Ep. 64. I now pronounce you… correctly

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Mispronouncing someone’s name from the stage is a lot more than a minor screwup. Here’s why speakers should never go to the mic without knowing how to pronounce every name they mention correctly — and why speechwriters should never let them do it.

Links: This episode of KUOW’s RadioActive podcast delves into mispronunciation and race. And here’s one of my favourite comments on the subject, from actor Uzo Aduba, quoting her mother: “If they can learn to say Tchaikovsky and Michelangelo and Dostoyevsky, they can learn to say Uzoamaka.”

Music: All music is by Lee Rosevere. The theme music is “Twitter Will Kill Us All.” Used under a Creative Commons license.

Photo: Jon Tyson on Unsplash