你有沒有想過，沒有哪本英語單詞書是要你記人名的。
但這和現實很矛盾。哪怕範圍只是局限在英文世界中，千奇百怪的名字也總能讓你懷疑自己學了這麼多年英文，為啥連個人名都說不對。
這就像外國人學漢語，教材中總共就那麼幾個「小明、小紅、小黃」，一旦遇見「劉琛、王燊、吳犇」就傻了眼。
說回英語，現實中遇到Nicki Minaj或者Leila又或是Jake Gyllenhaal這樣的名字，怎麼發都不確定是不是對的。
正因為此，外國人也鬧過不少笑話。
來自布丁網的研究者Matt Daniels等人挑選了幾位名人的名字，做成填空題，收集了總共34萬份網友提交的拼寫答案，結果顯示，網友們的拼寫也是奇形怪狀。
好萊塢演員斯嘉麗·詹森的姓Johansson在將近2萬7千個答案中，只有8600人拼對了，大部分人是錯在最後一個音節sson.
奧斯卡最佳男演員得主Mathew McConaughey的姓也是格外難拼，1萬1千份答案中，只有6500人拼對了。
說唱歌手Nicki Minaj的名字可能是因為比較短的原因，2萬7千人中有2萬5千人都答對了。
拼錯和讀錯常常是相伴相生，比方說英國王妃的名字Meghan Markle，到底應該是Mee-gan, May-gan還是Meg-n？
哪怕有人告訴你澳洲人看見這個名字會讀Mee-gan，美國人會讀May-gan，但是英國人又會讀成Meg-n，你只會更搞不清楚這個名字該怎麼拼。
英語的音形對應系統應該是世界上最燒腦細胞的系統之一了。
類似的名字還有很多，比方說下面這些：
有相同遭遇的名字還有：Anthony, Geoffrey, Hermione, Isaac, Penelope, Stephen, Theresa等等。
這些名詞在不同國家，或者不同文化背景中，都會有發音或者拼寫上的差別。
一個普遍的問題就是——別人沒法讀（拼）對你的名字。
在外留學的同學感同身受的一件事就是，要麼得給自己取個英文名，要麼就得忍受老師同學時不時讀錯你的中文名拼音。
哪怕在國內，如果你的名字當中包含生僻字，除非是語文老師，否則你被取外號或者用相近字代替其正確發音的可能性相當大。
但是糾正別人的發音或拼寫好像不是一件容易的事。不過，有經驗的人為此撰文提供了三個可行的辦法。
NO 1 The Straightforward直白型
The second you hear someone make a mistake with your name, you can always jump right in to offer the correction.聽到別人念錯你名字的那一刻，你可以立馬糾正Ta.
Yes, this will mean interrupting (which I normally don't advise). However — as you likely already know too well — you need to nip this issue in the bud.沒錯，你得打斷對方（我一般不建議這麼做）。但是，你或許心裡很清楚——要把這個錯誤扼殺在萌芽狀態。
Cutting someone off mid-sentence can be a little uncomfortable. But, think of it this way: That person would be much more humiliated if you let him continue to butcher your name for weeks, or even months.在別人說話時打斷對方可能會讓對方有點不舒服。但是，你得這麼想：要是你任由對方念錯你的名字，幾周甚至幾個月都念錯，Ta會更加沒面子。
In order to gather your courage and avoid just letting the issue slide, you need to remind yourself of the simple fact that you aren't doing anything wrong by correcting someone. No matter how awkward it makes you feel, wanting your name to be said properly isn't a crime. So, stop feeling so guilty about it.要想鼓足勇氣，不讓錯誤繼續發生，你得知道一點：糾正對方根本不是錯。不管有多麼尷尬，要求對方把你的名字念對又不是犯法。所以呢，快別內疚了。
What it Looks Like
Person One: "Well, it's really great to meet you, Kate. Have you—"對方：「很高興見到你，Kate，你——」
Person Two: "That's Kat. Sorry to interrupt, Joe! Please, continue."你：「是Kat啦。抱歉打斷你，Joe。 請繼續。」
NO 2 The Sympathetic共情型
Messing up someone's name can be pretty embarrassing for the person who does it — particularly when he or she is called out. This is why it can be helpful to offer that person an excuse for the error.把別人名字念錯其實還挺尷尬的——尤其是念錯的人被挑出錯的時候。這也就是為什麼你得給對方一個臺階下。
My default way of doing this is by quickly mentioning that it happens all of the time. Just that simple comment makes that person feel like less of a schmuck for butchering your name, and also makes your correction a little more lighthearted.我一般都會在糾錯之後迅速跟對方說我的名字經常被念錯。就這麼簡單一句話會讓對方覺得自己沒那麼蠢蛋，也會讓你的糾錯行為聽起來輕鬆許多。
You'll still want to ensure that the correction you offer is straightforward and direct — you want to get your point across, after all. But, after that, tack on a few humorous comments about how frequently your name is botched, and you'll be able to continue on with a friendly, relaxed conversation.不過你還是得清楚地把錯誤糾正過來——畢竟你不想讓對方繼續念錯。但是在那之後呢，加幾句幽默的話，說你的名字老是被念錯，這樣就可以讓對話繼續友好輕鬆地進行下去。
What it Looks Like
Person One: "Your work on this project is impressive, Katrina."對方：「你在這個項目裡的貢獻非常大，Katrina.」
Person Two: "Thank you so much! My name is actually pronounced Katarina."你：「謝謝你！我的名字其實是Katarina.」
Person One: "Oh, I'm so sorry about that."對方：「啊，不好意思。」
Person Two: "No worries! It happens all of the time. I blame my parents."你：「沒事啦！我名字老是被念錯，我爸媽負有重大責任哈哈哈」
NO 3 The Subtle含蓄型
No matter how much advice you read or courage you attempt to muster, you just can't bring yourself to outright correct that person who keeps screwing up your name. Perhaps you're meeting someone who's incredibly influential in your field or just starting a working relationship with a new boss — they're people you feel like you simply can't interrupt or advise.不管你看過多少建議或者鼓足多大勇氣，你可能還是沒法直接糾正對方。有可能對方是你專業領域內的大牛亦或是你新工作中的老闆——這些人講話你可能不敢打斷。
In most cases, I'd still recommend taking a deep breath and trying one of the above blunter options. But, if you simply can't jump in and do it, it's time to get a little sneakier. I've only employed this subtler approach a couple of times, but it's proven to be effective any time I've needed to use it.大多數情況下我都還是會建議你深吸一口氣，直言不諱糾正對方。但是假若你做不到，那就得含蓄一點了。我只這麼做過少數幾次，但是這個方法還是挺有效的。
When someone manages to get your name wrong, you attempt to use your own name in a sentence back to him or her. It's not always the most natural thing to weave in. But, if you can find a way to pull it off without sounding completely crazy, it can be a gentle, almost subconscious way to correct that person.當對方說錯你名字之後，你得在下一句回復Ta的話中用上自己的名字。可能聽起來不太好自然插入自己的名字，但是假如你順利且自然地說出了自己的名字，那這種糾錯方法就很委婉了，幾乎是下意識地糾正了對方。
What it Looks Like
Person One: "So, how did you find yourself on this career path, Kate?"對方：「所以，Kate，你對自己的職業是怎樣規劃的？」
Person Two: "After getting my degree, I took some time to think to myself, 'Kat, what can you truly see yourself doing for the next 10 years?'"你：「拿到學位之後，我就跟自己說『Kat, 放眼未來十年，你覺得自己會在幹什麼？』」
怎麼樣，學到了嗎？
你都有過哪些被叫錯名字的經歷呢？留言告訴我們吧。
Notes
nip /np/v 掐；夾住botch /bt/ v 笨拙地弄糟（某事物）sneaky /sniki/ adj 悄悄的；偷偷摸摸的；鬼鬼祟祟的
編輯：陳月華實習生：王麗來源：The Pudding; Stuff.co.nz; Wikipedia; PBS; 獨立報; themuse.comCover image: Photo by Jessicah Hast on Unsplash
來源：China Daily