Let’s see, what has the latest software update given the NPC’s to automatically whine about today?

The racist practice of mispronouncing names

In this episode of RadioActive Youth Media, hosts Zuheera Ali and Keya Roy talk to author Ijeoma Oluo and each other about their experiences living in the United States with “difficult” names. They also talk to Rita Kohli, a professor at University of California, Riverside who has done research on the effects of mispronouncing names on students of color.

Spoiler: This practice of mispronouncing names isn’t just embarrassing. It has a long and racist history.

Oh FFS. Boo friggen’ hoo, people can’t figure out how to pronounce your goofy alien name. People can’t figure out how to pronounce *my* name, and it came from Britainland. It starts off with “L-O-W.” Is that like “Lo there do I see my father,” or is it like “ow, my delicate little fee-fees?” It has a “T-H” in it. Is that pronounced like “Thor” or like “There,” or perhaps even as separate T and H? The answer may surprise you (hint: the answer is, I could hardly care less).

And then there’s people with Irish names like “Siobhan.” Which is pronounced almost entirely unlike how it’s spelled. And then there’s “Caoimhe.” Which… yeah. Someone had a sense of humor when they decided that that sound maps to those letters.

And then there’s Iceland:

Back when people came to American *wanting* to become Americans, it was common for them to stop off at Ellis Island and leave with a brand new name because the guy stamping the papers couldn’t figure out their bizarro Eastern or Southern European gibberish. And other people changed their family names to “Smith” or some such because they *wanted* to fit in. So get with the program, you whiny little trolls. You want to be seen as special and unique… well, this is what happens.