Now that I am in the US, I think I may need to come up with a new nickname. Judging from past experience, it looks like many will have trouble pronouncing my name. I guess it sounds too foreign.
 |
| Titus of Rome |
Let's start with Ditas. I've had somebody ask if it's pronounced as "DIE-TUHS" much like how you would pronounce Titus. (Hence, the picture of the Roman emperor to the left).
A coworker of Ben saw my name engraved on Ben's wedding ring and asked, "Hey, is that a latin word? What does it mean?" I thought that was funny. I knew my name sounded old but never thought it to be akin to a dead, ancient language.
 |
| Dita Von Teese at Cannes 2007 |
A lot of people also forget to notice the S in Ditas and just plainly say Dita, ala the femme fatale, Dita Von Teese to the right. Oh how I wish I was that good looking!
Although hearing Dita sort of leaves me hanging (like waiting for an S that will never come), I think it is chic, in the French sort of way. You know how you don't pronounce S in Jacques, Bourgeois or Rendezvous? Ditas can be in that league, if I can get used to it, that is. Tres chic, tres hip, tres sexy n'est ce pa? Totally not me!
Photo: Dita Von Teese at Cannes 2007 by Mireille Ampilhac from Wikipedia
 |
| Lady Edith Crawley |
If I go by my given first name "Editha", I still have the same problem. Americans are familiar with the name Edith. Now, add an A to the end and they are completely lost.
Maybe I should just use Edith. I love Downton Abbey and I can pretend I am Lady Edith from Downtown Albany. BTW, she isn't my favourite character. I hated her in the early series, but she has since grown on me after she got jilted at the altar. I just have a soft spot for the weak, oppressed, and underdogs.
 |
| Vincenzo Corleone, Godfather |
Now for my maiden surname Vicencio, I've had people affix Villa in the beginning a la VILLAVICENCIO. My usual reply to which was "Oh sorry, we are not rich and landed". On countless other occasions, people changed the first C in my surname to V, making it VIVENCIO. I don't know about that one. It makes me sound vivacious, quite the opposite of my often somber mood. But my favorite of all is giving an italian twist to the pronunciation, like VINCENZO. Hearing that brings images of Godfather in my head. I remember checking in a hotel abroad where the front desk attendant asked me, "Are you Italian?" Handing him my Filipino passport, I said "Almost". After all, many think that the Vicencio family origins can be traced to Italy.
Photo: Movie screen shot of Andy Garcia as Vincenzo Corleone in Godfather taken from Wikipedia
I think Life is just preparing me for how my new surname will be butchered both here in the US and back home. I can't wait to blog about it.
No comments:
Post a Comment