Re: It's Stephen.....not Stefan
 

How do Americans say Menzies. I have not come across it since being here.

Re: It's Stephen.....not Stefan
 

As far as I can tell they are pronounced identically in the UK. Is it usual to pronounce the "ph" in Stephen, as an "f" in the US? :confused:

Re: It's Stephen.....not Stefan
 

Unless you change the last 'e' to an 'o'.:unsure:

Re: It's Stephen.....not Stefan
 

Gram, as in gram crackers. :unsure: Eh?

Some people try too hard to pronounce my name. Depending who it is I don't bother to correct them. Life is too short. Jeff it is then.

But for those who do matter, ffs understand some sort of "a for apple" kind of thing will you?!
J for golf
A for echo
I for orange
S for freddie
S for freddie
Um? They just end up even more confused. Ok, some of it is the accent but usually if people don't understand a letter then they'll use the word. So when I say G for golf and they hear J for golf, they just repeat "J for golf?" in a confused tone :banghead:

Re: It's Stephen.....not Stefan
 

Jolf. As in, Harris.


Maybe not. :D

Re: It's Stephen.....not Stefan
 

It would confuse the hell out of me. .... In fact I've read it several times and still can't fathom what you're saying. :confused:

Wouldn't "It's a spelling variation of "Jeff" work better?"

Re: It's Stephen.....not Stefan
 

+1 :o:confused:

Re: It's Stephen.....not Stefan
 

G for golf, e for echo, o for orange, f for freddie, f for freddie. As in my name. I wrote it as people appear to hear it.

(And yes I've tried golf-echo-oscar-foxtrot-foxtrot but that appears to confuse them even more)

Re: It's Stephen.....not Stefan
 

You haven't come across it since being here because anyone called Menzies would have been pretty much obliged to change their name if they moved to the US for much the same reason that people from Kirkcudbright probably say that they come from "Castle Douglas" ...

Re: It's Stephen.....not Stefan
 

When I first moved here I had to call a client, whose first name was Jesus. Well, Christianity was my only prior exposure to this name, so naturally I pronounced it 'biblically', much to the sheer delight of Jesus' wife who had uncontrollable fits of laughing before finally handing the phone to her husband.
Johnny Cash - 'I talk to Jesus every day' became a song often sung by my colleagues, and continued to be so until I left...

Re: It's Stephen.....not Stefan
 

That's the why but not the how - and it's that latter that is the problem!

Re: It's Stephen.....not Stefan
 

So is it or isn't it pronounced "Jeff", and if it is, what do "a" and "s" have to do with it? :confused:

Re: It's Stephen.....not Stefan
 

Back in the early 20th century when immigrants were coming though Ellis Island, first an last names were often changed by immigration officials and that solved the problem.:nod:

Re: It's Stephen.....not Stefan
 

Again: +1

Re: It's Stephen.....not Stefan
 

They think he is saying "JAISS"