spelling counts
I know perfectly well that I have an unusual last name. Despite the fact that it’s spelled exactly like it sounds, people have been mis-spelling and mispronouncing it all my life. I accept this, and try to be endlessly patient with people when I’m spelling out my email address to potential talent. But there comes a point when it’s just ridiculous and someone isn’t paying close enough attention. Consider this actual conversation from my workday:
“Okay, so that’s Tiffany, like the store. Dot. B as in boy, A, X… E, N… D as in David… E, L L, at…”
“Wait, what’s that last part?”
“D, like David, E, L L.”
“All I’ve got is B A X E N.”
“D, like David, E, L L.”
“Wait, V A X E N.”
“No, not V. B, like boy. A, X… E, N… D like David, E, L L.”
“I’ve still only got as far as B A X E N.”
Tiff bangs head against desk.
May 16th, 2006 at 4:24 pm
It’s still not too late to change it to Braxenidgell…
May 16th, 2006 at 5:14 pm
Tiffany:
All of the letters at the end of your name are hard for people to hear properly. Fortunately for you, this problem was discovered long ago by the military & aviation, and they have an answer: The NATO Alphabet.
In your case, it would go like this:
D as in Delta, E as in Echo, L as in Lima, L as in Lima. Few people mess it up once they hear you go through it like this.
Hang in there!
May 23rd, 2006 at 12:37 pm
My last name is nice and British yet I have yet to hear someone say it like it’s spelled. I get Pendelton, Penniltin, Penicillin and some variation that makes me wonder where their minds are: Penile-ton. I always feel compelled to tell people I have allergies when I’m spelling my name and they eff it up, but I know perfectly well that I “talk good” and I thus own my right to weep uncontrollably when it takes 35 minutes to convince them my last name is what it is and that “Dawn” is not and never HAS been short for “Donald.”
June 7th, 2006 at 3:38 pm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NATO_phonetic_alphabet
June 7th, 2006 at 3:46 pm
Hey guys, I really don’t think a bunch of English words used by Aviators (where English is the official language) is going to help my east Asian and African talent know how to spell a Welsh Gaelic name. “L like Lima” is only going to confuse matters.