Sonia Sotomayor has too many syllables

[Believing Is Art]

How long before this is a GOP talking point?

[sandnsea]

1. How long before it's a DU talking point n/t

[Believing Is Art]

2. . . .

Touch'e.

[Bucky]

3. 14 letters, 6 syllables--or a 2.33 ratio. Compare with Antonin Scalia (12/6 or a flat 2.0 ratio)

Sorry, but the days of William Rehnquist (16 letters, four syllables, and a whopping 4.0 ratio) are over. A 2.3 ratio is about as solid a letter to syllable count as you're gonna git in a post-browning America.

[Believing Is Art]

5. Hmm this is interesting

I have one of the whitest names on the planet and I also have 14 letters, 6 syllables. School House Rock was wrong, 2.33 is where it's at!

[Raven]

4. I love her name. It sings!

[lpbk2713]

6. Her initials are S.S.

Maybe they'll cut her some slack.

[Bucky]

7. I think the more natural Republican identification with "SS" is...

.... more "titanic" in scale

[Cleita]

8. Yes, when I lived in South America it seemed to be a major complaint from English

speakers. If Sonia is not seated on the Supreme Court, because the hate campaign against her worked, I hope Obama puts up the most leftist, Marxist candidate he can find and let them chew on that for awhile

[tabatha]

9. Or too many vowels.

[imdjh]

10. Does anyone know how her name is pronounced in everyday life?

It's the first time I have seen the name. However, living around many hispanic people I've observed that many introduce themselves with a simplified or accentless pronunciation. Is her name commonly pronounced the way they have been pronouncing it on TV?

[lpbk2713]

11. I noticed an authentic pronunciation last night on NBC News.

The journalist rolled the last 'r'. But the journalist might have had an edge. Her last name was Morales.

[imdjh]

12. People have a right to pronounce their name anyway they want- but....

.... it seems a bit odd when a newscaster who speaks accentless English ends up with "from Johnson City, this is (her name in a heavy accent)" . It would not seem odd if she did the whole story with an accent and then signed off with one. I would liken it to an appalachian reporter doing the same thing, speaking Indiana and then pronouncing his name like his grandmother in the hills might "live from Johnson City, this is Stayvin Paytersin."

[LuckyLib]

13. Soto-ma-yore (with accent on the yore). I've heard some amazing

renditions of her surname. It's not that hard to do.

[imdjh]

15. It isn't difficult, but English language tradition is to round the edges

Which is not to say that it doesn't come out abominable at times. Hearing "San Pablo" as pronounced in California is like nails on a chalkboard, but "San Rahfell (Rafael)" doesn't have the same effect.

[LuckyLib]

21. I hear ya. I grew up in California, speak Spanish, and have come to accept that

there are cultural pronunciations that simply are easier for folks: Vallejo (we used to laugh at out of towners who would say "Valley-Joe" and a host of others.

[whistler162]

23. The local cable news channel did a human interest

piece on her. Her brother is a physician in this area and it sounds like the reporter pronounces it Soto-my-or. But I included the link for anyone who is interested.

http://news10now.com/content/top_stories/473087/sonia-sotomayor-s-local-ties/

[imdjh]

24. That's how I was pronouncing it: Soe'toemeyer

[GodlessBiker]

14. When the King said that Mozart's music had too many notes, Mozart asked...

"Which notes would you like me to remove?"

[SPedigrees]

16. I wonder if it is a hyphenated surname w/o the hyphen. nt

[ColbertWatcher]

17. Typical Mexican taking syllables from Regular Americans. n/t

[Raine1967]

18. is this close enough?

http://thinkprogress.org/2009/05/27/krikorian-sotomayor/

People should stop pronouncing Sotomayor’s name correctly.

Deferring to people’s own pronunciation of their names should obviously be our first inclination, but there ought to be limits. Putting the emphasis on the final syllable of Sotomayor is unnatural in English (which is why the president stopped doing it after the first time at his press conference), unlike my correspondent’s simple preference for a monophthong over a diphthong, and insisting on an unnatural pronunciation is something we shouldn’t be giving in to. <...>
==============

More at the link. I am still trying to understand the idea of a 'Center for Immigration Studies'

[KansDem]

19. I agree. The fewer the syllables, the greater the success in public service.

"George Bush" comes to mind...

[GoCubsGo]

20. Same number of syllables as...

"Antonin Scalia" and "Samuel Alito"--not that it would stop them. Half of 'em can't count, so it's not like they would recognize their hypocrisy.

[KG]

22. this thread has been noted at freepland. they've started a thread to determine what a 'syllable' is

[bigtree]

25. but it's fun to say

like Gina Lolabridgita

[4lbs]

26. How dare she have the word "mayor" in her last name, when she clearly was never

a mayor of any town!

:sarcasm: