Hermes! How do you pronounce it

Hermees, never heard it any other way. I have a grandson called Leif but they pronounce it as in leaf not layf as the Norwegians do. I also have a Tania that the locals always pronounce tan- ya but we pronounce it Tarn-ya. Guess it doesn’t matter that much really unless you are a total pedant.

I had a school friend called Hermione, so I always knew how to pronounce that. Also, Greek myths were read to us at infant school, so I suppose I learnt to pronounce them properly before I read them for myself.

I first came across the word ‘decent’ in Enid Blyton. I pronounced it to myself like ‘descent’.

MaybeMaw, what a nice way to think of mispronunciations. I read a lot, but may also have been guilty of mispronunciation!

I always thought Her-me-own was an awful sounding name, as was Pen-el-ope. It was quite a few years before I heard the actual pronunciation.

I only know the French fashion house known as ere-mez.

Irene here is pronounced as eye-reen, with hard i.

thought misled was mizzled until I was an adult.

I think I read it in Famous Five books.
Are you in awe

Totally

Grandma70s

Urmstongran

Funny isn’t it how things are said? I got laughed at when at school reading aloud and said ‘peeny-lope’ for Penelope.
And passing the cinema on the bus when I said ‘gross-venor’ for Grove-nor (Grosvenor).

So many to trip up with!

Most people know how to pronounce Penelope, yet Irene is frequently mispronounced as Ireen.

Yes. My mother was Irene and she always used the correct pronunciation ie Irenee, although very few bothered to do the same. I think the abbreviation that irritated her most was ‘Reen’.

?

MayBeMaw

annodomini

Hermees, just like Herpees.

Thank you Annodomini - there’s always one.

Ah, yes that's the one

We do as well.

? Wonderful!

MayBeMaw

I read once that instead of laughing, we should be in awe of people who say “Percy-phone, Hermy-own, Auntie-gon,Ireen , sim-Malay, hyper-bowl“etc because they have only encountered these words on the pages of books and it reflects the quality if their reading matter!!!

I remember, years ago, reading about a then Fellow of a Cambridge college who recounted how she had studied hard to sit Oxbridge Entrance, lacking parental and school support.

The interview was going swimmingly until they came to discussing German literature.
Then it became clear that the panel was completely thrown by her talking about Go-eeth

It transpired that she had only 'met' him in her private reading.
She was given a place...?

MayBeMaw

I read once that instead of laughing, we should be in awe of people who say “Percy-phone, Hermy-own, Auntie-gon,Ireen , sim-Malay, hyper-bowl“etc because they have only encountered these words on the pages of books and it reflects the quality if their reading matter!!!

I thought misled was mizzled until I was an adult.

I think I read it in Famous Five books.
Are you in awe?

Sorry-“sim-Mile” to rhyme with “smile” - I over-corrected autocorrect it is of course sim-millay

I read once that instead of laughing, we should be in awe of people who say “Percy-phone, Hermy-own, Auntie-gon,Ireen , sim-Malay, hyper-bowl“etc because they have only encountered these words on the pages of books and it reflects the quality if their reading matter!!!

Friends from Scotland found Worcestershire tricky Urms.

You could try hundreds of pronunciations of "Cholmondeley" (in Cheshire) before hitting on "chumley," and the sixteen-letter "Featherstonhaugh" (in Northumberland) drops more than half its weight to become "fanshaw."
?

Urmstongran

^Most people know how to pronounce Penelope^

I was only 10y.o. At the time Grandma70 in school ?

I know. I wasn’t criticising!

Irene is the Greek for peace.

My best friend at school was called Evelyn. She pronounced it Eve Lyn, but her mother called her Evvie.

I was thinking that flows really well, Dinahmo
?

As long as they didn't call her Phone for short!

We knew some one called Persephone Booth!

I think English people often have trouble pronouncing foreign or classical names and often just anglicise them to make it easier.

shouldn't laugh!
It's easy to laugh for those of us who did Classics at school.

I immersed myself in Tales of the Greek Heroes when I was very young but it didn't give me any idea of pronunciation.

???

At work a colleague was explaining about an unusual name.

Percy-phone

Took me a minute to work out she meant Persephone .

25Avalon

Grandma70s one of my names is Irene which has always been pronounced in my family as Ireen.There are no correct ways for given birth names. Evelyn is pronounce Eve Lyn in Hertfordshire but Evy Lyn in Somerset. My grandmother pronounced her name as Claire a, but others pronounce it Clarah.

My Grand mother was Eveline, I've no idea how to pronounce it but I call it Ever line.

annodomini

Hermees, just like Herpees.

Thank you Annodomini - there’s always one.

Apologies MayBeeMaw, mine is not a Hermès, it's a Cartier.
Pronounced Car-tea-ay.

Most people know how to pronounce Penelope

I was only 10y.o. At the time Grandma70 in school ?