Today, I have been chastised. Well and truly. I’ve been saying my name wrongly for my whole life and not only does this make me very stupid but also it has caused great unsettlement to a Welsh gentleman who took the time to write me this email:
If you must insist on pronouncing your name in the manner that you do, then by all means get it changed by deed poll to Cyan. If (as it seems) you’re not happy with the proper Welsh pronunciation, why then did you not just adopt the English translation…Jane? Being a proud Welshman I find your misuse of this name as a total insult and slight towards the people of Wales. Unless of course you were named after the Chinese city, but being honest I can’t really envisage that!
Unfortunately I was given my name when I was very little, i.e. born, and my parents cruelly made me answer to the pronunciation Sigh-ann throughout my childhood, so I sort of got used to it. I thought it was pronounced that way as I don’t have a circumflex over my ‘a’. I never realised it was such a contentious issue!
But honestly, truly, I’m sorry if the way I say my my name causes offence to anyone out there, in Wales or elsewhere x
I now answer to Cyan, Sharn, See-Ann, Siobhan, Leanne and Diane. My mum corrects people – I’ve given up!
Looking forward to watching your show now and cheering on a fellow Sian!!
Hi Sian, as someone who used to know you from back in our Star Skate days (remember those!), I always wondered why it was pronounced that way but guessed that, as you’ve just clarified, you just went with what your parents gave you. I always felt that it would be rude to tell you that you weren’t prounouncing your name correctly, after all, it wasn’t your fault was it? Having said that, this was back in the 80’s & I’m kind of shocked that no-one ever told you until some irate Welshman saw fit to email you now!!! I wouldn’t worry about offending the Welsh nation & would frankly tell the man who emailed you to “get a life” as we have no responsibility for the names our parents bestow upon us, do we? If he takes the way you pronounce your name as a “total insult”, I’m actually a little jealous that he has nothing more important to worry about, but one would think that if he actually took the time out of his day to email you, he would get his facts correct. I believe the Chinese city to which he refers used to be called SiaM, not SiaN.
Pay no attention to the nasty man, love and don’t apologise to ANYONE – you have nothing to apologise for! It doesn’t make YOU look stupid (perhaps your parents should have checked their facts, but we’ll not hold it against them!) and if the Welsh want to be insulted, then let them get on with it 🙂
Whoopsie. After taking issue with the insulted Welshman for not checking his facts, I’ve gone & done the same thing. The “Chinese city” we both referred to is not, in fact, Chinese NOR is it a city! Siam is the former name of Thailand, which as we all know, is not a city in China 🙂 To be fair, I thought about this at the time I was posting my first reply but was in such high dudgeon at the thought of this silly man being “insulted” I got carried away & didn’t check it at the time. All corrected now, I can rest easy 😉
(Do you think perhaps I need to get a life too?)