Hi :) My name is Jana (Zhana <- another spelling). All the kids in school say it wrong. Is it hard to say or they just don't want to say it right ?
2006-11-29 14:20:59 · 8 answers · asked by janapetrovaa 2 in Society & Culture ➔ Languages
If everyone is pronouncing it wrong, then I suspect it is an unusual J sound for Americans. If it does not sound like the J in jeans, jell-o, or jolly, then you should expect that people will get it wrong. We do not pronounce the letter J any other way. Also, the first A could be long or short - the second one is most likely short. So your name would be pronounced either Jay-nuh or Jaw-nuh here in America. If neither of these is correct, then people will definitely be pronouncing it wrong. Don't be offended - just correct them and they will learn. It may take a few times, but that is to be expected.
2006-11-30 22:32:33 · answer #1 · answered by Jeannie 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Tell them your name is Жана and write it real big on the board.
Or, unless it's too late, I'd suggest jumping to the zhana spelling and using that more often. It's not that hard to say at all (leisure has that same sound, so it's not like it's a completely foreign sound).
And if I'm wrong and it's not the S in leisure that your name begins with, proceed to send hate mail to my email address, which I hope you can't find.
2006-11-29 14:29:16 · answer #2 · answered by Neil-Rob 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Well, it has to do with the language you grew up with. Americans speak English, a language that doesn't have too much of a variety of sounds. For example, in Hindi or Bengali, there are 3 different types of "s"' and three different r's. One is rolled, other is accented, etc. You do different things with your tongue, teeth and other parts of the mouth. So in that case, it is hard for Americans since they aren't used to making those sounds. They CAN do it. it just takes a while.
2006-11-29 14:26:12 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
it could be both. many american kids are just lazy and i know becuase i am american, though not lazy. also certain languages have letters and pronounciations that are very foreign to the american tongue such as the letter "tl" found at the end of numerous words in the nahuatl language of mexico. same thing with "zh" in that americans do not recognize this letter of "zh" because it does not occur in our alphabet.
2006-12-01 02:10:49 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Many, many people have their names mispronounced. I'd say at least five people in every class I attend, at the very beginning of school, have their names said incorrectly. Just politely tell them the correct pronounciation and they will eventually get it.
2006-11-29 14:43:22 · answer #5 · answered by Belie 7 · 2⤊ 1⤋
Doesn't sounds hard. Just correct them and let them know whats right. Or get a cute nickname.
2006-11-29 14:22:40 · answer #6 · answered by tigersnw86 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
They just don't want to say it right. They'd rather inconvience you. Stupid kids.
2006-11-29 14:22:31 · answer #7 · answered by Dave 2 · 0⤊ 2⤋
i'd suspect that they just don't know how to pronounce it.
2006-11-29 14:28:58 · answer #8 · answered by mikesheppard 4 · 2⤊ 0⤋