Pronouncing Spanish

Admittedly, I'm in a very narrow minority on this issue. It's such a narrow minority, in fact, that I may be the only person in the group.

The issue -- if indeed there is one -- deals with the treatment of the proper pronunciation of Spanish surnames. True, other than Latinos and people I am probably the only person who cares about such a thing. But to me it's not a meaningless issue. It's a matter of respect and basic decency.

We are infatuated with French names, for whatever reason. Spanish names and surnames, however, are given short shrift. For example, French names beginning with the letter H are pronounced with the H silent; Spanish names, on the other hand, always have the H pronounced. The problem with that is that as in French, in Spanish the H is silent, too.

Sports shows are notorious for this. Thierry Henry, notably, has his surname pronounced on-REE -- as it should be. But anyone with the surname Hernández knows that it's pronounced Her-NAN-dez -- not as it should be, which is er-NAN-des. If we can make an H silent in French, we should be able to make it silent in Spanish.

There are other athletes who are neither Spanish nor French whose surnames begin with a silent H and their names are pronounced correctly: Robert Horry and Philip Humber, for example. Yet anyone named Hector or Hernández surely will hear the H that is supposed to be silent.

If you want to have some fun, listen as the ESPN anchors perform linguistic gymnastics to pronounce José María Olazábal's surname with the Spanish Z sounding like a softened th but then Seve Ballesteros' and Sergio García's comparatively easier names are butchered.

As I said, I'm in a minority of one. So be it. I'm right about this one.

(c) 2012 The Truxton Spangler Chronicles