ext_38092 ([identity profile] dogwoodblossom.livejournal.com) wrote in [community profile] indeedsir_backup 2011-06-27 04:22 pm (UTC)

It's not the T that's the problem, it's the soft British R. If I called him Bert there would be no problem (except that I was calling him Bert). All I can think of to properly explain is that kind of silent h Helena Bonham Carter slips into the name in The King's Speech. Sort of Buhr-tee.

Whereas with my Pacific Northwest accent it's going to be a harder first syllable. Burr, like a shiver, or a seed that gets stuck in your side (or your poodle. By the dozens. I don't even know where in my yard they're coming from.) Or, Grr! Like a growl. With the emphasis heavily on the first syllable. So the difference between a T or a D afterwords is going to be negligible.

Or perhaps you're right and the T isn't quite crisp enough because I do feel I'm going out of my way a bit to throw emphasis on the T when I say it out loud. But I have to do the same thing with a D if I try a throw the consonant sound the other way.

But yeah, that coupled with the fact that Bertie is just not a common nickname here (which is sad because I find it charming) and his name is going to confuse people. At least spoken aloud. If they read his tag they'll get it. So he'll still have that over Amelie who, best case scenario gets called Emily. And I always think, "Yes! but with an A." Oh well. I have seriously been agonizing about this pronunciation issue for nearly a year. Maybe agonizing is a bit strong. But at some point everyone I know has had a version of the "Should I give my dog a name I know will be mispronounced forever?" monologue.

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