To the Editor,
In response to your article regarding the mispronunciation of names, one of the first things I had to learn on moving to France in 1968 was the spelling and pronunciation of my surname in French.
Pronounced in the English way, Lewis is incomprehensible to your average French person.
Spelling it out has become such a reflex action that when in the UK I sometimes also spell out my name, which tends to raise a smile.
My Christian name is Stephen. For many years I could not understand why people would insist on calling me Steve, which is not my name.
Then it dawned on me that, as spoken English has a tonic accent, a French speaker tends to hear only the first syllable in ‘Steph-en’. But alas, once that has been twigged, I then become ’Steffenne’.
I also discovered that people would naturally assume I was Jewish, since for them Lewis was pronounced as Levy or Levi.
Some thought, or hoped I was part of the firm that makes jeans.
I also had a couple of brushes with antisemitism due to my extremely banal Welsh surname, but that’s another story.
Stephen Lewis, Loire
Read more: Learning French – être KO and more sleepy slang sayings
To the Editor,
After 20 years of living in France, my husband and I still have a giggle when doctors, medical assistants and so on come into the waiting rooms calling out “Monsieur Prette”, then look most confused when I, the female of the species, follow them through to the consulting rooms.
I have to explain that, in my home country, Toni with an i is the feminine spelling of the name Tony.
Then there is our surname – Prette, pronounced Prettee, having no final accent. We now stick to the most popular pronunciation - M et Mme Pret (yes, we’re ready).
Perhaps life would be easier if our names were plain M et Mme John Smith (sorry Mr and Mrs Smith).
Toni Prette, Seine-Maritime
Read more: Learning French – jeter un coup d’œil and other eye expressions
To the Editor,
My friend Mr Besley reports that when he phoned the director of a French company the receptionist asked: “A la part de qui?”
He got a stunned silence when he said: “Besley!”
Receptionist: “Quoi?”
He rather impatiently repeated: “Besley!”
The receptionist politely asks who is calling for M. le Directeur, only to be shocked when he brusquely responds “F*** them!”
It took a while before his French colleagues let him in on what he was apparently saying!
Paul Stephens, by email
Read more: Learning French – when and why do we say bien joué?
To the Editor,
When I was a language assistant in the mid-1980s, my maiden name was Simey.
It was easier to say 'see-may' and get my name spelt correctly than risk saying 'sigh-me' and see French people writing S-a-i ...
If my first name, Rita, produced a quizzical look. I'd say "like Rita Mitsouko", a reference most people would get.
Since coming to France in 2007, my Dad's experience has been similar. He is 'well-known' around these parts, shall we say, as "M. See-may, le monsieur anglais". And, although he was not born on '6 mai', he was born in May.
My French husband has also come up with another possibility: Roger s'y met (Roger gets going).
Rita, by email
Read more: Learning French: what does d’accord mean and when should it be used?
To the Editor,
It works the other way round, too. My wife, born in 1940, was named Michele and in England, where she lived, was universally referred to as Michael for years.
It was not until the Beatles brought out the song Michelle in 1965 that it quickly became a very common name for English girls.
My wife now has to put up not only with her name being invariably misspelled, but also the surprise on people's faces at how old she looks for someone they assume to be in their fifties or younger!
Anthony Tallack, by email
Read more: Learning French: ne tenir qu'à un fil and other tenir phrases
To the Editor,
We live in France and our surname is Crane, which the French always pronounce crâne, which means skull, creating some smiles in the doctor’s waiting room.
The last straw was filling in our tax declaration online with the help of English translation and our names appearing as Mr and Mrs Skull!
Linda Crane, by email
To the Editor,
Coming to France as an adolescent I was often called Eva and the only way my French hosts could get it right was to say, jokingly, Elle va bien, elle va mal!
I still find that this works today, 65 years later.
Elva Morgan, Côte-d'Or
To the Editor:
These days, when I am in France I call myself Pierre or Pete after my Orange online account ‘helpfully’ translated my name to ‘Fart Gifford’.
Peter Gifford, Portishead, UK
Read more: Learning French: helpful vocabulary around potatoes
To the Editor,
The French tongue finds it difficult to say “Keith” and it often comes out like “Kees” or as “Kiss”, which I quite like!
Keith Johnson, by email
How do you manage your name in French? Do French people struggle do pronounce it? Let us know at letters@connexionfrance.com
