Yeah, but it seems to be more of an “it doesn’t really matter” kind of thing. It’s really up to you and what you want to be called when talking with others. So my main TL is Russian, and when I was taking classes for it the professor asked me to pick a russian name that most closely approximated my name. That was easy because I have a common name. But not changing the pronunciation of your name might result in a break in accent, like saying any other proper noun like “Walmart.” Really it’s all preference, but I choose to fin my name into the sounds of the language. Answer from CallMeGrand on reddit.com
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HowtoPronounce
howtopronounce.com
How To Pronounce: Online Multilingual Pronunciation Dictionary
HowToPronounce.com is a free online audio pronunciation dictionary which helps anyone to learn the way a word or name is pronounced around the world by listening to its audio pronunciations by native speakers.
Learn how to pronounce names
Therefore, it is possible to find different variations to pronounce for the same name. In these cases, choose the pronunciation of the name in the variation you prefer. Why is the name dictionary of HowToPronounce designed? Our aim is to develop this feature is to break the barriers of mispronouncing unknown names. We aim to give respect to the language...
English Pronunciation Dictionary
Learn how to pronounce English words, names and phrases correctly with English audio pronunciations contributed by native English speakers.
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NameShouts
nameshouts.com
NameShouts - Pronounce Names Right
Learn how to pronounce names in different languages — Hindi, Mandarin, English, Spanish and more — with NameShouts.
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NameShouts
nameshouts.com › blog › pronounce-names-languages-english-chinese-spanish
Pronounce Names in These Languages – NameShouts Blog – NameShouts Blog
English is a complicated (and wide-reaching) language with numerous oddities, exceptions and accents, so it’s no wonder people need a little extra help when it comes to English names. Following up is Spanish, one of the most commonly-spoken languages in the world. While Spanish can be more consistent than English in terms of rules, it also boasts a number of dialects and accents which can complicate the way people speak it. For an outsider, Argentinian Spanish may sound completely different from European Spanish! One cardinal rule, though, is this: never pronounce the “J.” Whether it’s in Jorge or James (pronounced “kha-mes” with a soft kh), the letter “J” in Spanish is never what it seems.
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Indifferent Languages
indifferentlanguages.com › words › name
Name in Different Languages. Translate, Listen, and Learn
Name in Different Languages: Please find below many ways to say name in different languages. This page features translation of the word "name" to over 100 other languages. We also invite you to listen to audio pronunciation in more than 40 languages, so you could learn how to pronounce name and ...
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Ear & Speak
earandspeak.com.au › home › pronunciation of foreign names, places and more
Pronunciation of foreign names, places and more » Ear & Speak - the Accent Experts
January 23, 2022 - Novak (Djokovic) is commonly pronounced “no vac” in English-language media, but the closest Anglicised version would actually sound like “novvuk” (see below). The English pronunciation suggested is appropriate for speakers of Australian and to some extent New Zealand, Standard British and related Englishes. All words are given at two speeds (one artificially slow), with the full name and the individual names.
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NPR Training
training.npr.org › 2019 › 04 › 30 › pronounce-like-a-polyglot-saying-foreign-names-on-air
Pronounce like a polyglot: saying foreign names on air : NPR Training ...
May 1, 2019 - Denote the accented syllable with capital letters. So the pronouncer for Andrés Manuel López Obrador would be "ahn-DREHS mahn-WELL LOH-pehss oh-brah-DOOR," or some variation. Write the pronouncer even if the host or reporter speaks the local ...
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Reddit
reddit.com › r/languagelearning › pronouncing foreign words (especially names) in your language
r/languagelearning on Reddit: Pronouncing foreign words (especially names) in your language
March 13, 2023 -

From what I’ve noticed, different languages have different ways to pronounce foreign words (especially names). Examples:

  • In Chinese, everything gets Sinicized. If the name is foreign, it almost always gets a phonetic approximation using matching Chinese characters. For instance, “James” gets approximated as 詹姆斯 (zhān mǔ sī) in Mandarin. The same applies for other Chinese dialects/languages.

(Note that, if the name is Japanese, Chinese will pronounce it according to the Chinese pronunciations of the characters that are used. This is why many Chinese speakers may not know what city “Nagoya” is, because in Chinese, 名古屋 is “míng gǔ wū.”)

  • English tends to Anglicize the pronunciations of everything, although there is considerable debate now in some English-speaking countries over whether English speakers should be doing this or should be aiming to pronounce it more accurately in the foreign language. For instance, seemingly all Spanish names in the US have an Anglicized pronunciation, and some who have Spanish names even primarily go by the Anglicized pronunciation.

(Note that while there is debate over this, some of the more established names are not questioned. For instance, “Los Angeles,” despite having a Spanish name, has been under US control for so long that the Anglicized pronunciation is now “correct.”)

  • Spanish, when dealing with English names, tends to aim for the accurate English pronunciation and does not try to Hispanicize (is that the right word?) it. I don’t know if Spanish does this with other languages though.

  • Like Chinese, Japanese seems to have to “Japanicize” foreign words (note that I’m not speaking of loanwords that have become a part of the language). However, unlike Chinese, Japanese seems to pronounce Chinese names the “Chinese way,” even if the Chinese-style readings of the characters (Onyomi) don’t sound like modern Chinese. For instance, 上海 (Shanghai) in Japanese is “Shanhai” despite the Onyomi (or at least one of them) being “jō kai.”

(My knowledge of Japanese is limited, so feel free to correct me if I missed anything.)

How does your language approach foreign words/names?

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PronounceNames
pronouncenames.com
Pronounce Names - Your Dictionary of Name Pronunciation, Learn How to Pronounce Names of People & Places
PronounceNames.com is a crowdsourced website offering a pronunciation guide for names of people and places, allowing users to find, share, and request pronunciations.
Find elsewhere
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Quora
quora.com › Is-a-persons-name-pronounced-in-the-same-way-in-different-languages
Is a person's name pronounced in the same way in different languages? - Quora
Answer (1 of 6): Because speakers of different languages have different sound systems, it is usually hard to pronounce a name according to its original language if it contains sounds that aren’t found in the other language. Sometimes, keeping the original pronunciation can even cause problems.
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Kidpaw
kidpaw.net › names › my › pronounce
My Name Pronunciation in [20 Different] Languages
Translate name My in North Germanic language. What's your name? Speak name My to me in Danish with audio sound. How do you say My in Danish? For all that press speaker button to see proper pronunciation. Learn How to pronounce Norwegian names, My is christian baby girl name and you can check how to speak this name in Norwegian.
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Forvo
forvo.com › languages
Forvo, the pronunciation dictionary in all languages
Languages supported by Forvo, from very popular to smaller ones. Learn how to pronounce from natives.
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Repilly
repilly.com › home › 🌐 names in different languages | how people introduce themselves worldwide
🌐 Names in Different Languages | How People Introduce Themselves Worldwide
October 28, 2025 - Spanish (🇪🇸) – Nombre | Pronunciation: NOHM-breh Example: ¿Cuál es tu nombre? (What is your name?) French (🇫🇷) – Nom | Pronunciation: nohm Example: Quel est ton nom?
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TechPP
techpp.com › how-to guides › 7 websites to help you pronounce foreign names just right - techpp
7 Websites to Help you Pronounce Foreign Names Just Right - TechPP
April 29, 2021 - Similarly, you can also go for a class that will familiarize you with the names from that specific country. The same as this one, there are various other websites (e.g.: DuoLingo) that were initially created to help people learn new languages or practice the ones they already know. Although this was their main goal, they can be easily used to get in touch with native speakers that will guide you in pronouncing a wide variety of names correctly.
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Times Higher Education
timeshighereducation.com › campus › pronouncing-students-names-correctly-whys-and-hows
Pronouncing students names: why and how to get it right
October 1, 2024 - Consult people and the internet: Colleagues and friends can be helpful points of contact. Some websites and online videos provide pronunciations of names in different languages, among them Pronounce Names, Forvo, NameShouts.
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Forvo
forvo.com
Forvo: the pronunciation dictionary. All the words in the world pronounced by native speakers
The largest pronunciation dictionary in the world. All the words in all the languages pronounced by native speakers
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SpanishDictionary.com
spanishdict.com › spanishdictionary.com › answers › pronunciation of names in another language.
Pronunciation of names in another language. | SpanishDictionary.com Answers
If I anglicize, I only do it to native speakers from the US, UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, etc. Here's an example of a Japanese word that's anglicize with IPA phonetics. Non-native speakers pronounce this word correctly. karaoke - correct pronunciation /?k??r????k?/ & anglicized pronunciation /kærio?ki/ or /?k?ri?o?ki/ The British can pronounce foreign words like French & other languages from the continent because of it's proximity to the English Channel & continental Europe.
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How to Pronounce
howtopronounce.com › names › index.php
Learn how to pronounce names | HowtoPronounce.com
March 17, 2021 - Therefore, it is possible to find different variations to pronounce for the same name. In these cases, choose the pronunciation of the name in the variation you prefer. Why is the name dictionary of HowToPronounce designed? Our aim is to develop this feature is to break the barriers of mispronouncing unknown names. We aim to give respect to the language...
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Nameberry
forum.nameberry.com › general name discussion
Rare but known, easy to pronounce in multiple languages - General Name Discussion - Nameberry
May 11, 2018 - Hello all! Thinking about having a second child, we’re starting to look for names that tick the same boxes as our daughter’s name, [name_f]Zelda[/name_f] : rare, but well known enough that people will know how to spell and pronounce them; easy to pronounce in a trilingual ([name_m]French[/name_m], English and Spanish) context.
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Hearmyname
hearmyname.net
Hear my name - let your name to be heard.
Provides accurate name pronunciation in over 50 languages. Check name pronunciation or let your name to be heard by sharing it with you friends and colleagues.