>> Phil Ethier
>
>On a related note, how do you pronounce your last name?
>
>So "Eee-thee-err" instead of "Et-ee-ayy" and "Coot-cher" instead of
>"Coo-tour".
>
>It drives me right up the freakin' wall - I've been so conditioned to react
>negatively to anglo pronunciation of French words - but then I can't very
>well correct someone on how they pronounce their own name! Holy
>presumption, Batman!
That's how I felt when my wife's sister (they have the Norman name "Gurney")
recently married a Chevalier. They are cheeseheads (Hi, Pat!) who pronounce
it CHEV-a-leer. Since my dad served on the destroyer escort Chevalier and
we all remember the late entertainer Maurice, this just grates my
sensibilities. But given the way my people pronounce our name, that would
be pretty hypocritical.
In Minnesota, it has been EE-thee-yer or EEth-yer with a voiceless "th" as
long as anyone can remember. I have been to Montreal and know that there
(where it is as common as "Johnson" is here) it is et-syay. I have been in
contact with an EE-thee-yer in New England, also.
But, hey, at least my people were literate in at least one language. There
was an Ethier here illiterate in two languages. His name became corrupted
from the pronunciation, not the spelling. His descendants now carry the
name Hickey. This is not an isolated case. You may be aware of the Twin
Cities boot and outfitter company Gokey. The founder, back 150 years or so,
was named Gautier. He was not illiterate, but as a marketing decision opted
not to buck the local trend. It is interesting also that Gokey based their
reputation on snake-proof boots made in a state where no-one has ever died
of a snakebite.
Phil Ethier Saint Paul Minnesota USA
1970 Lotus Europa, 1992 Saturn SL2, 1986 Chev Suburban
LOON, MAC
pethier@isd.net http://www.visi.com/mac/
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