Mohini sans tahini - Sepia Mutiny

« Happy Independence Day · Main · Lost in Translation »

August 15, 2004

Mohini sans tahini

Mohini is pronounced MO'-hi-nee, NBC people. It does not rhyme with tahini sauce! It's really not that hard. You make it sound silly when you say it that way, Elfi Schlegel. And you've got her parents' names reversed:

Bhardwaj's mother, Kaushal, is from Russia and her father, Indu, is from India.

Great NBC video of her previous competitions, including a vault with a double twist and a jaw-dropping back flip-forward flip combo. Watch her in the Olympics this Sunday and Tuesday nights. The coaches just promoted her to competing in all four events, not just vault. Go, Mo!

Sports

POSTED BY manish @ 5:10 AM

5 comments

1 · kurian on August 15, 2004 12:31 PM · Direct link

Perhaps Mohini calls herself mo-HEE-nee. I've known some ABCDs (and even their parents !) who pronounce their indian names with the accent on unexpected syllables. I'm thinking of sha-LEE-nee (shalini) and Ar-OO-n (arun).

2 · Anand on September 13, 2004 5:59 PM · Direct link

Does it really matter where she, or anyone else for that matter puts the emphasis? It's not set in stone anywhere as to how a name should be pronounced. Only boring people stick with the same old names and pronounciations, and don't think because they're ABCD's or whatever you call it that they are incorrect. You must think about what you say before you say it.

3 · Manish Vij on September 13, 2004 6:41 PM · Direct link

Nouns from soft languages, pronounced with the explosive consonants and stresses of hard languages, sounds silly and grating. I'm thinking, for example, of an American speaker gingerly trying Spanish words, the Southern politician's curse. And vice versa, desi and Filipino accents do humorous things with English and German. Whereas Hindi and Spanish/Italian get along swimmingly.

I'm all for transmogrification, provided the results are aesthetic. Mo-HEE-nee, me hiney, isn't.

4 · kurian on September 13, 2004 10:27 PM · Direct link

Anand:

Does it really matter where she, or anyone else for that matter puts the emphasis?

I didn't say it did. I didn't call it incorrect either, i said "unexpected".

It's not set in stone anywhere as to how a name should be pronounced.

Actually, sometimes it is. The ambiguity enters because, unlike in many Indian languages, when written in English it's often not possible to distinguish between the short and long sounds of some vowels. So MO-hi-ni and mo-HEE-ni are written distinctly in hindi but not in english.

Only boring people stick with the same old names and pronounciations

What about people who make sweeping generalizations ?

and don't think because they're ABCD's or whatever you call it that they are incorrect.

I didn't use "ABCD" in a derogatory sense, just as useful shorthand.

You must think about what you say before you say it.

I will as long as you read what's written more carefully before you respond.

5 · Ennis on September 14, 2004 6:12 AM · Direct link

"Mo-HEE-nee, me hiney, isn't."

But you wish it were, dontcha ;)

Add a comment

Name:
Email:	*
Web site:	*
Remember me?	Yes No
	* (optional)
To prevent comment spam, please type the word brown:
Please don't feed the trolls.	Requests for celebrities' contact info or homework assistance; racist, abusive, illiterate, content-free or commercial comments; personal, non-issue-focused flames; intolerant or anti-secular comments; and long, obscure rants may be deleted. Unless they’re funny. It’s all good then.
Comments:


If you don't see your comment yet: Wait 15 seconds and refresh your browser, don't post a duplicate. Posting, please wait ·····