Stephen Colbert's pronunciation of his name

Did you smash it

Why does he pronounce his name as if he’s French? His descendants are all scots and Irish.

is_that_so

Did you smash it wrote: »

Why does he pronounce his name as if he’s French? His descendants are all scots and Irish.

French name too!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colbert_(name)

Overheal

Is this really a current affairt?

Necro

Moved to AH where I think it's a better fit. Reminder to read the local charter before posting.

Did you smash it

Did you smash it wrote: »

His descendants are all scots and Irish.

He only has 3 kids and I'd imagine they consider themselves American.
Or maybe you don't know what that word means.

Quantum Erasure

is_that_so wrote: »

French name too!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colbert_(name)

Yeah, but his brother pronounces it the proper way...

is_that_so

Quantum Erasure wrote: »

Yeah, but his brother pronounces it the proper way...

There is also a French way and yes it's pretentious but not wrong!

B2021M

Very pretentious! I assume he doesnt go to the bother of correctly pronouncing the multitude of German, Italian, Polish etc surnames found in America....

Overheal

B2021M wrote: »

Very pretentious! I assume he doesnt go to the bother of correctly pronouncing the multitude of German, Italian, Polish etc surnames found in America....

IDK based on his fluency in mordish elvish and dwarfish etc I imagine he is just as considerate with the former type of names. He's fairly cosmopolitan and egalitarian, complete nerd as well.

Fr Tod Umptious

Who ?

Hyperbollix

In a land of "O' Ma-hoe-neys", I think "Colbear" is fair game.

Duffy the Vampire Slayer

They can't even pronounce Gallagher or Cahill.

dxhound2005

Duffy the Vampire Slayer wrote: »

They can't even pronounce Gallagher or Cahill.

There are thousands of English words which have two or more standard pronunciations. In the case of family names, it is ridiculous to accuse someone of not knowing how to pronounce their own name.

colm_mcm

Duckworth_Luas

He is on record, multiple times, that he chose a French pronunciation of his name for showbiz reasons.

"In Paris they just simply opened their eyes and stared when we spoke to them in French! We never did succeed in making those idiots understand their own language." -- Mark Twain, The Innocents Abroad

alchemist33

It's a tough one. On the one hand, it's name and he's the one who decides how it's pronounced. On the other hand, I don't give a flying f*ck.

When it comes to personal names you can say what you want. Who am I to tell a ma-hoe-ney that he’s a bog standard mahany.

That guy in mythic quest though - that’s all kinds of wrong.

MeepMeep2021

MeepMeep2021 wrote: »

"In Paris they just simply opened their eyes and stared when we spoke to them in French! We never did succeed in making those idiots understand their own language." -- Mark Twain, The Innocents Abroad

The French are pretty bad at standard school French. I found that myself.

Burt Renaults

I didn't know he pronounced it like that.

What an absolute cun.

BalcombeSt4

He said on numerous occasions that he was a relative of Con Colbert who as executed after the 1916 rebellion.

Burt Renaults

Burt Renaults wrote: »

What an absolute cun.

'Le Con Man,' as they say in Paris.

salmocab

I went to a recording of his show years ago and he comes out to chat to the audience beforehand and he seemed like a really nice bloke. He’s very proud of his Irish heritage but doesn’t seem to over egg it.

odyssey06

Did you smash it wrote: »

Why does he pronounce his name as if he’s French? His descendants are all scots and Irish.

You're just jealous your name precludes you from pulling the same stunt as him.
Of course it sounds better with a french twist, what doesn't?

bigar

Names always sound better when said with a French twang.

BingCrosbee

I don’t know who he is but, Colvert (pronounced Col vere ) is French and maybe he is making a take on this which is a derivation on his own name, so don’t be too hard on him.

metaoblivia

From his wiki page:

While Colbert sometimes comedically claims his surname is French, he is of 15/16ths Irish ancestry; one of his paternal great-great-grandmothers was of German and English descent.[22][23] Many of his ancestors emigrated from Ireland to North America in the 19th century before and during the Great Famine.[14][24] Originally, his surname was pronounced /ˈkoʊlbərt/ KOHL-bərt in English; Stephen Colbert's father, James, wanted to pronounce the name /koʊlˈbɛər/ kohl-BAIR, but maintained the /ˈkoʊlbərt/ pronunciation out of respect for his own father. He offered his children the option to pronounce the name whichever way they preferred.[10] Stephen started using /koʊlˈbɛər/ later in life when he transferred to Northwestern University, taking advantage of the opportunity to reinvent himself in a new place where no one knew him.[2] Stephen's brother Edward, an intellectual property attorney, retained /ˈkoʊlbərt/; this was shown in a February 12, 2009, appearance on The Colbert Report, when his second oldest brother asked him, "/ˈkoʊlbərt/ or /koʊlˈbɛər/?" Ed responded "/ˈkoʊlbərt/", to which Stephen jokingly replied, "See you in Hell".[25]

If the name has no French connections at all then the pronunciation change is a bit uppity.

Tilden Katz

Duffy the Vampire Slayer wrote: »

They can't even pronounce Gallagher or Cahill.

I could never understand Noel and Liam Gallagher pronouncing their surname Gall-ag-er. They are first generation English. Their parents were born and raised in Ireland and used the correct pronunciation surely. Though... I'm not sure if I have ever heard Noel or Liam actually saying their own surname. Maybe I'm transferring the British media's (understandable, I guess) mispronunciation onto them. Maybe they do pronounce it Gallaher. Or maybe their parents found it easier to just pronounce it Gall-ag-er.

What a bunch of Mo-rans. I mean Morans. I mean Moro-- oh forget it.

JayRoc

So I guess Dave Chapelle should say "chapel"?

Honestly...the french pronuciation is the most obvious for the name "Colbert" imo.

dxhound2005

Tilden Katz wrote: »

I could never understand Noel and Liam Gallagher pronouncing their surname Gall-ag-er. They are first generation English. Their parents were born and raised in Ireland and used the correct pronunciation surely. Though... I'm not sure if I have ever heard Noel or Liam actually saying their own surname. Maybe I'm transferring the British media's (understandable, I guess) mispronunciation onto them. Maybe they do pronounce it Gallaher. Or maybe their parents found it easier to just pronounce it Gall-ag-er.

It's easy to understand, just as it is easy to understand how Gary Cahill calls himself Kayhill. It is simply that there are plenty of family names which have two or more accepted pronunciations. It also happens in Ireland with names like Purcell, Kinsella, Costello, Coughlan and Leahy. John Leahy the Tipp hurler calls himself La Hee.

dxhound2005

dxhound2005 wrote: »

It's easy to understand, just as it is easy to understand how Gary Cahill calls himself Kayhill. It is simply that there are plenty of family names which have two or more accepted pronunciations. It also happens in Ireland with names like Purcell, Kinsella, Costello, Coughlan and Leahy. John Leahy the Tipp hurler calls himself La Hee.

Yeh but the great vowel shift never hit Tipp. You and I might call call the excellent butcher James Whelan Wheel-an, but where’s he from he’s called Whay-lan.

JayRoc

JayRoc wrote: »

So I guess Dave Chapelle should say "chapel"?

Honestly...the french pronuciation is the most obvious for the name "Colbert" imo.

Why would chapelle call himself chapel? It’s not spelt like that. That would only work as an analogy if it was spelt Chapel but pronounced Chapelle.

biko

That's what happens when you're full of yourself like Stephen is.

dxhound2005

biko wrote: »

That's what happens when you're full of yourself like Stephen is.

Or Claudette.

Kumejima

Every time I see the guy I'm reminded of Norm MacDonald's assessment of Michael Jackson.

Tilden Katz

dxhound2005 wrote: »

It's easy to understand, just as it is easy to understand how Gary Cahill calls himself Kayhill. It is simply that there are plenty of family names which have two or more accepted pronunciations. It also happens in Ireland with names like Purcell, Kinsella, Costello, Coughlan and Leahy. John Leahy the Tipp hurler calls himself La Hee.

I have never heard Gall-ag-er be an accepted pronunciation of Gallagher in Ireland. Ever. And this isn’t a rare surname. If their parents pronounced it Gall-ag-er, I’d feel very comfortable saying that it wasn’t because that’s how it was pronounced in their parts of Ireland before they emigrated.

dxhound2005

Mixed messages on the thread. Foreigners of Irish descent should use the Irish version of Gallagher, Moran etc. But a foreigner who uses the French version of Colbert gets condemned.

odyssey06

The name could be French originally... from wiki

Colbert is an Irish, English, and French surname and given name of uncertain etymology. It is possible that it appeared independently several times throughout history...
The name is common in English-speaking countries, particularly Ireland, but some of these families may have their origin in France, where the name is very common, and may perhaps be descendants of Huguenot refugees.

Did you smash it

odyssey06 wrote: »

The name could be French originally...

Colbert is an Irish, English, and French surname and given name of uncertain etymology. It is possible that it appeared independently several times throughout history...
The name is common in English-speaking countries, particularly Ireland, but some of these families may have their origin in France, where the name is very common, and may perhaps be descendants of Huguenot refugees.

It is a French name.

The “issue” or the oddity is when did Stephen take the conscious decision to decide the way his father pronounced it wasn’t how he wanted to pronounce it. That’s just what I find a bit fake or pretentious about it. The desire to change the sound of his own name.

dxhound2005

John Cleese's father changed his name from Cheese to Cleese.

Tilden Katz

dxhound2005 wrote: »

Mixed messages on the thread. Foreigners of Irish descent should use the Irish version of Gallagher, Moran etc. But a foreigner who uses the French version of Colbert gets condemned.

You’re welcome to direct me to where I commented on Stephen Colbert’s pronunciation of his surname. Or any posts that I thanked that condemned him for it. It isn’t “mixed messages” for different posters to express different opinions.

Liam and Noel Gallagher’s parents weren’t foreigners to Ireland. They were Irish. Born here. Had their childhoods here. How did they pass an incorrect pronunciation to their sons? Stephen Colbert’s family emigrated way way back. Errors were far more common way back and the lines of communication with home countries were much more patchy. People didn’t keep in as close of contact.

Though reading about it since, it seems that Stephen Colbert’s father just preferred Colbert with a silent T. That’s a tad pretentious. He wasn’t of French descent.

dxhound2005

Tilden Katz wrote: »

You’re welcome to direct me to where I commented on Stephen Colbert’s pronunciation of his surname. Or any posts that I thanked that condemned him for it. It isn’t “mixed messages” for different posters to express different opinions.

Liam and Noel Gallagher’s parents weren’t foreigners to Ireland. They were Irish. Born here. Had their childhoods here. How did they pass an incorrect pronunciation to their sons? Stephen Colbert’s family emigrated way way back. Errors were far more common way back and the lines of communication with home countries were much more patchy. People didn’t keep in as close of contact.

Though reading about it since, it seems that Stephen Colbert’s father just preferred Colbert with a silent T. That’s a tad pretentious. He wasn’t of French descent.

There is no incorrect pronunciation of the two I am familiar with. Just two different pronunciations. You never heard the English Gallaghers prounouncing their own names, so you don't know which version they use.

dxhound2005

dxhound2005 wrote: »

Mixed messages on the thread. Foreigners of Irish descent should use the Irish version of Gallagher, Moran etc. But a foreigner who uses the French version of Colbert gets condemned.

Different people with different opinions on thread, shocker. Call the New York Times.

Tilden Katz

dxhound2005 wrote: »

There is no incorrect pronunciation of the two I am familiar with. Just two different pronunciations. You never heard the English Gallaghers prounouncing their own names, so you don't know which version they use.

If they pronounce it 'Gallaher', then great. It makes no difference to my life either way but I'd find it satisfying.

dxhound2005 wrote: »

John Cleese's father changed his name from Cheese to Cleese.

I find that more understandable - nickname dissuasion.

dxhound2005

dxhound2005 wrote: »

There is no incorrect pronunciation of the two I am familiar with. Just two different pronunciations. You never heard the English Gallaghers prounouncing their own names, so you don't know which version they use.

I don’t buy there aren’t incorrect pronunciations of words. For instance I couldn’t pronounce the word “word” as “dog****”.

Gall-ag-her is an English pronunciation, a bit like cafe to rhyme with daf. That’s ok but I don’t think it was the Irish immigrants but probably teachers, and others who mispronounced and they got stuck with it.

Colbert is taking the piss however, if his relations were all Irish though.

dxhound2005

Some people have got it into their heads that there can only ever be one pronunciation, one definition, and one spelling for each word. This is the cause of much of the wrong headed posts on threads like this.

It is a bit mad, but the maddest thing of all is telling other people that they don't know how to pronounce their own family name.

Did you smash it

dxhound2005 wrote: »

It is a bit mad, but the maddest thing of all is telling other people that they don't know how to pronounce their own family name.

I think you missed the point. That point is he has changed how he pronounces his name compared to how his father pronounced it.

That’s the weird part. Ultimately he can pronounce it as he wishes but it’s strange to suddenly change the pronunciation of your own name at 30 or whenever he decided to do it.

dxhound2005

Did you smash it wrote: »

I think you missed the point. That point is he has changed how he pronounces his name compared to how his father pronounced it.

That’s the weird part. Ultimately he can pronounce it as he wishes but it’s strange to suddenly change the pronunciation of your own name at 30 or whenever he decided to do it.

Weird and strange? Not to me.

Did you smash it

dxhound2005 wrote: »

Weird and strange? Not to me.

It’s definitely unusual to change how you pronounce your own name.