How difficult is it to pronounce my name? O'Beirne...OK, to look at, it's pretty intimidating. Does a name really need that many vowels and how do they all roll together. It's understandable that it could be tricky.
But why is it that when I say it to someone, they repeat it incorrectly. Say it with me: "O-B-U-R-N". Not that difficult. We spend years learning through mimickry, so this should be an easy task. But no, I have spent the entire morning leaving messages with people only to have my name incorrectly repeated back to me.
It is a strange phenomenon in Ireland. I am used to it being misspelled. I am also used to it being said incorrectly but after hearing it back time and time again, it's good to write about it. We have plenty of O'Byrnes and even Burns. I would have presumed that those would have been the go-to reference points that people cling to.
But apparently not...O'Brien is the safety net instead.
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