And you complain about Umlauts?

[missapocalyptic]

Just a short question to the native speakers of English:

Is it really that difficult to pronounce my name correctly? I mean, it's just "Anja", with an "a" as in "father" at the beginning. Is our exchange student just ignorant or is he trying to tease me or is it really that impossible to pronounce it correctly?

ETA: Due to the questions that

Comments

[nakeisha]

I doubt I'd pronounce it correctly until I'd heard it. Indeed looking at it, I'm trying several versions, but I wouldn't know which was correct.

However, once I'd heard it, I'm sure I'd be fine. Maybe he just isn't trying, or he genuinely has problems with being able to pronounce it, some people do. Maybe next time he does it you could try, gently correcting him, he may not even realise that he's got it wrong and irritating you.

[missapocalyptic]

Hehe, of course I'm correcting him. And if he's very concentrated he gets the a-sound right - only then then he's kind of overpronuncing... he just seems to forget about in casual speech. Well, in exchange I started to pronounce his first name (Michael) as I would in German. At it first he didn't even recognise it as his name ;)

It's not that irritating, it's more a matter of interest to me if the pronounciation just sounds too unnatural for him or something.

[missapocalyptic]

Oh, by the way: It is pronounced like "Enya", only that the first letter is a open A.

[nakeisha]

Do you mean it sounds as though the An is sounded like the name 'Ann'?

[missapocalyptic]

Uhm... no (I don't know how you pronounce "Ann", but I don't think it's the right a).

That's what he does. It's a German "a", like in... uhm... okay. Go here: http://www3.germanistik.uni-halle.de/prinz/sprachen/014.htm and click the play button. The "a" sounds like those in "nach und nach". So, like the "a" in father (british pronounciation), only pronounced a little farther back in the throat. Heh.

[nakeisha]

Hmmm, having tried this and having asked hubby, I must confess that I would have problems pronouncing this perfectly. It's the getting it back in the throat bit, that I'm struggling with.

[missapocalyptic]

*g* I'd really like to hear you trying...

[primroseburrows]

Do you sing soothing New Age music, only in German instead of Irish?

I would have pronounced it right, but New Englanders are famous for their open As (we pronounce "Aunt" like Ahhhhnt. Most of the rest of the US pronounces it like "Ant"). Also, my child would make so much fun of me for pronouncing it incorrectly I'd never hear the end of it.

[missapocalyptic]

Do New Englanders pronounce "Aunt" like British people do? Because then it would be better than the standard American way, but still pronounced to far at the front of the mouth. Or something.

Okay. Maybe I judged Michael too hard...

[primroseburrows]

We pretty much pronounce it the way British people do (at least the ones I've heard). I think we pronounce it further back in the mouth, actually.