To correct or Not To Correct?
On the internet, we usually look for answers to our own questions. Sometimes, other people's questions bring on new questions. This is why I decided, I want to have a place where we can talk about things I, for one, would like to get an answer or two. My kids often laugh at my inadequate social media reactions and so my question today:
Q: Is it rude to correct someone's pronunciation or is it helpful, even an act of collegial kindness on social media, to tell people when they are mispronouncing names?
Today, I came across an Instagram post where the author asked, or rather in a sort of throw away fashion, stated that she was unsure about the pronunciation of some famous publisher's name:
Alfred A Knopf
She decided that it was probably ok to drop the K and P, so she'd say N-O-F. Now, this of course makes sense when you are an English speaker, but the name is German and you pronounce every single letter: K-N-O-P-F (knɔpf). It also means button.
She didn't ask directly -- the question was rather implied and certainly not directed at me -- I don't know and never heard of her until today.
So why am I hot and bothered (to the extend that I write a blog post about it)?
Well, here is why:
a) Knopf is a name but also a noun. If the author of the post would go to Germany, Switzerland or Austria and ask for a button, pronouncing it that way--that could be potentially embarrassing for her.
b) I love the origin of words and names.
c) A few months ago, a young emerging writer I work with told me how embarrassed she was when she found out how to pronounce 'Hachette' ([a.ʃɛt) (Yes, hachette means hatchet but that doesn't mean it's pronounced that way.
Anyway, someone responded and corrected the pronunciation which was different to the author's but equally wrong. And so, my teacher's hat itched and I nearly corrected the person who--with seemingly great authority--corrected the author. In a real world situation, I would have done it, no question. On the internet, however, it seems not quite the right thing to do and so I didn't.
Would you rather stand corrected then going on for years, saying a publisher's name wrongly?
On the net, BOOK RIOT sheds some light on some of the more difficult publisher names out there, but forgets to drop the 'H' in Hachette as someone also pointed out in the comments! It's difficult to get it all right, I guess...
Any thoughts?
Any thoughts?
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