Every kid with even a slightly unique name has had their name mispronounced. Especially the kids with cultural, non-white names. Almost every kid I know has had their name mispronounced, just because their name was "unique" and "never seen before."
But, here's what I don't get. Mispronouncing a name is NOT completely missing letters or adding new letters. That's just ignorance.
You can't pronounce Ananya like Aanya, you can't pronounce Vaishnavi like Vaisnavi. I know these are more South Asian names, but they're ones that I hear mispronounced butchered often.
After a certain point, it's just incompetence. Whether it be a teacher, a coworker, or a classmate, it's not hard to sound a name out. Yes, you might get the name wrong, but it's not because you don't care, it's because you're not familiar with it.
Most teachers have adopted the mindset that some names are just too hard to pronounce. No matter how easy the name is to sound out and get right, this existing mindset inhibits them from trying to pronounce it. You're not missing a tone or a sound of a letter; you're completely erasing a letter or adding a new one.
Teachers say they're sorry for butchering your name, but do they every actually read the name on the piece of paper and try?
Pick the most difficult name to pronounce and just look at it for a good 10 seconds. Look at each letter and sound it out. I'd rather know that you actually read my name and tried, instead of not even trying because you've been "embarrassed before" or "you know you're going to get it wrong."
It's weaponized incompetence and ignorance that stems from stereotypes surrounding ethnic names. You want to believe you can't pronounce it and that it's just too hard. Stop this stereotype that's holding you and almost every teacher from just trying.
After a certain point, students give up on correcting teachers because what's the point? Their excuse is always, "I have so many students whose names I have to remember," "I'm not good with names," and a halfhearted apology before starting the butchering process.
It doesn't take an hour to look at a word and know how to pronounce it. It doesn't take a week to learn how to pronounce a name. It takes 10 seconds of looking at it and then trying, asking the student if you pronounced it right, correcting yourself, and keeping a mental note of learning to focus on the letters in the name.
Just try sounding it out.
I don't care that I'm repetitive because for most teachers, no matter how much you repeat you're slightly difficult name, it takes them weeks to get it right. So let this stick and embed itself into your minds.
Stop your ignorance, stop your prejudice, stop setting low expectations that lead to a lack of care.
Read the name and sound it out.
