Yes, Pronouncing Other People’s Names Correctly Does Matter: A True (Embarrassing) Story


Before Coming to America, before The Arsenio Hall Show, long before Coming 2 America, Arsenio Hall was a sometime panelist on The Match Game-Hollywood Squares Hour, a game show whose one-year run was about a year too long.

As Dave Holmes points out, the only notable thing about the show was that everyone — including the show’s announcer — mispronounced Hall’s name: saying Arseenio (like the long “e” in Armenia) instead of Arsenio (like the short “e” in “men.”)

In the 1980s and 90s I worked in a manufacturing plant with Ken Quach. Ken literally came to America when his family fled Vietnam after the Vietnam War. To my knowledge, “Ken” wasn’t his original first name. It was just easier for his American sponsors to pronounce.

But “Quach” evidently wasn’t any easier to pronounce. Instead of “qwa,” everyone said “quack,” like a duck.

Maybe Ken didn’t care. Maybe he figured the joke was on us, like people in other countries that secretly laugh at stereotypical American tourists who think everywhere should be like here.

Then I remembered the day Ken came into the break room to get a machine operator. “Joe,” he said, “Line is down. They say to tell you to come.”

“My name isn’t ‘Yo,’ Joe said. “It’s Joe.”

“Sorry,” Ken said. “Will you come?”

“Not until you say my name right,” Joe said.

Ken tried. Several times, but not to Joe’s liking. Finally, Joe shook his head and said, “Look, Quack, tell them I’ll be there in a minute.”

The irony was lost on Joe. And, I’m ashamed to admit that at the time it was also lost on me.

It wouldn’t have taken us long to learn to say, “Quah.” But we didn’t, because it was easier to say “Quack.”

And, sadly, it was also a way to implicitly point out Ken’s “otherness.” We were from around here. He wasn’t. We didn’t need to learn his ways.

Which was a (crappy) way for us to act.

As Myles Durkee, a University of Michigan professor who specializes in race and identity, says:

Other people can see it as, ‘Oh, it’s not that big of a deal.’ (But) what makes it detrimental is the chronic pattern of consistent mispronunciation. And the ripple effects from that are much more adverse, signaling to the individual that they’re less important, that they’re less valued.

Strategically mispronouncing someone’s name is a way of ‘othering’ someone.

We all — myself definitely included — could have actually walked the diversity and inclusion talk. We could have put in the tiny amount of effort required to pronounce his name properly.  We could have treated Ken like one of us — because he definitely was — rather than as someone who would always be slightly different.

When you meet someone new, work hard to pronounce their name correctly. Ask to be corrected. Ask if you’re getting it right. And don’t do anything that implies their name is the problem, since the only problem is your initial inability to pronounce it correctly.

Because your willingness to try, and to care about getting it right, is a first step towards genuine inclusion.

And because treating every person you meet with dignity and respect isn’t just good business.

It’s the right thing to do.

The opinions expressed here by Inc.com columnists are their own, not those of Inc.com.

Speak Your Mind

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

Get in Touch

350FansLike
100FollowersFollow
281FollowersFollow
150FollowersFollow

Recommend for You

Oh hi there 👋
It’s nice to meet you.

Subscribe and receive our weekly newsletter packed with awesome articles that really matters to you!

We don’t spam! Read our privacy policy for more info.

You might also like

Rams At Buccaneers Picks: Monday Night Football Week 11...

Jared Goff and the Los Angeles Rams against the...

This Year May See The Tipping Point For Cannabis

beaker of cannabis liquid concentrate being poured into a...

Congress responds to FM’s tweet on loan write off,...

New Delhi: Congress party on Wednesday responded to Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s tweets on...

K’taka HC to hear plea on CCI’s e-tailer probe:...

BENGALURU: The Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear a plea by the Competition...