I think it some accents the 'a' and 'e' are less distinct. They're very distinct in mine. I know that in some places
Keren would sound the same as
Karen. Am I think of
Oz / New Zealand perhaps? These vowel differences are so subtle I can easily see how they'd be confused by a non-native speaker, though. I'm surprised
Madison's mother took it personally - I wonder how many foreign languages *she* tries to speak, but that's a different rant...