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Carl
when I try to pronounce 'adl' I have to do a lot more with my tongue and mouth than when I try to pronounce 'ald'. I wonder if this could be a factor.
You may well be right. A number of languages show this tension between simplifying the sounds (to make them easy to pronounce) and complicating them (possibly to make them easier to distinguish, and also perhaps to demonstrate prowess).
If you will forgive a mildly off-topic diversion, Devanagari, the most widely used script in India, actually has rules about phonetic elisions of the sort seen in alder, and addled - except that they are with regard to the nasal consonants, rather than the 'r', 'l' or 's' sounds that are otherwise the most commonly elided.
Consequently, they recognise that before a 'p' or 'b' sound, for instance, the most appropriate nasal sound is the 'm' sound, not a 'n' sound, and most words are structured that way. If, for whatever reason (say through prefixes, as in anpad {unschooled}) a different nasal sound is required before the consonant, it is given its full value, rather than being elided (as would be the case of the 'n' in 'ing', for instance).
In English, I suspect, one of the reasons we have this problem is the sheer prodigality with which the language has borrowed its vocabulary from other languages. We are subject to a barrage of words that were never meant to be pronounced in English (Adler being one of them). It then 'makes sense' for us to slowly, but surely, mould them into pronunciations that most suit our tongues (literally).
Thus, in the States, nuclear is more commonly nucular, and realtor becomes reelator. In the UK, more often than not, I hear people saying pacific rather than specific. And so on. In that sense, you may well lose the battle to keep your name - sometime in the future, one of your descendants will start spelling it Alder (and pronouncing it the same way) and it will have too much inertia to ever come back to the 'right' pronunciation and spelling. As who should know better than me - with an Indian name and an English accent!
cheer
the sunshine warrior
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Carpal Tunnel
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saying pacific rather than specificAaargh! yes, that used to be one of the things that drove me up the wall. But when I realised one of the perps in daily contact was actually mastering a serious dyslexia challenge, I kind of mentally gritted my teeth, and tried to think of daffodils  sometime in the future, one of your descendants will start spelling it Alder...... or Adder, or Auden, or... This kind of transmutation is certainly common over the long run or years, isn't it, both with personal and place names?
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member
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... or Adder, or Auden, or... This kind of transmutation is certainly common over the long run or years, isn't it, both with personal and place names?
This reminds me of a friend whose last name is Bloch, pronounced Block. Most people would either try to say Black or Blotch. One of her relatives got frustrated with the confusion and changed her name to Block. People promply started calling her Black.
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>the sound in addled is not the same as that in Adler.
All right, exactly how is Adler pronounced? I would have pronounce it ADD LUR, with the same ADD sound as in addled, badly and sadly. By the posts here I seem to be off mark.
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In reply to:
I am obviously in the company of experts and I hesitate to say anything.
Heavens, don't be put off by some of the more meretricious postings we indulge in. You are our expert on English as it is used in your community and profession and we'll always glad to hear from you about that and anything else you may wish to contribute. If you've had a look round you may have noticed that we do not confine ourselves to linguistics and the more arcane parts of the OED.
Bingley
Bingley
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old hand
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old hand
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I would have pronounce it ADD LUR, with the same ADD sound as in addled, badly and sadly.
Sorry for any confusion, Bel. My point was simply that addled has a different 'l' sound in that there is a schwa between the 'd' and the 'l' sounds in addled, whereas in Adler, sadly or badly the 'l' follows the 'd' without a schwa (neutral, unaccented vowel) in between. So the 'dl' in Adler is effectively a compound consonant. This is not the case in addled.
cheer
the sunshine warrior
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Carpal Tunnel
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and a Happy new Year to you!
TEd
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stranger
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stranger
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Can't you just change your name to Smith??? ;)
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Pooh-Bah
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>Can't you just change your name?
It seems to be more widespread than I realised. Only the other day a freind was telling me that two brothers and their families had decided to change their names. Their children were nearing school age and decided that it was easier to change all their names than putting up with the comments that they had endured as children. I don't think it was Smith that they chose, but not far off. Their real name was ... Crapper.
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This site is addictive. You know, of course that Mr. Crapper was a man who made toilets -- in England I believe -- and being proud of his work he put his name on the product and so came into use the phrase :"Where is the Crapper" meaning "Where is the toilet." Lacking legal eagles dedicated to preserving proprietary names for thier clients the name came into common use and Crapper became toilet and vice versa.
As to other name changes, an acquaintance of mine changed his last name to April from the Italian Fiacaprile to save his daughter the inevitable slings and arrows of feckless freshmen. The word play was even directed toward him and he was a soldier and he had a gun! Some people have no sense of self preservation. Aloha to you all. wow
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