The discussion reminds me of a story from my grad school days. One of the professors was an Asian fellow named Dr. Hu. When he first introduced himself he pronounced his name "Dr. Hugh", and that was how I subsequently referred to him. One day when talking about him with several of the other students, I was asked why I said his name that way since everyone else pronounced his name "Dr. Who". When I replied that that was how he himself pronounced his name so it had to be correct, I was informed that he only said it that way because of his accent. I thought this was a very funny statement but the other student was in earnest, the implication being that since I do not speak with a Chinese accent I should say the name the right way, "Dr. Hu". To this day, it still makes me chuckle to think of the student who believed that Dr. Hu prounced his own name wrong. Alex

Transcriptions of foreign/non-English names into English may be the same in writing, but the original names may very well be different names and therefore pronounced differently. Even the same written names in the old foreign/non-English country may be pronounced differently depending on local dialect, racial identity cultural identity, etc. After immigration to a new country with a different language, the spelling of the transcribed name (on legal documents and elsewhere) may not change, but the pronunciation may be made simpler for use of the name in the new country, which may mean simpler for use with only a dozen contact persons in the new country, i.e. the new pronunciation chosen for the name may be different in a different suburb, for example. It can thus be a complicated matter with even more complicating issues than in the above, and the most reliable guide for pronunciation (and spelling) is likely the bearer of the name himself/herself, as suggested earlier. So, if Jean Iseli pronounces his (business) name EYES-lee then you better pronounce it that way. But his Swiss father may consider that pronunciation a mispronunciation of his (the father's) name and may feel disrespected if you address him that way. So, you address the father as he (the father) pronounces his own name. Note that Switzerland has 4 official languages. FWIW, I know a little about the issue, because I am an immigrant myself from a foreign/non-English-speaking country, and on top of that, I was in an ethnic minority of a very diverse old country :-)

I know this is an old thread, but I wanted to give my input. In central Mississippi, we have a grocery store chain called Krogers. They sell a brand of sauce called Dave's Insanity Sauce, and one of the flavors was ghost pepper. On the list of ingredients, the first one was the Naga Jolokia pepper. The label also included a warning section for those with heart or respiratory conditions, and it also lists the hot sauce as a great industrial cleaner.

Heh heh. I thought I was the only one who lives in the backwoods and was a little embarrassed when a latin name sounds weird the first time you say it out loud. They seem different when you say it in your head for years. On the plus side alone in my garden all my pronunciations are perfect.