Call Me Ishmael

I just had an age-old unsolved question brought up by Brooke. She asked me how my name is supposed to be pronounced, which is something I occasionally have pondered with no clear answer. Is it one syllable or two? I do know that if it’s two syllables you’d better emphasize the first one, because I’m not a girl. But is the vowel just a long O sound, or is it a diphthong morphing from the O sound to a “wuh” sound?

At any rate, I decided it’s my prerogative to mandate the pronunciation of my name. So what should I do? One syllable, two syllables, plain O sound or “jowuhl”?

Comments

Anonymous said…
I would say the plain O sound, but that's just me. :)
September 12, 2008 at 5:24 PM
Lizzy said…
After saying your name several times aloud I notice I tend to do 2 syllables. But I also believe that it doesn't really matter because people will say it however they want. I come to this conclusion after telling so many people my oldest daughter's name, Natalya. We say it with an all in the middle, but people say it right back with an Al (as in this is Big Al's place). So unless your name is so weird that no one has ever heard of it (as is the case of our 2nd Cherith) they will say whatever they want.
PS Cherith is pronounced like Cherish but with a th instead of sh. And it's biblical, look in Kings.
September 13, 2008 at 6:50 AM
Brooke said…
I basically ignore the 'e', so it comes out one syllable. It wasn't a conscious choice...just happened. But now I'm trained that way, and I'll never join the other side.
September 13, 2008 at 7:56 AM
)en said…
i like both. i like having options when addressing a person.
September 14, 2008 at 7:15 AM
MDawg said…
Today I was thinking that you never had a follow-up post about your name. So I'm curious what you ended up deciding.
September 30, 2008 at 10:50 AM
Joel said…
I've decided to just act offended no matter how someone says my name, for the sake of treating everyone equally.
Okay, I don't really care that much. But if someone asks me how to pronounce it, I'll go with the slightly longer pronunciation.
September 30, 2008 at 11:06 AM
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