3 votes

When Spanish Names (Don’t) Flummox English-Speaking Baseball Announcers

3 comments

  1. [2]
    balooga
    Link
    Great read. I especially enjoyed the embedded link to this classic SNL sketch. The over-the-top enunciation had me laughing out loud but like any good comedy it rang true too. As a white guy who...

    Great read. I especially enjoyed the embedded link to this classic SNL sketch. The over-the-top enunciation had me laughing out loud but like any good comedy it rang true too. As a white guy who spent a number of years living in New Mexico I tend to be pretty sensitive to proper Spanish pronunciation... and come to think of it, maybe I'm less sensitive to recognizing when I'm using an affected accent for some words.

    I'm not sure there's really a "correct" way to approach this that is both true to my heritage and also respects other cultures. Maybe it's okay to talk like a gringo, just a little bit, since I am one after all.

    2 votes
    1. boredop
      Link Parent
      At the radio station where I work now I occasionally see a raised eyebrow from new hires because we have some reporters who prefer the Spanish pronunciation of their last names (Rodriguez,...

      At the radio station where I work now I occasionally see a raised eyebrow from new hires because we have some reporters who prefer the Spanish pronunciation of their last names (Rodriguez, Gonzalez, Ibarra, etc.), which can sound out of place after another announcer introduces them using the anglicized pronunciation. All part of living in a multi-cultural society, I guess.

  2. boredop
    Link
    This one struck a chord with me. Back in the days when I was doing a weekly jazz radio show I used to really struggle with the names of Latin American and European musicians, so I feel these...

    This one struck a chord with me. Back in the days when I was doing a weekly jazz radio show I used to really struggle with the names of Latin American and European musicians, so I feel these announcers' pain. (Twenty years later and I still have no idea how to pronounce Miroslav Vitous's last name.)

    1 vote