Everyone from President Trump to Vice President Mike Pence to Fox News host Tucker Carlson have been mispronouncing Kamala Harris’ name.
It’s not like she’s a new political figure. She’s been in the U.S. Senate for more than two years. She ran for U.S. president, but now suddenly our nation’s Republicans can’t remember how to pronounce her name?
As Kamala Harris has said her self, it’s Comma-luh, not “kuh-MA-luh,” as the Republicans have been botching it.
“Out of respect, for somebody who’s going to be on the national ticket, pronouncing her name right is actually kind of a bare minimum,” political adviser Richard Goodstein said to Carlson while a guest on his show.
“So I’m disrespecting her by mispronouncing her name unintentionally?” Carlson responded. “So it begins! You’re not allowed to criticize ‘kuh-mah-lah Harris’ or ‘camel-la Harris,’ or whatever…I love the idea that she’s immune from criticism.”
LATEST STORIES
Refinery 29 reported Carlson went on to mispronounce Harris’ name three more times.
The mispronouncing of one’s name is nothing new to immigrants. Often its unintentional, but many suspect what the Republicans are doing is intentional. Harris was born in Oakland, Ca, but some say the GOP would prefer voters consider her a foreigner.
“Names have power, so when you take people’s names away, or when you intentionally get them wrong, it does serve to disempower them,” Nicole Holliday, an assistant professor of sociolinguistics at the University of Pennsylvania, said to the San Francisco Chronicle.
Holliday says not saying someone’s name right is a way of othering someone as if they don’t belong.
Perhaps Julia Louise Dreyfuss and Andrew Yang got it right when they took on the name of the Vice President.
AsAmNews has Asian America in its heart. We’re an all-volunteer effort of dedicated staff and interns. Check out our new Instagram account. Go to our Twitter feed and Facebook page for more content. Please consider interning, joining our staff, or submitting a story.
