Dean's World

An Interesting Question

deanesmay

How do you pronounce my last name?

I'm curious.

Posted by deanesmay | Permalink | Technorati Trackbacks

(link)

John Eddy (mail) (www):

"Stubbornpainintheass" just the way it's spelled :)

7.5.2004 6:49pm

(link)

Paul Burgess (www):

I've never heard your last name spoken aloud, so I'm only guessing: in the soundtrack of my mind I hear, "EZZ-may."

Paul BURR-jess
(NOT BURR-guess, Burgress, Burjee, Bridges, or Burr-GUESS— to mention only a FEW of the ways I've heard MY last name mangled...)

7.5.2004 7:11pm

(link)

Wince and Nod (mail) (www):

I say EZZ-may, too.

Yours,
Wince

7.5.2004 8:00pm

(link)

Mrs. du Toit (www):

Ez May is what I thought, too. Is that not correct?

7.5.2004 8:01pm

(link)

Mrs. du Toit (www):

Oh, and don't even go where my last name is mispronounced (dooo twaaaaa, for the record). Unless you're in South Africa, where the Afrikaner pronounce it do-TWO-e. It was so much easier with "Carlton." Back then the worst that could happen was people calling me Bonnie Carlson. Like "Connie" is that unusual.

7.5.2004 8:04pm

(link)

Dietz Smith (mail):

Just like it's spelled, Es-may, one S no Z. Do we get the correct pronunciation tomorrow?

7.5.2004 8:41pm

(link)

Rick DeMent (mail):

S-may?

7.5.2004 9:00pm

(link)

Jay Solo (mail) (www):

I am with the EZZZZZ-may croawd. Never would have thought there was another option. Without descending into humor, that is.

7.5.2004 9:04pm

(link)

Jay Solo (mail) (www):

That would be "crowd" of course.

7.5.2004 9:05pm

(link)

J Bowen (mail):

"Mess"

I hadn't heard it before, so I figured it was Pig Latin.

Failing that, it's EZmay, regardless of what you, your family or anyone else might say.

7.5.2004 9:34pm

(link)

OF Jay (www):

Esmay. Like the hotdog, without the Kay.

7.5.2004 10:17pm

(link)

John Eddy (mail) (www):

Oh, alright, Ess May

7.5.2004 10:31pm

(link)

Robert Modean (mail):

Hmm, I appear to be in the minority but I assumed it was eZ-me, in accordance with English pronunciation not the American pronunciation eZ-may. The pronunciation rules of names generally follow the etymology of the region of origin, not the country the individual lives in.

7.5.2004 10:32pm

(link)

James Owens (mail):

My soundtrack plays it as "ess-'may" with the emphasis on "may".

7.6.2004 12:03am

(link)

Steven Malcolm Anderson (www):

Hmmm.... I've been wondering about that myself. I suppose it's pronounced EZZ-may, but for some reason, I've been pronouncing it ESS-may. SMA? Hmmmm....

7.6.2004 12:13am

(link)

Chris Reid (www):

I always pronounced it EZZ-may, but then I started to think, "Hmm, maybe it's ESS-may," until you confirmed the former pronunciation in an IM conversation.

7.6.2004 12:31am

(link)

Erica (mail) (www):

EZZ-may. I think I thought it was ESS-may until I talked to you.

7.6.2004 12:34am

(link)

Andrew Cory (mail) (www):

S-may
or, sometimes, with the "es" turned into half a "z"... "ez"

7.6.2004 12:37am

(link)

mark parr (mail) (www):

ess-MAY

7.6.2004 12:59am

(link)

Gilly (mail):

ess-May.

What, you mean there is another way to pronounce it?

7.6.2004 1:58am

(link)

Jerry Kindall (www):

I believe it's pronounced "Throatwarbler Mangrove."

7.6.2004 2:55am

(link)

Mark Jaquith (www):

I'm with Andrew.

ESZ-may

I think I did that because I didn't know which it was, so I blended them. And don't even get me started on mispronunciations of my last name: Jaquith. (It's JAKE-with, soft 'th' as in 'throw').

7.6.2004 3:51am

(link)

Rachel Ann Anolick (mail) (www):

Es-may. Though I keep wanting to add an Ay sound between the Es and the may.

7.6.2004 4:09am

(link)

Sean Kinsell (mail) (www):

Paul Burgess:
"Paul BURR-jess
(NOT BURR-guess, Burgress, Burjee, Bridges, or Burr-GUESS— to mention only a FEW of the ways I've heard MY last name mangled...)"

Yeah, I think there should be a support group for people with two-syllable surnames that end in double consonants. But at least you have a first name people can pronounce. You'd be floored to hear how many people, in this post-Connery age, assume Sean rhymes with...well, Dean, come to think of it.

I always kind of figured that in the old country (didn't you say it was French?), Esmay would rhyme with eye (the way the Scots pronounce McKay) but that your family had probably Americanized it to Ez'-may.

7.6.2004 5:18am

(link)

Michael Demmons (mail) (www):

Ess-may - with the emphasis on the first syllable.

7.6.2004 9:02am

(link)

Arnold Harris (mail):

I only communicate with you in writing. About pronouncing your name? Like they say around here: Macht's nichts.

Arnold Harris
Mount Horeb WI

7.6.2004 10:10pm

Commenting on Dean's World is a privilege, not a right. Dean is your host, you are his guest, and you should behave in that fashion. Dean is not your babysitter, nor is he your punching bag. Please remember this. In general, you are free to disagree with anyone on any subject you wish, but abusive behavior will not be tolerated.

Of course we all lose our tempers now and then. Dean freely admits to being imperfect in this regard, which is why regulars to this establishment will generally be cut more slack than people who we don't know very well.

Still: behave like an adult, or go find somewhere else to play. Thanks.