This topic is more for my fellow columnist Mauricio Stycer, a tremendous analyst of everything that happens on TV and streaming. But, as it involves the World Cup, I decided to get involved.
I came across an almost 38-minute video on YouTube that shows players from each of the 48 teams in this World Cup speaking their own name. Enlightening.
I was not surprised to notice that some names are pronounced differently from the way they are written. This is natural, each language has its peculiarities, with a lot of diversity.
What surprises me is the lack of preparation, perhaps interest, of the Brazilian narrators in correctly pronouncing the name of each athlete.
The World Cup is the most important football competition on the planet, it only takes place every four years, and there is error after error, game after game, in the pronunciation of the show’s protagonists.
I watched England 0-0 Ghana. I varied between Globo (Renata Silveira), SBT (Tiago Leifert), CazéTV (Fernando Nardini) and Ge TV (Marcelo Ferrantini). Each one gave the viewer specific pronunciations.
The most extreme example is that of the Englishman Guéhi. Renata spoke Gué-rri. Leifert, Gu-ê-rri. Nardini, Gue-í. Ferrantini, Guê-rri. None of them got it right, some being far from correct, which, according to the player, is Guêi.
On the Ghanaian side, the mess persisted. The captain of the African team is Jordan Ayew. In Renata’s pronunciation, the surname is Aiê; at Nardini, too; in Leifert, Aiú; in Ferrantini’s, Ái-ê-u. In the video, Ayew clarifies: it is Aiú. Point for Leifert this time.
The difficulty in getting it right is great, and the difference from one broadcaster to another is notable. Even in broadcasts from the same group (Globo and Ge TV), names don’t match, as in the pronunciation of Asare, Ghana’s goalkeeper. For Renata, Azarrê; for Ferrantini, Assári – nothing more distinct. Leifert said Azári, and Nardini, Azáre. Only Ferrantini got it right.
And so on. Zero standardization. A linguistic anarchy. For the viewers, for the most part, it doesn’t matter. Those bothered would be the athletes, who don’t hear the anomalies uttered by our narrators.
Would you like someone to say your name or surname wrong, even if you are a foreigner? I am not. Luís is Luís, not Lúis, and Curro is Curro, and not Cu-rôu, as English speakers call me.
I understand that there are difficulties, there are unusual sounds in certain languages, but with practice you can unwind your tongue. For “rr”, just use the “home” sound: “ho” is said as “rô”. Solved (in my case).
Returning to the World Cup, there is still the established pronunciation flaw. It was agreed that one should say De Bruyne, Belgian star, as it is written: Debrúine. And it isn’t. It’s Debrãn. I admit it’s strange for them to change after so many years. But they should.
The same happens with Dutchman Van Dijk, one of the best defenders in the world. It’s not Vandáik. It’s Fandêi. To solve it, just call him by his name: Virgil, which is what he prefers and how it is on his shirt. But pay attention to the pronunciation: Vírdil, not Vírjil.
Regarding De Bruyne and Van Dijk, nothing will be changed. However, thinking about the whole, and considering that the study of narrators before matches must be thorough, there should be fewer errors.
Listen. Learn. Speak. Correctly.
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