NDNU Name Pronunciation Guide

1 How will my name be pronounced at my graduation ceremony? Your name will be pronounced phonetically. Phonetic Pronunciation of your first and last names is saying them as they sound, not as they are written. Here is an example. John Barowski (John Ba- ROFF- skee) Emily Nguyen (Emily WIN) On Commencement day, you will receive a card with your name. You will hand this card to a reader during the ceremony so that your name can be announced as you cross the stage. Some names may be obvious, and some may require special attention.

2 If you would like to Guide us on the Pronunciation of your name, you are most welcome. To write the phonetic spelling of your name on your own, follow the steps below. Spelling Your Name If some or part of your name is not available online, you may want to give us the Pronunciation yourself. Just follow the steps below. Step One. Break up your name into its parts. Your name may not use all the spaces below, or may need more spaces. _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ (For example, Wolf gang Am a de us Mo zart ) Step Two.

3 Show where the name is stressed, using capital letters. Put a hyphen where needed. _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ (WOLF - gang Am - a - DE - us MO zart ) Step Three. Finally, Guide us to the best Pronunciation . If your name is very similar to familiar words in English, write it using those familiar words. Emily Lamagna could write, My last name sounds like lasagna . OR, Give us a phonetic spelling using the Guide below.

4 Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart would write VOOLF- gang Am- a- DE- us MOT- sart . My Name Sounds Like_____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ ____ _____The phonetic spelling is _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____Phonetic Spelling Guide Vowels Examples Phonetic Spelling Sample Names A fa t, l and a Nan cy ( NAN- see) ape, date, play ay Jason ( JAY - suhn) ah, f ather, car ah Adri ana (Ah - dree - AH- nah) America, ago uh Bianca (Bee - YAHN- cuh) E che ck, t en, when E Ken (KEN)

5 The , ben efit uh Alex (AL - uhks) Green, evil, h e Ee Maria (Mah- REE- ah) I ice, b ite, h igh Y Michael (MY- kuhl) Is, h it Ih Lindy (LIHN- dee) O ho t, fought, not ah John (JAHN) open, tone, g o Oh Rose (ROHZ) loose, tool, crew Oo Judy (JOO - dee) toy, oi l Oy Leroy (LEE - roy) U up, c ut Uh Cynthia (SIN- thee - uh) duty, tube, assume Oo Judy (JOO - dee) fu r, deter Ur use, cute, f ew Yoo Eunice (YOO- nis) Y family, city ee Amy (AY - mee ) my, dry Y Kyle (KY- uhl) Most consonants will be written the way they sound, but there are a few special cases.

6 Examples Phonetic Spelling Sample Names GI giant j Gianna (Jee- AH- nah); Italian GI Gitano brand jeans gh Giselle (GHEE- sehl - luh) ; German H loch hh Ahmed (AHH- med) TH Thought, thin, ba th th Beth (BETH) TH bathe thh Heather (Heh - THHER) Z Zebra, rose z Zenobia (Zeh- NOH- bee - uh) ZH Azure, leisure zh Jean - Paul (Zhan- PAWL) Y famil y, cit y ee Amy (AY - mee) my, dry Y Kyle (KY- uhl) Any Questions? Send us a note at