Pronunciation of Alex Salmond's name

Guy Barry

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Feb 17, 2014, 8:25:31 AM2/17/14

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Is one supposed to say "Alex Salmond" or "Alec Salmond"? I know it's spelt
"Alex", and I appreciate that it's impossible to tell the difference in
rapid speech. Nevertheless, I read some years ago that the usual
abbreviation of Alexander Elliot Anderson Salmond's first name is correctly
pronounced "Alec", and I'm sure I've heard him referred to that way on
occasion in broadcast debates.

(Apologies to anyone who doesn't know who Alex Salmond is, but he's a rather
significant figure in the news here at the moment.)

--
Guy Barry

Don Phillipson

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Feb 17, 2014, 10:25:11 AM2/17/14

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"Guy Barry" <guy....@blueyonder.co.uk> wrote in message
news:e5oMu.24163$dR7....@fx08.am4...

> Is one supposed to say "Alex Salmond" or "Alec Salmond"? . . . (Apologies

> to anyone who doesn't know who Alex Salmond is, but he's a rather
> significant figure in the news here at the moment.)

The BBC presumably has guidelines for how to pronounce
names of people likely to be identified in news broadcasts.

--
Don Phillipson
Carlsbad Springs
(Ottawa, Canada)

Peter T. Daniels

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Feb 17, 2014, 4:51:01 PM2/17/14

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On Monday, February 17, 2014 10:25:11 AM UTC-5, Don Phillipson wrote:

> The BBC presumably has guidelines for how to pronounce
> names of people likely to be identified in news broadcasts.

Other than Barack Obama and the Chrysler Corporation's home base (yeah,
I know it got bought by some European car company, but that didn't change
its American pronunciation.)

Mike L

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Feb 17, 2014, 5:07:08 PM2/17/14

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He's the most skilful politician on the British scene these days
(though I fear his may be a siren voice). My sister was at university
with him, and says "Alex".

--
Mike.

Garrett Wollman

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Feb 17, 2014, 10:19:47 PM2/17/14

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In article <ldtlo2$can$1...@news.albasani.net>,

Don Phillipson <e9...@SPAMBLOCK.ncf.ca> wrote:
>"Guy Barry" <guy....@blueyonder.co.uk> wrote in message
>news:e5oMu.24163$dR7....@fx08.am4...
>
>> Is one supposed to say "Alex Salmond" or "Alec Salmond"? . . . (Apologies
>> to anyone who doesn't know who Alex Salmond is, but he's a rather
>> significant figure in the news here at the moment.)
>
>The BBC presumably has guidelines for how to pronounce
>names of people likely to be identified in news broadcasts.

I should not presume that the people doing the pronouncing actually
ask the orthoepists for guidance on names that appear regularly in
news reports, whether or not their own pronunciation is correct.

-GAWollman

--
Garrett A. Wollman | What intellectual phenomenon can be older, or more oft
wol...@bimajority.org| repeated, than the story of a large research program
Opinions not shared by| that impaled itself upon a false central assumption
my employers. | accepted by all practitioners? - S.J. Gould, 1993

Guy Barry

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Feb 18, 2014, 2:41:40 AM2/18/14

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"Mike L" wrote in message
news:ko15g99uv5cm50fg5...@4ax.com...

>He's the most skilful politician on the British scene these days
>(though I fear his may be a siren voice). My sister was at university
>with him, and says "Alex".

Oh well, that probably clinches it then. I was always a bit sceptical about
the "Alec" claim, and couldn't find any evidence to back it up. I suspect
that the pronunciation came about from people who'd heard the name in rapid
speech and misconstrued it.

--
Guy Barry

Jerry Friedman

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Feb 18, 2014, 9:57:38 AM2/18/14

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I thought this was going to be about his last name. Wikip says
/ˈsæmənd/ (that is, /'s&m@nd/, rhyming with "Hammond"), which isn't
surprising.

--
Jerry Friedman

Andy Leighton

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Feb 19, 2014, 4:56:11 AM2/19/14

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On Tue, 18 Feb 2014 07:41:40 -0000, Guy Barry <guy....@blueyonder.co.uk> wrote:
> "Mike L" wrote in message
> news:ko15g99uv5cm50fg5...@4ax.com...
>
>>He's the most skilful politician on the British scene these days
>>(though I fear his may be a siren voice). My sister was at university
>>with him, and says "Alex".
>
> Oh well, that probably clinches it then.

Well not really. Many people do change their preferences as they get
older.

> I was always a bit sceptical about the "Alec" claim, and couldn't
> find any evidence to back it up. I suspect that the pronunciation
> came about from people who'd heard the name in rapid speech and
> misconstrued it.

Really? Isn't it just the normal pronunciation in the parts where he
was born? Same thing occurs with Alex Ferguson. Ferguson seems happy
to use either.

I can see Salmond using Alex at university, but switching to using
Alec at times to emphasize his 'man of the people' credentials.

--
Andy Leighton => an...@azaal.plus.com
"The Lord is my shepherd, but we still lost the sheep dog trials"
- Robert Rankin, _They Came And Ate Us_

Guy Barry

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Feb 19, 2014, 5:09:41 AM2/19/14

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"Andy Leighton" wrote in message
news:slrnlg8vtr...@azaal.plus.com...

>
>> I was always a bit sceptical about the "Alec" claim, and couldn't
>> find any evidence to back it up. I suspect that the pronunciation
>> came about from people who'd heard the name in rapid speech and
>> misconstrued it.
>
>Really? Isn't it just the normal pronunciation in the parts where he
>was born? Same thing occurs with Alex Ferguson. Ferguson seems happy
>to use either.

Maybe you're right then. I just find it a bit hard to understand why it
should be spelt "Alex" but pronounced "Alec". Is it a tradition in
Scotland?

--
Guy Barry

Dr Nick

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Feb 19, 2014, 2:57:53 PM2/19/14

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If it's Alexander it really should be pronounced "Sandy".

Mike L

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Feb 19, 2014, 5:10:31 PM2/19/14

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Ahem. "Sawny".

--
Mike.