And now for what some might consider a vaguely frivolous post. I’d like to correct a few pronunciation issues: one prevalent amongst too many people that I meet, and the other, connected, and prevalent in the astronomy world. This is partly because I’d rather not have the lovely readers of this blog walking around pronouncing my name wrong and also because I’ve had a bone to pick with astronomers who should know better for a while.

First of all, pronounce my name like it is spelled. My name is not Shanda! That would be awful, since “shanda” means shame in my grandfather’s first language, Yiddish. My grandfather insisted that my parents be careful about that.

Second of all, it is not Chandra. Where the hell does the extra r come from?

Third of all, in Hindi, there is no such thing as that horrid “a” that we hear in “at.” (If you can follow pronunciation guides this sounds like ‘at.) So, I am not Ch’anda, and the great Nobel Laureate astrophysicist Chandrasekar is not Shandra or Ch’andra! The “a” is pronounced more like “uh” — Chunda, Chund-ra — if you are trying to get close to the Hindi pronunciation. Otherwise, Chonda works.

By the way, can anyone tell me of a language that does have that “at” sound in it, besides English? I can’t think of one.

Oh well, it’s such a shanda that so many people mispronounce Chanda.