" fellow? (or, alternately, BEAR-ack, as I heard tonight). Yes, I know it not a 'proper English name'.. but it isn't a standard American name either, but our broadcasters have learned to pronounce it the way HE- (the president, Barack Obama) does, 'Bah-rock Oh-ba-ma'.
I KNOW that spellings are different over there..and the same words are often pronounced differently...but proper names of people... and countries... and companies? (I just heard a story on the German company 'Oddy' (Audi.. pronounced Ow-dee by its owners)... and I have heard for many years about the country in Central America, Nick-uh-RAG-YOU-a. Somewhere, I have some notes on a couple other countries I have heard BBC announcers add extra syllables to.
Point? These are supposedly professional broadcasters, and no matter what their regional dialect, it IS possible to learn and practice various 'foreign' names reasonably close to the way they are said by their countries.
(I am aware the many Americans still say 'Mex-i-co' when it is pronounced (approximately) May-he-co by natives...but if I were to beam a broadcast at them, I would enquire how they would wish words to sound and do my best to say it correctly... or hire a Spanish speaking announcer)
(Oh... and right here in these threads, I have seen UK folk make snide remarks about how General Colin Powell pronounces his own name. It may seem funny to some, but it is his choice.......)
nit-picking? Perhaps, but I remember my wife explaining how, many years ago, she tried for several minutes to get a glass of water in a London restaurant and was looked at blankly because she wasn't saying "WO-tah"...