My long foreign surname at conferences!

[Strangefox]

So my surname is quite long and it is certainly not American

I have just imagined how at a conference a person who announces presentations will be struggling to pronounce it correctly And I know he/she probably won't - because even in my home country they always stress a wrong syllable

Would it be polite - when I am at the lectern - to say smiling: "Or, and my surname is <this> not <that>"???? Because I certainly don't want people to remember me by the wrong surname!

What would YOU do in this situation?

[lyonessrampant]

That's a tough one! I'd probably try to find the person introducing you beforehand and tell him/her how to properly pronounce your name. It might be awkward to correct him/her at the beginning of your presentation.

[Strangefox]

That's a tough one! I'd probably try to find the person introducing you beforehand and tell him/her how to properly pronounce your name. It might be awkward to correct him/her at the beginning of your presentation.

Great idea! I haven't thought about that

Thanks!!

[psycholinguist]

Great idea! I haven't thought about that

Thanks!!

That's a great idea!

My name is tricky to pronounce as well, and it makes people nervous because they can't be sure about it. I get a lot of apologetic attempts at pronouncing it; when people ask, I specify, and when people don't, I generally ignore mispronunciations unless they're really off-the-mark, in which case I correct them but laugh it off and mention some of the more-impressive manglings of my name I've come across. That way, people know the right way to say it, but they don't feel bad!

[runonsentence]

If your name looks unusual or in any way difficult to pronounce, I'd actually be surprised if your panel chair didn't come by to ask you how to pronounce it beforehand. At every panel I've been on, the chair has at least shook hands with us and said a quick hello before the panel began. This should be no sweat.

[fuzzylogician]

As someone who has a weird (for English speakers) first name and last name, my experience has been that session chairs always find me before my talk to ask how to pronounce my name. When I chair sessions I do the same - find out how the speaker wants to be introduced and also how the title of their talk should be pronounced if it contains unfamiliar/foreign words. This is one thing you don't need to worry about.

[Strangefox]

Runonsentence, Fuzzylogician, thanks a lot!

[Strangefox]

My name is tricky to pronounce as well, and it makes people nervous because they can't be sure about it. I get a lot of apologetic attempts at pronouncing it; when people ask, I specify, and when people don't, I generally ignore mispronunciations unless they're really off-the-mark, in which case I correct them but laugh it off and mention some of the more-impressive manglings of my name I've come across. That way, people know the right way to say it, but they don't feel bad!

Thanks!

[ogopo]

I have also had the chair ask me about pronouncing my name before. And I agree that if they don't approach you beforehand, it is a good idea to go up to them and let them know. I'm sure they would appreciate it. No one likes to mispronounce names.

If you are not able to warn the chair before you speak and they do butcher your name, just reintroduce yourself (but don't emphasize that you are correcting their pronunciation). Either way, it's a good idea to introduce yourself, say where you're from, who your advisor is, etc. I even once started a talk by explaining the back story of why I got into my field of study and that went over very well. Give the audience a reason to remember you

[Strangefox]

Either way, it's a good idea to introduce yourself, say where you're from, who your advisor is, etc. I even once started a talk by explaining the back story of why I got into my field of study and that went over very well. Give the audience a reason to remember you

Ah, it's an interesting idea! I might do that! I will listen to how other people introduce themselves and say something of the same kind.

Thanks!

[runonsentence]

Maybe you should write down you surname on the board?

I wouldn't do this, actually. It's not something I've ever seen done at a conference; it'd be a little out of place. Not to mention that conferences are often held in hotel meeting rooms or other places without boards.

[Strangefox]

I wouldn't do this, actually. It's not something I've ever seen done at a conference; it'd be a little out of place. Not to mention that conferences are often held in hotel meeting rooms or other places without boards.

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