Possibly a good example of a mashed up Aglocised name there - Worts. Presumably originally German but the W is pronounced as a W rather than a V and the O closer to an English U. A little from column A, and a little from column B.
In any case this is probably the best solution. Preferred pronunciation from the players mouths.
Oh yeah, I donāt think people should be compelled to completely change their whole voice to another language or make every tone or sound (which they may not even be familiar with) exact a la Lucy or (to a lesser extent?) Les.
Trying to be familiar with how it should sound (to the extent your ear allows) and trying to make the best approximation in the language youāre speaking is more than fine IMO.
What about with common āEnglishā names in different accents? I have this disagreement with my mother. She pronounces my cousinās husbandās name, Sean (which, yes, is Irish), like a Canadian. I insist she doesnāt have to add a North American accent when she says it. I say Sean like Iād usually say it.
Do I have to pronounce Connors the way Shae Connors says it when Iām referring to her, or do I drop the R in the common Aussie way?
Effort is the main thing. Sometimes people look at a long āforeignā name and make a measley attempt to say a jumble of sounds with the same first and last letter*. At least break down the syllables!
My name is relatively common but I have the more uncommon spelling. I will semi-regularly get ālayā instead of āleeā - commonly (though not always) from people for whom English is a second language. If itās someone who Iām going in interact with regularly Iāll correct them - if not I just let it go as I donāt really care. If theyāre just not familiar with the spelling or the pronunciation I donāt take it as an offense.
Thatās not to say that there arenāt fuckwits who are willfully ignorant or malicious with that sort of thing.
I do always try to use a preferred or proper pronunciation for any names.
Edit: As an aside I also get the occasional situation when someoneās only seen my name before and assumes Iām female because of the spelling.
Also, my first name is Pawel, peonounced Pav-ew. Ive had had pronunciations from the correct way to, Pavel, Pawel, Paul, Pav, etc i just take to introducing myself as Paul, but i generally keep my surname the Polish way to pronounce
We anglicised the pronunciation of our last name when we migrated some 35+ years ago when I was too young to know better. More recently Iāve noticed people asking, and particularly when dealing with people from my area of the world they just get it right a noticeable amount of the time.
I kind of like it, even if Iām completely used to the Anglo version and introduce myself that way.
Ask, and do what they want is the simple answer for me. The more complex answer is something like the above, which is kind of difficult to work out without knowing someone.
Weāve got a a Jorge at work. I feel like a right cunt when I accidentally call him George. Being a genuinely awesome dude he doesnāt give a fuck, but itās just one of those things - getting someoneās name correct is just basic respect.
I donāt bother asking non Portuguese speakers (looking at you Brazilians too!! ;)) to pronounce any of my name that way. They wonāt get any of my name right and is easier just to go with the Aussie pronunciation. Iām more fussed with people being jerks than hitting accents they canāt do, and even if they can get it right, it sounds weird in the English context.
My surnameās Polish and Iāve always pronounced it the Polish way.
Not too bothered tbh when most people pronounce with an English pronunciation.
My daughter though has a double-barrelled surname, with her mumās Italian surname the other half of her name. Sheās in for a tough life pronouncing her name!
My wife is Polish and thinks itās ridiculously weird whenever I introduce myself as Paul. Anyone in our Polish extended circles will refer to my name properly. In saying that, when I started my current job, I was planning on referring myself as Paul, but my boss is Ukrainian so he introduced me with the proper pronunciation, so now itās pretty much half half across the workplace. Itās funny when new people are talking about me as Paul and Pawel and sometimes donāt realise itās the same person
One of my best mates is Serbian, and his names Petar. Pronounced Pet-Ar, but to most heās Peter. In our social circle, heās better known as āfuckwitā.
His dadās name is Slobodan, but when he came to Australia he went by āBobā. They didnāt speak a word of English when they arrived, but heās affectionately known as Slobby Bob.