Stop! You're Both Right

Cyberspace has certainly shrunk the margin of error ...

Colloquialisms used to take quite a while to become embedded in a local vernacular. For example- the Americans expunged the British from the colonies in 1789- but based upon personal letters exchanged between the two countries which have been noted by historians- it took until the 1830s before comments were made noticing a distinct difference in accents between them.

Local dialects will always be a fixture in geographical cultures. However- as more and more of us traverse both cyberspace and the real world- basic pronunciations are becoming a bit of an issue.

I just noticed this again in the world of sport- when a national broadcast featured the recent darlings of NCAA basketball- Gonzaga University from Spokane- Washington. The locals there insist that the name be stated as /' Gon-ZAEG-ah- /' but inevitably- sports announcers from elsewhere defer to /' Gon-ZAHG-uh/' until corrected by the locals.

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However- the Gonzaga name has been a part of Italian history since the 1300s- and anyone who has studied it or been exposed to it from that much deeper context knows that the correct pronunciation is /' Gon-ZAHG-uh./' Ludovico Gonzaga not only established his family/' s dynasty over the Italian state of Mantua in 1328- but his family became a cultural and military force in that area for the better part of five centuries.

You/' ll even note that the Spokane university has an extension program in Italy and still steadfastly maintains its preference for the colloquial pronunciation. Trust me- in Europe- it/' s called /' Gon-ZAHG-uh./' However- alumni from the Spokane campus- from Bing Crosby to John Stockton- learned to refer to their alma mater as /' Gon-ZAEG-ah./'

This raises the age-old question of proper pronunciation etiquette- of course. Do we go with the traditional and accurate version of a proper name if we are aware of it or with the colloquial preferences which- for some reason- took hold in a certain area?

Another classic example is Nôtre Dame. The correct French- of course- is /' Noht-ruh Dahm./' Use the Americanized version anywhere else in the world at the risk of being castigated as a hayseed. And yet- the Jesuit university based in South Bend- Indiana- obviously prefers the local pronunciation.

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The universalization of products broaches the same issue. For example- the German beer /' Löwenbräu/' is pronounced /' LUH-ven-broy/' everywhere except in English-speaking countries and the Swedish furniture store- IKEA- is universally stated as /' ee-KAY-uh./' Try pronouncing those in the proper way and it/' s odds-on you/' ll be met with a blank stare or looked upon as a snob. But- what have you done except say the name accurately?

Of course- in commercialism- it/' s the bottom line that dictates pronunciation. There is no better example than the legendary German shoe tycoon- Adi Dassler- who used his own name as the basis for his corporate image. While most of the world refers to his sporting footwear as /' AH-dee-dahs- /' Americans somehow found a way to call it /' Uh-DEE-duhs./' Go figure. Dassler never minded- though. Dollars spent just as easily as any other currency.

Other famous names have been subject to colloquialization in their own right. In hockey- Teemu Selanne is a Finnish star who has been in the NHL for quite a while. He may have come to North America as /' TAE-moo SAY-lah-nuh- /' but any hockey fan on the continent will know him only as /' TEE-moo Seh-LAH-nee./'

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Sometimes- we even see the metamorphosis from universal to colloquial pronunciation occur before our very eyes. In baseball- Bill Mueller has been a solid major-league baseball player since his debut with the San Francisco Giants in 1996. At that time- he went by the traditional German pronunciation of his surname of /' MYOO-luhr./' However- somewhere along the line- he decided and subsequently announced that his surname was best said aloud as /' Miller./' Who knows why? What does one do then? Correct someone on how to state his own name?

Actor Jake Gyllenhåll has Swedish roots. His surname literally means /' Golden Way/' and should be stated as /' YEE-lehn-hole./' North Americans find it easier to say /' JEE-lehn-hall./' I/' ve never seen anything that indicates where Jake stands on the issue. He/' s probably too busy being talented and rich.

This is why I find it difficult to criticize anyone who uses either pronunciation. It/' s a matter of context as to who/' s right. Like the famous breath-mint commercial says- they both are.

My rule of thumb is simple. In any situation- if there/' s more of them than there are of you and pronunciation becomes a volatile issue- they/' re right. Otherwise- universality prevails.

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Stop! You're Both Right