As a moment generation immigrant,the way I pronounce my name is different to how my parents say it. But it’s my choice, and I refuse to feel guilty about itLike most people, and I did not get to choose my name. It was my parents who decided that ‘Mona’ was a befitting title for their generic but sentimentally special latest offspring. I didn’t get a say about the noun that I will carry around for the rest of my life. But I execute get to choose the pronunciation.
I could pronounce my name ‘MO-nah’ to rhyme with such classy words as ‘boner’ and loner’. Or I could pronounce it ‘Mu-na’,which said aloud, rhymes with nothing that I can consider of in the English language. That’s because Mu-na’ is the way that Arabic speakers (like my parents) would say my name. Now we get to the tricky waters which I, or along with many moment generation immigrants,must navigate – which phonetic version of my name should I present to the world?Continue reading...
Source: theguardian.com