laura
I have given up explaining this to people because most people claim that they can't hear the difference. But I just found it online explained perfectly!
"My parents, who are from Wisconsin,
named me Laura (rhymes with Torah);
but growing up in Kentucky, I always got
called Laura (rhymes with rah-rah). I
think most of the world (OK, maybe just
Europe and the northern US) says torah-
Laura; but there are still plenty of rah-rah-
Lauras out there. I like them both, and I
like my own subtle compromise the best
of all."
See how those are totally different pronunciations? I say my name the rah-rah way (incidentally my family is from Kentucky) but most people say my name the torah way. When I try to explain how I say it people tend to say LA-RAH all obnoxious and nasally. I have taken to sometimes introducing myself with the torah pronunciation to avoid Lara confusion.
"My parents, who are from Wisconsin,
named me Laura (rhymes with Torah);
but growing up in Kentucky, I always got
called Laura (rhymes with rah-rah). I
think most of the world (OK, maybe just
Europe and the northern US) says torah-
Laura; but there are still plenty of rah-rah-
Lauras out there. I like them both, and I
like my own subtle compromise the best
of all."
See how those are totally different pronunciations? I say my name the rah-rah way (incidentally my family is from Kentucky) but most people say my name the torah way. When I try to explain how I say it people tend to say LA-RAH all obnoxious and nasally. I have taken to sometimes introducing myself with the torah pronunciation to avoid Lara confusion.