Melinay Posted March 4, 2008 Report Share Posted March 4, 2008 Parev everyone! I'm new to this forum and am Amerigatzeehye. We have two boys and are about to have another. They all have American names and Armenian names, however this one will be getting sort of a combination, and I need help in spelling it. We decided on the first name of Kyle (in English) but with the wonderful stories of Kaiyl Vahan, I wanted to use an "Armenian" spelling. Now, first of all, as you can see by how I spelled it, I am the descendent of Western Armenian genocide survivors...so we use "k's" not "g's" That being said, I have done informal surveys of Americans around here and almost EVERYONE mispronounces the name when it's spelled Kaiyl (they rhyme it with "mail" rather than "mile") The other way I've seen Kaiyl Vahan spelled is Kayl, and that is even worse for mispronounciations. Here is my question (you knew there would be one eventually!) : Do we just keep the spelling the American "Kyle," since it's all a translation from Armenian characters anyway (there's no real "correct" way to spell it) or should we subject our son to a lifetime of mispronounciations and misspellings. Growing up with an Armenian last name, I'm certainly used to that!!!! Thank you for taking the time to read this and respond to it!! Melinay Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yervant1 Posted March 4, 2008 Report Share Posted March 4, 2008 HI Melinay, or is it Meline? Welcome to Hyeforum it seems to me that you have already made up your mind what to call your son, which is Kyle. Good luck! Yes you are right a Western Armenian would spell it as Kayl and explain to otars what it means in Armenian or spell it as Kyle and explain to Armenians that it is an Armenian name. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melinay Posted March 4, 2008 Author Report Share Posted March 4, 2008 Hi, thanks for the response. I suppose it makes more sense to go with Kyle, but I just want it to "feel" more Armenian. The article my uncle has in a recent St. Vartan newsletter spells it Kaiyl and that's how I love it. But I don't want him to hate his name for the reason that no one says it correctly. We're actually considering spelling it Kiayl...at least the odars would then ask about it and we can spread the Armenain story! The only question I really have is: does it really matter how we spell it since we're translating from Armenian characters anyway? you know? HI Melinay, or is it Meline? Welcome to Hyeforum it seems to me that you have already made up your mind what to call your son, which is Kyle. Good luck! Yes you are right a Western Armenian would spell it as Kayl and explain to otars what it means in Armenian or spell it as Kyle and explain to Armenians that it is an Armenian name. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yervant1 Posted March 4, 2008 Report Share Posted March 4, 2008 (edited) Hi, thanks for the response. I suppose it makes more sense to go with Kyle, but I just want it to "feel" more Armenian. The article my uncle has in a recent St. Vartan newsletter spells it Kaiyl and that's how I love it. But I don't want him to hate his name for the reason that no one says it correctly. We're actually considering spelling it Kiayl...at least the odars would then ask about it and we can spread the Armenain story! The only question I really have is: does it really matter how we spell it since we're translating from Armenian characters anyway? you know? How about spelling it as Kiyle, it's different and almost it sounds as Kyle. Melinay I'm moving your two topics into the Help forum. Thanks Yervant Edited March 4, 2008 by Yervant1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MosJan Posted March 4, 2008 Report Share Posted March 4, 2008 Welcome to Hyeforum Melinay Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arpa Posted March 4, 2008 Report Share Posted March 4, 2008 (edited) Welcome Melineh. Melineh is a variation of the Latin Melanie which means "honey". Assuming that you already know the gender of your next baby. Pleas don't complicate the issue between eastern v western. Name him and spell it the way YOU see fit. Let nature take its course. Let the eaatern speakers call him Gyle Vahan and you call him Kyle Vahan. You may have already answered your question and it is a good one. Name him Kyle Vahan, Kyle for the general public and Vahan to you. Despite his beastly nicknme, the historic Kayl/Gayl Vahan Mamikonian was a good guy, lionized (pun intended) in an epic work by Hovhan Mamikonian, he is supposed to have lived during the 7th c. He was given the nickname for his guile (another pun) and a healthy sense of humor, with military and political talent. He had valiantly fought the Persians and scored many victories. One of my cousins is named Vahan and we all call him Gayl Vahan, even his mother does endearingly, and just as above he deserves his nickname since he is a little “wolfish”. Good luck and happy, healthy baby. Edited March 4, 2008 by Arpa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melinay Posted March 4, 2008 Author Report Share Posted March 4, 2008 Arpa, Thanks, yes, this is my THIRD boy. Here's the funny/ironic thing. My 10 year old son, Jarod, has an Armenian name of Vahan already...named for my grandfather. So now he's all excited that he'll be named after Kaiyl Vahan as well! My second son, Gryffin, has an Armenian name of Vahe, for my father, and Kaiyl/Kyle will have an Armenian name of Harutyun for my uncle. We are now considering Kiayl, or Kiyal as well for spellings............. I was named Melinay (I started spelling it with the "ay" for pronounciation issues with the "e" ) because my grandpa couldnt' say my Mother's name (Marilyn) and called her Meline... Welcome Melineh. Melineh is a variation of the Latin Melanie which means "honey". Assuming that you already know the gender of your next baby. Pleas don't complicate the issue between eastern v western. Name him and spell it the way YOU see fit. Let nature take its course. Let the eaatern speakers call him Gyle Vahan and you call him Kyle Vahan. You may have already answered your question and it is a good one. Name him Kyle Vahan, Kyle for the general public and Vahan to you. Despite his beastly nicknme, the historic Kayl/Gayl Vahan Mamikonian was a good guy, lionized (pun intended) in an epic work by Hovhan Mamikonian, he is supposed to have lived during the 7th c. He was given the nickname for his guile (another pun) and a healthy sense of humor, with military and political talent. He had valiantly fought the Persians and scored many victories. One of my cousins is named Vahan and we all call him Gayl Vahan, even his mother does endearingly, and just as above he deserves his nickname since he is a little “wolfish”. Good luck and happy, healthy baby. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zara Posted March 5, 2008 Report Share Posted March 5, 2008 (edited) I don't really think that pronunciation problems in public or in school would be a big problem. Even though I live in Los Angeles I've always had people pronouncing my name the wrong way. It just makes me laugh and explain - even though my name isn't that difficult to pronounce. Go figure. Also, at work, customers always ask and we end up in conversations that lead to me selling something expensive. I think it would suck to have a name that's too mundane and boring but you should choose the spelling that you'll feel the most comfortable with. Edited March 5, 2008 by Zara Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melinay Posted March 5, 2008 Author Report Share Posted March 5, 2008 Zara, yes, I agree with you on the conversation starter aspect, and that's part of what attracts me to spelling it differently...otherwise no one would ask about his name! I still have to wonder though: since we're talking about transliteration of Armenian characters, there is no "correct" spelling, but since the "adopted" spelling of Kaiyl (or Kayl, I've seen) Vahan is, to me, too hard to pronounce, is it still giving him an 'Armenian name' if I spell it Kiyal or Kiayl??? I'd love some opinions on that! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anoushik Posted March 5, 2008 Report Share Posted March 5, 2008 Hello Melinay! The name still doesn't make sense to me. If you mean Gayl, as in wolf, then you have to spell it with G. Otherwise what's the point? Spelling with K, in Armenian it becomes a different word. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AVO Posted March 5, 2008 Report Share Posted March 5, 2008 Yeah but in Western Armenian They use K instead of G as in Kevork Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AVO Posted March 5, 2008 Report Share Posted March 5, 2008 I say name him Kyle and then you (family and friends) can call him Kail or Kailuk as a nickname. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zara Posted March 5, 2008 Report Share Posted March 5, 2008 To be honest...I kind of like Kayl. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AVO Posted March 5, 2008 Report Share Posted March 5, 2008 Oh and if I may, wolf is not our animal, Lions are Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anoushik Posted March 5, 2008 Report Share Posted March 5, 2008 Yeah but in Western Armenian They use K instead of G as in Kevork Yes, I know that. But don't they still pronounce "g"? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AK-47 Posted March 5, 2008 Report Share Posted March 5, 2008 Yes, I know that. But don't they still pronounce "g"? In Western Armenian, Գ = K Ք = K Կ = G Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melinay Posted March 5, 2008 Author Report Share Posted March 5, 2008 Anoushig, Nope, it's a "k" sound....which is also why my Armenian friends from Armenia (rather than we Genocide surviving Diaspora folk) don't get my dog's name either...which is KOOLBA for her white sock feet (Chors Jermag Koolbaner, actually) In Western Armenian, Գ = K Ք = K Կ = G Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ashot Posted March 5, 2008 Report Share Posted March 5, 2008 Ay ay steghen asum, esqan problemner xieq batsum glxnerit... Anun@ dreq Ashot u prtseq Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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