The Misheard Name

I have a problem.


I'm a speech therapist-in-training and the general American public cannot understand me when I pronounce my name.

They hear lots of things, but rarely just "Julia."

Cases in point:

My eye doctor doesn't have the best ears.

I went to Waffle Love and this is what the cashier put on my personal cardboard tray that is supposed to identify me from all of the other waffle lovers out there.

I get everything from Juliet to Julian (which is a boy's name by the way.) I don't blame them. Obviously if this is happening on a regular basis, there's a hitch on my end of the line. 

I've tried a couple of things to clarify my name.

A) Accentuating the aaaaa sound. "Hi, I'm Juliaaaaa" 

Effective, but I usually get some weird looks. 

B) Not being as nasally. 

Easier said than done.

C) Try not to have a lisp even though my name doesn't have an eth in it. People may just be confused at everything I'm saying, so by the time I get to my name it's a lost cause.

D) Attach myself to Julia Child. "My name is Julia, like Julia Child." The only problem with that approach is that I have to do my Julia Child impression if they don't know who she is. By the end of the ordeal, they still don't know who she is and I look like a goombah. 

You don't have to watch the whole clip. You'll get the gist in about 10 seconds. 

Throughout my years of experimentation I have come up with a solution that I feel I can live with.

If there is a 60% chance that I'm not going to see the person ever again, I let it slide.

If I will probably see them again and they will be confused when people aren't calling me "Jillian," then I will correct them. 

It's been effective so far. 

There's also the fact that I tend to forget my name tag for work and so I'm usually parading around the Wilkinson Center with "Alice" magnetized to my shirt.....but that's a whole other post. 

Sincerely,

- Julie