bigbossmatt

I know that I am not very good at Arabic, but I think some of the differences between the names we suggested come down to how we pronounce it.

For example, with Kevin, the way that English speakers pronounce it: /ˈkɛvɪn/, I thought that a kasrah on the ف would produce a pronunciation which is closer to how Marciania wanted it.

Does your suggestion of the name Kevin produce the sounds: /'kɪvɪn/?

Likewise with Marciana. The way I would pronounce Marciana (as a native English speaker) is "Maa si aa na". There is no r in there, really. The "a" and "r" tell me to make the sound of a long alif. To me, Marciana is not "ma r si aa na" The "r" is not emphasized or important. In fact the sound of the "r" isn't there, the "ar" combination is a phoneme of itself.

I have assumed that Marciana wants the names to sound as they would for an English speaker, and I wonder if you are making them sound neither her native tongue nor English, but as you read them as they she has written them...?

Similarly with Elvis. Elvis, as in Elvis Presley is pronounce "L vis", but since Arabic doesn't have a "v" we are substituting ف. The "i" in Elvis, does not make the long "e" sound, but it is short as the sound, which I think, Kasrah would indicate.

So, in an effort to learn Arabic, why are we disagreeing on the answer to Marcianas questions? Am I wrong?