Comments on: Reference Question of the Week – 4/10/11

By: Brian Herzog

Brian Herzog — Fri, 22 Apr 2011 23:23:13 +0000

@Gretchen: thanks for the link - that website is great. Not only do the authors pronounce their names, but also explains, in some cases, the origins of their name - very interesting. Some of my favorites from just clicking around are Robert Quackenbush and Lee Harper, but also I learned that I was pronouncing An Na and Brian Jacques incorrectly.

By: Gretchen

Gretchen — Thu, 21 Apr 2011 14:59:06 +0000

It wouldn't have been helpful for this particular patron, but one of my favorite pronunciation tools is TeachingBooks.net's Author Name Pronunciation Guide, which has recordings of authors and illustrators pronouncing their own names--so you know it's right. Super-helpful!

By: Brian Herzog

Brian Herzog — Wed, 20 Apr 2011 15:41:38 +0000

@Nancy: I grew up in the Midwest, and now live in New England, both of which use a lot of Indian words for place names. I managed to get a handle on those (for the most part), but I think I would always struggle with Welsh. In fact, many Massachusetts place names are bad enough – Haverhill, Reading, Worcester, Quincy. Even “Chelmsford” is pronounced “Chems-fud” by locals (and sometimes “Klems-ford” by sales reps who call on me).

By: Nancy

Nancy — Tue, 19 Apr 2011 14:00:17 +0000

I live in an area with placenames like Bryn Mawr (Brin(short i) and like Mahr), Bala Cynwyd (Kinwid, short i), Llanerch (lanark) and Tredyffrin (tread-if-rin). I once had a telemarketer try to pronounce Bala Cywyd as Bala sinnyweed. Yes, there were lots of Welsh in the area at the beginning.