Calling all of you from the UK!
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| Tue, 03-14-2006 - 9:31pm |
I have a pronunciation question for you. I'm *pretty* sure that Imogen is pronounced "imma-jen" with the short "i" and the soft "g." Please correct me if I'm wrong! Every time I post a list of my favorite names, I get a bunch of people saying, "Imogen is great, but there might be pronunciation problems with it in the US," or "The US might not be ready for that one yet."
Now, I listen to my college radio station, and lately they've been playing a song by Imogen Heap. Every time the DJs say her name, they pronounce it something like "eye-m-again" with long "i" and hard "g." I'm pretty sure that this is probably the American butchering of the name that you all warned me about, but it's still making me second-guess my own "logical" pronunciation.
So, long story short (and please forgive my rambling!), I guess what I'm asking is... How is Imogen *really* pronounced?
TIA!
~Erin

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Imogen, in my opinion, would be pronounced exactly as you said it would be. With a soft i and soft g. Yes, you might run into pronunciation difficulties by the butchery that goes on in the States but in the end that would happen to anyone who has a name that isn't completely easy and obvious. What matters is if you like the name. When I first read it, I instinctually read it the way it should sound.
Good luck. I think it is an interesting name!
Carey
Well, I am from the US (and Texas at that!) and when I first read your name choice, I immediately pronounced it like Eye-magen with a long I and soft G and emphasis on the "Eye" part. Usually if there's a vowel-consonant-vowel, then the first vowel sound is long. But I think the name is really interesting!
~Laura
I didn't see this post as "bashing" anyone at all. Americans do butcher names that are foreign to them, as do all languages. (My ex is German, you should hear her guess on the pronounciation of trendy American names. )
I'm an American (from the south, even), but I've never heard Imogen pronounced any way other than "Imma-jen". Like any name that isn't very popular, I think you will run across people who haven't heard it and guess incorrectly, but I've seen this name pop up a couple of times and never heard it pronounced incorrectly. The Ima-Gen pronounciation definitely is not a standard/accepted pronounciation here, just a few people making a mistake.
I really like Imogen. I think it's pretty and refreshing.
Well, you know I'm from PA (so certainly not the UK LOL), so I didn't know if I should reply or not, but I see others have so ... ;)
I actually considered this as a mn, and I was under the impression it was generally understood (even in the US LOL) that Imogen was im-o-jen and Imogene was im-o-jean (both short i sounds). I wouldn't assume everyone would mispronounce the name just because some radio DJs do (plus, I'm not that familiar with the singer you mentioned, so for all I know she DOES pronounce it this way LOL). However, I can speak from experience that no matter what name you give a child, whether common or less-so, some people are bound to mispronounce it regardless (Kaitlyn's name gets said wrong as often as Devanie's LOL). Anyway, just my opinion. HTH ;)
~Kelli
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Just wanted to say that I'm in the US, too, and like other names, I'm sure that Imogen will be mispronounced by people who are unfamiliar with it. I think that the first time I saw it, I assumed is was a misspelling and wanted to pronounce it Imogene (imma-jean)since I was familiar with that name. However, it only took hearing the correct pronunciation once, and I got it.
It's not a difficult name, just an unfamiliar one to some people, and I don't think that should stop you from using it. People will get it.
And like I've mentioned before, almost every time we go to the doctor's office, my DD (Julianna) is called Julie, Julia, or Julianne b/c they just don't take time to read the paper. So even "simple" names can get mispronounced.
HTH!
Stephanie
Thanks for all the responses, everyone. I would just like to point out that I was just quoting back what had been said to me about possible American mispronunciations of the name. It really doesn't reflect my own views! I'm from the US as well, and I certainly don't think disparagingly about American accents or "lazy diction" or whatever else has been mentioned; I was simply quoting the warnings I had received about using the name.
~Erin
Hi Erin - I've always heard Imogen as Imm-oh-jen and Imogene as Imm-oh-jeen. I do think people here will butcher it because my girls names get butchered and I think they're fairly straightforward. ;) So it shouldn't be any worse than any other name!
As for the whole tangent on Americans - we're obviously not all one ethnicity. I think that's kind of the point of America and the Statue of Liberty and all that. And Imogen is a distinctly British name so it's a valid concern that Americans wouldn't get it right. I keep scratching Isla and Lara off my lists, but if I were in Britain I wouldn't hesitate to use them.
I think that precisely because we have so many ethnicities here, we say vowels differently. i.e., Mattea we know is Matt-ay-ah, but Shea we know is Shay, one being latinate and one being celtic
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