Growing up in New York City, I grew up with theater. Especially, since my father did plays from community theater to Off-Off-Broadway. Therefore, I thought I knew how to say Godot, as in Waiting for Godot, and I was wrong.
I thought it was Ga (like Ga-linda)-Dough. As did everyone I knew who ever said it around me. And we were all mispronouncing it.
Yesterday, when Alex Winter and Keanu Reeves appeared on Today to talk about their Broadway play, they revealed the correct pronunciation. It is Gd-Oh. Like, O-M-G-Oh…did you hear who is starring in Waiting for Godot?
Ted “Theodore” Logan explained, “In the play, there is so much alliteration and rhymes with Godot.” Then he added, “The play is talking a bit about Gd.”
So for the future, we know the proper way to say it, so we sound like theater aficionados.
However, if you want to say it the way you have always been saying it, that is alright. Bill S. Preston, Esquire, told Craig Melvin that the play’s author, Samuel Beckett (no relation to the guy from Quantum Leap), “preferred Gd-Oh…Beckett himself said you can pronounce it however you want.”
I don’t know about you, but I have been saying Mary-ott (like otter without the ter) Hotel ever since I could remember. And I have been mispronouncing it.
David S. Marriott, Chairman of the Board; Former President, U.S. Full Service Managed by Marriott, Marriott International, Inc., and grandson of the founders, told an audience the correct way to say his family’s name.
And that is…Mary-It. So the O is silent. However, he will respond to either because at this point, what can he do?
It is just like how the Ah-De-Das family has accepted being called Aa-Dee-Dus, the Grand-Dee family is used to Grand-day, and Chrissy Tie-gan is OK with Tee-gan.
Boy, am I happy I have an easy name people can say but can’t spell.
We have been following Kirsten Dunst’s career since she starred alongside Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise in 1994’s Interview with a Vampire. Therefore, you would think we would know how to say her first name correctly. But it turns out we have been mispronouncing her name the whole time.
Even though it is spelled Kirsten, some people pronounce her as Kristen. Then others, like me, thought it was Kerr-sten. And that is also wrong.
So what is the correct way to say it? She told Town & Country Magazine that it is pronounced Care-sten.
What happens if you call her by the wrong name? She says, “I give up. I don’t care.”
I can’t say I blame her. After 43 years, you just get tired of correcting people. Believe me, I sympathize with her.
I don’t know about you, but I have been pronouncing Daniel Craig’s last name as Cregg, like Greg. It turns out I am wrong.
Yesterday, when Craig, Daniel Craig was on The Late Show, he told Stephen Colbert, who has also been mispronouncing his name, the correct way to say it.
So, what is the proper way to his surname? It is Craygg, like egg. That is crayggzy.
The more you know…
Here is another fact we learned during that interview. While Stephen Colbert pronounces his last as Coal-bear, some of his other ten siblings go by Coal-bert.
How did that happen? Stephen’s grandfather went by Coal-bert. However, his dad wanted to use the French pronunciation. But his grandfather said no to his dad because he was a Jr. So Stephen’s dad told his children they can by either. Guess which one he chose? Obvious, you know!
Now, I want to change how I pronounce my name to be cool like them.
Let’s be honest. We all thought that Temu was pronounced Tee-Moo. Well, yesterday, during their Super Bowl spot, we found they liked to be called Teh-Moo.
I don’t care what they want to be called. I am still going to pronounce their names as I have been saying because you can’t teach an old dog new tricks!
