Pronunciation is Important to President Obama; And to me, too. Why Not You?

It is 7:15 in the morning and I am in an Atlanta, Georgia. hotel room pounding this blog out practically in the dark. My mother is asleep in the next bed and I don’t want to disturb her with my early morning antics… you know, facebook, blogging, Politico, CNN, and the like. From the sounds of her heavy breathing (I dare not say snoring), I think my consideration is having its intended impact.

As I scrolled down the top stories of last evening on Nino Brown (my beloved Crackberry), I saw that in the late evening hours, Sarah Palin announced her resignation as governor of Alaska. What is she thinking? As I went to retrieve the story from Politico.com,another headline caught my eye: Obama, A Stickler for Pronunciation. I eagerly read the story. It basically spelled out the reason Obama say’s PA-kih-ston instead of Pa-ka-STAN like all his predecessors. And Moo-slim, instead of Muz-lim. Tal-e-bon, instead of Ta-li-BAN.

This is President Obama’s way of being respectful of others, by pronouncing their names and where they live correctly. It shows he tries to see the world from other people’s point of view. Whether you are the head of a small agency or the head of a state, President Obama requires phonetic spellings of names and places to be included in his daily briefings. He considers correct pronunciation to be baseline diplomacy which is important, especially foreign affairs. But not just in foreign affairs, but also right here, with Teowonna.

I love my name. I’m so glad my mother was ingenious enough to come up with Teowonna. Therefore, it is extremely important to me that it is pronounced and spelled correctly. I remember giving my primary school teachers a fit because they tried to tell me my name should be spelled T-e-o-w-a-n-n-a, instead of the way my mother spelled it. That conversation went on for a few days, but ultimately, they lost that battle.

But all educators were not as disrespectful as my primary school teachers. In fact, I recall my high school principal coming to me and asking how to pronounce my name correctly. She wrote it down phonetically on her flash card so that when she called me to walk across the stage and receive my diploma, she would pronounce it correctly. What great consideration Mrs. Blanton had!

But everyone isn’t quite as considerate as President Obama and Mrs. Blanton. Not everyone recognizes the impact and power of something as simple as name pronunciation. Reading the story on President Obama’s concern about pronunciation, reminded me conversation I had just a few nights ago.

It was the first (and only )conversation (so far) I had with a guy that I’d never met before. A mutual friend thought we’d make a nice couple. As a matter of fact, my friend said, “Teowonna, you are the only person I know that could truly appreciate the breadth of the man.” Wow… this man has breadth… I was excited, needless to say. So, I called the guy up, since he was expecting my call. Within moments, the conversation was off to a great start. We both had excitement, intrigue, and interest in our voices. He was articulate, and worldly, and everything else I love in a man.

We went through the whole name thing. His first name is a little unique so I asked him to pronounce it for me. Throughout the conversation, I made sure I was accurate in my pronunciation. And when I felt ‘iffy’, I called him ‘Mr. Johnson’; I couldn’t possibly go wrong with that. We went through the same drill with my name. No, it’s not Tawana or Taiwana or Tawanda. It is Teowonna. But my friends call me Tee, and you can too.

As the conversation progressed, I found myself becoming a little more stand-offish. I wasn’t as amused as I was in the beginning of the conversation. I think my new ‘friend’ recognized that and politely ended the conversation.

I reflected back upon the conversation (as unrelentingly I do of most conversations – a major flaw of mine), to determine why the conversation had gone sour for me… why my mood had changed. I narrowed it down to two things: he never really asked me anything about myself (even though I inquired about him) and he kept mispronouncing my name.

Why, after I corrected him a couple of times, and even gave him permission to call me Tee, would he not make the effort to pronounce my name correctly? My name, Teowonna, is the absolute foundation of who I am. The premise. If you know me, can you see me being called Michelle? Or Patricia? Or Shaniqua? Absolutely not, I’m Teowonna Clifton, dammit!

Didn’t he see my facebook profile? I’m a for-real sista!

Anyway, like Jenny Sanford, I am willing to forgive (but not that Mark Sanford foolishness’!) So, if Mr. Johnson were to call again, I’d put his past transgressions aside (as serious as they were) and we’d move forward and really get to know each other. But if he doesn’t, that’s cool too.

I sigh as I think about our president. Simple things like his being a stickler for pronunciation really build my admiration of President Obama. His compassion and concern for others is so genuine, that it is almost foreign to many American politicians. This just adds to my ever-growing list confirming that Michelle has quite a man on her hands. I want one just like that! Edit