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Help[Opinions] WDYT is better: an unusual pronunciation or an odd spelling?
I recently came across someone whose name is Tatiana, but pronounced it closer to TaSiana and called 'Tasi'.
I'm not sure if this was how the name is pronounced where she is from (I believe she comes from South Africa) or just how I heard it from their accent.
I quite liked the sound of it; however, I'm unsure if it's better as an unusual pronunciation (which would likely have to be corrected a lot) of Tatiana or if it would be better to spell it Tasiana/Tassiana for easier saying, but it looks a bit made-up/creative.
I'm not sure if this was how the name is pronounced where she is from (I believe she comes from South Africa) or just how I heard it from their accent.
I quite liked the sound of it; however, I'm unsure if it's better as an unusual pronunciation (which would likely have to be corrected a lot) of Tatiana or if it would be better to spell it Tasiana/Tassiana for easier saying, but it looks a bit made-up/creative.
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If she pronounced it Tatsiana, I would see nothing wrong with the Tatiana spelling. It depends on what letter is used for "ts" in the parent's native language. If it was Tasiana, I'd prefer the Tasiana spelling.
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My theory is that it's because of the parent's native language that they pronounce it /tasiana/ instead of /tatiana/. It's not necessarily a /toeMAYtoe/ /toeMAHtoe/ kind of thing. It's the same as any other mispronunciation by a foreigner.
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You likely are right.
Oh, and I'm a toeMAHtoe person, myself. :-))
Oh, and I'm a toeMAHtoe person, myself. :-))
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It sounds kind of French with that pronunciation. I quite like it but I wouldn't change the spelling.
OT: I see that you had your third child. I remember that you were asking for name suggestions (maybe it was a long time ago?). Mirabelle is absolutely adorable. Congratulations
OT: I see that you had your third child. I remember that you were asking for name suggestions (maybe it was a long time ago?). Mirabelle is absolutely adorable. Congratulations
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Ah, comparative phonology. And my prof said we'd only use it if we teach ESL. It depends on what lanaguage the parents speak. If there are no t's in the middle of words in the native language, it will be hard to learn if there are some in the second language. The language learner will replace the foreign sound with one that is similar and in their L1. /t/ and /s/ are both voiceless alveolar consonants, so the tongue is in roughly the same spot for each.
This message was edited 1/24/2010, 10:15 AM
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I'd spell it Taciana in that case. I think an unusual pronunciation will be harder to keep up than an unusual spelling, but I don't like the Tasiana/Tassiana spelling.
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I agree. I also prefer the spelling Taciana over Tasiana and Tassiana. Tasiana, Tassiana, and Taciana are more straightforward than Tatiana pronounced like TaSiana.
This message was edited 1/24/2010, 10:15 AM
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