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Twitter weighs in on how not to mispronounce someone's name

Just say, “Can you say your name for me? I don’t want to mispronounce it.”

To everyone who has grappled with pronouncing a name they weren't quite sure of, writer and Twitter user Nneka M. Okona has offered a simple solution - just ask the person to pronounce it.

“Can you say your name for me? I don’t want to mispronounce it,” she tweeted.
The simple tip set Twitter alight. A few said they employed this simple strategy in their day to day life.
Others suggested writing out names phonetically to make sure they got it right.
The issue of how some immigrants anglicised their names after moving to the West was also brought up.
"Its because it takes less energy for them to be called Chris than go over their name in Chinese." @ziek78 tweeted in response.

The question of whether it was actually offensive to ask someone how to pronounce their name did come up.
But the consensus seemed to be that it was better to ask someone how to rightly pronounce their name rather than get it wrong.

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By SBS staff writers
Source: SBS

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